Each One, Teach One

As many of you readers are already in the aviation field you as well aware of the fact that most people who are in the business do not suggest that others enter into it. This is an unfortunate side effect of aviation, to get to where you want to be takes a loooong time and as a result by the time we get to our position of choice we have a tad bit of ill will toward the industry.

Another safe pic!

The majority of us have been laid-off or "downsized" at least once in our careers and it's natural that we don't want others to go through all the adversity that we did. When people ask me about getting into aviation maintenance I like to tell them that it is a great job, but, all the stuff that you have to put up with on the way to the ultimate position is not worth it to most people.

The few of us who hold on and accept the struggle are rewarded with jobs that we love. It may be that the process is the ultimate weeding out system there is. I remember when my wife was just starting her airline career and flew for a commuter airline. They got no pay during training, had to pay for their own hotel during training and as a reward once they were done with training they made about $800/month! I was sending food out to her and about two other pilots just so they could have something to eat. One of the guys I work with has worked at 14 different airlines! That's crazy!

Recently I was asked by a local A&P trade school to participate in their Aviation Open House. Sure I would be representing SWA MX and my boss would be there also, but could I really encourage people to enter into this slug fest of an industry? I thought about it for a while and decided to do it. I think that since this Open House is for young kids around the community and is primarily to foster an interest in aviation as a whole it could be worthwhile. Lets face it we all know that it is easier to work with a person who has a genuine love of aviation than some guy who just in it for the money.

Where it all started for me

Kids should be exposed to all facets of life and why not being a greaser for the airlines? Maybe one of those kids will grow up to be an industry leader and can reflect on the day way back when they met some guy by the name of Goat told them that he really loved his job. I think about some of the people I have worked with that truly hate their jobs. I f someone had told them at the very beginning the truth about aviation maybe it would have saved them 20-35 years of misery and making others miserable. Wish me luck, once the truth comes out SWA might not be asked back next year!

DOWNTIME!! It's Part Of The Game *Guest Post Suggestion!

It happens all the time. I know that at least once a week we mechanics will be sitting in the break room and a ramper or OPS agent will come in for any number of reasons. Inevitably they will say some thing like "you guys have it made" or "you guys don't work too hard". I can't really blame them, they have jobs that require them to constantly be in action. The more they do the more money the company makes in a sense. Since those other work groups are involved with the normal everyday type jobs at an airline they can not wrap their minds around the fact that Airline "Line" Maintenance operates in a totally different way.

We on the Line are paid hourly like everyone else at the airline, that however, is where the similarities end. Every time we leave the office to work a plane we spend money. The more we work, the more money we spend. I'm not talking spending little dollars either, we spend big bucks. At any given gate call we could spend up to and at times over $100,000. Everything we change on the plane is pricey. Of course the other work groups will never be able to understand the concept of staying in the office to save money but that is exactly what a maintenance department should do.

Any time people see us relaxing in the break room they should be excited that we are not out working on a plane and spending thousands of dollars. It's all part of the Airline game, and it's one of the reasons that working the Line is typically more desirable than working in a hangar. Hangar work is more like a regular type of job-the more you work the faster the plane can get back into service and make some money. Sure the same thing applies to a grounded plane out on the Line, but for everyday operations downtime for the Line is money saved for the company.