Global Airlines

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar are leading in the international aviation industry right now but it is because those companies are receiving around 42$ billion in government subsidies(The Daily Signal, 2015). By receiving this money the gulf carriers are violating the open skies agreement. The sprit of the open skies is letting each carrier determine the cost, routes and frequency of the flight but receiving money allows them to not base anything on the market value.US airlines like Delta, American Airlines and United have also received around $71.5 billion in government subsidies according research done by Etihad. The US airlines received money after 9/11 to make up for the loss in the industry. 

The import export bank’s purpose is to export aircraft goods to other countries. They pretty much give loans to companies to purchase the aircrafts.  The buyer gets a lower interest rate since the buyer is not paying the full amount for the aircraft. Emirates received close to $3.7 billion from Ex-Im and Etihad received close to $1.3 billion. Allowing them to purchase these boeings at low loan allows them use the leftover money for other investments. 

Do I think all this is fair? Yes and no, It’s not fair because you are screwing over other companies to make money by receiving government subsidies allowing you have routes no what matter what the market value is but at the end of day it is a business and the companies are doing what they have to do to be the best and make the most money. I feel like it sounds a little childish to say that they are not playing fair because it is a business. 

References: 

Gulf Airlines Win Big With Subsidies, Taxpayer-Backed Loans. (2015, April 13). Retrieved October 28, 2015, from http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/13/bank-rolled-how-foreign-airlines-win-big-with-government-subsidies-and-u-s-taxpayer-backed-loans/

Etihad Airways: U.S. airlines get billions in government help, too. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2015, from http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/etihad-airways-u-s-airlines-get-billions-in-government-help-too.html/

Cargo

After the Colgan accident, the public did not feel safe flying because of the reason of the accident being pilot error due to fatigue. They changed the amount of hours a pilot can work.I feel like congress made that decision for the public eye. So the people feel safe flying again.  The new regulation for passenger carrier pilots limits to either 8 during the day, 9 hours at night, and at least 10 hours off between flights, allowing for 8 hours of sleep. The old regulation allowed pilots to have 8 hours off between working to the max of 16 hours. Another regulation change was the amount of hours you need to fly as commercial pilot, the new rule stated you need 1500 hours whereas before the new regulation you needed 250 hours.  

 The reason for the new regulations is definitely because of money. According to CBS, it’s going to cost the industry $297 million over ten years, when they changed the rules. If cargo was included in that then it would cost about $214 million more (CBS news, 2011). I believe another reason is also to show the public it is safe to fly. The public doesn't care about the cargo pilots since they wont be flying in those aircrafts. 

 I honestly think that the 1500 hour rule is ridiculous for passenger pilots but if you are applying that rule to commercial pilots. It should be applied to cargo pilots as well.If the FAA feels it is necessary for the other pilots to have 1500 hours before flying commercially  then it needs to be necessary for cargo. They may not have passengers but they can still crash and kill civilians or themselves even. The amount of hours working should be the same for cargo and passenger carriers. Fatigue is fatigue no matter who or what is on the aircraft you are flying. 

I don't honestly see it affecting my future career as a pilot.Mostly because I was never interested in going the cargo route. Most cargo companies want a lot of experience before flying huge aircrafts. I think by the time I get that experience flying bigger aircrafts I will be around 1500 hours anyways the hour rule shouldn't effect me too much. 

References:

Tumulty, B. (2014, February 11). 5 years after N.Y. crash, some airline safety progress. Retrieved October 15, 2015, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/11/colgan-air-crash-prompts-safety-regulations/5372353/

Feds extend pilots' rest time to avoid fatigue. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-extend-pilots-rest-time-to-avoid-fatigue/

Flying Cheap

Being new to the aviation industry, the documentary “Flying Cheap” gave me a lot of good information. Past graduates from EMU have talked about what flying for the regionals is like. They talked about what a regular day is like and it sounded tough but watching it was an eye opener. As they were speaking about the living conditions and low wages, they seemed to kind of laugh about it because they know it is ridiculous but they are willing to do whatever it takes to be a captain of a major airliner. These are very tough conditions for aspiring young professionals, who are paying off student debt and joining a job that pays around $20 an hour is not very appealing. This is one of the reasons why there is a pilot shortage.

Thats great news for someone like me who is a student aspiring to be a pilot. Knowing that there are and will most likely continue to have job openings is encouraging. What doesn't sound too good is the fact I need 1500 hours to be in regionals. I feel like the 1500 rule should be lowered. The rule was followed by Colgan accident the pilots had well over 1500 hours. I honestly don't understand why that rule was placed.Its almost like one bad apple is ruined it for others. If the FAA were to lower the hours and the regional carriers paid more, the job would sound more appealing and more students would be willing to fill all the empty first officer seats. Endeavor Air is paying 20,000 bonus over the course of a year and hiring about 50 a month in the near future (Airline pilot central, 2015) Some companies are already making the right changes now its time for the FAA. 

There is some sort of organization for all the different fields in the aviation industry. Air traffic controllers have The National Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA). General Aviation Manufactures Association (GAMA) is for the manufactures. The pilots have Air Line Pilot Association (ALPA). Dispatchers have Air Transport Dispatchers Association (ATDA). 

Professionalism is when you are in the work environment and should be able to use your best judgement to make the right decision not of you only but also for everyone involved. In order to do that, you must be skillful, trained properly, be able to communicate with others and be polished. Sounds really cheesy but be the best you can be. I do believe that the lack of pay for the regional pilots shows a lack of professionalism from the management. If you are paying your employee next to nothing and showing them that they don't really matter. The result is going to be dangerous as we saw in the documentary. Colgan representative said that they were unaware of the fact the captain failed multiple check rides which is huge lack of professionalism management wise. The captain lacked judgment doing the weight and balance. There were many things that caused the Colgan accident. Going from here, once Im employed I plan on maintaining professionalism by going beyond what is required for me to fly the plane. If I feel something is not right, I need to do something about it since the lives of many people are in my hands. 

References: 

The Coming U.S. Pilot Shortage Is Real. (2015, February 16). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/coming-us-pilot-shortage-real

AIRLINE PILOT CENTRAL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/regional/endeavor_air

UAVs

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are controlled by remotes or pre programed flight plans. Most of us use the term drones for UAV’s. There are multiple uses for UAVs commercially and military. Used commercially for aerial photos, film making, farming, land surveying and hurricane hunting. The FAA does regulate the use of drones and  gives interested flyers two options to obtain the approval from the FAA. 1) Section 333 Exemption; allowing you to exemption in accordance with civil certificate waiver and section 333. This only allows you to operate in low risk area. 2) Special Airworthiness Certificate; which requires you to able to describe everything in detail about the aircraft and you must show you intent to fly and where you plan on flying (FAA,2015). The FAA’s main goal is safety so naturally when there are things flying in the sky you must have rules to maintain safety. 

I absolutely think that UAVs will be integrated into the NAS. It would be ridiculous not to. I know there are obstacles to be able to do that but the outcome of doing it will be worth it. We are already putting good use to them by saving money economically and environmentally.From what I read, it seems like this is going to happen sooner than later.  Some of the obstacles could be the perception from the public knowing that the air space allows manned and unmanned flying. Another problem would be how air traffic controller would be able to communicate with the drone operators. 

Using drones in the military, I'm sure saved many lives. They use drones like Predator and Reaper with missiles to destroy and spy all while operating from miles away(National Geographic 2013). They use smaller drones for cameras and with special sensors to detect chemicals and other harmful materials. Again, using drones is saving money for the military and its good for the environment since the military isn't using fuel for the jets. Ethically, I’m not sure what is right but if the current method is helping the military save lives then we should continue to use drones. 

I found a couple links for jobs postings with UAVs: 

 http://www.indeed.com/cmp/AUV-Flight-Services/jobs/Uas-Pilot-0905421b1a30de05?sjdu=QwrRXKrqZ3CNX5W-O9jEvZM5h6XTCZdXkvKFVritS2WmxOni-bQqMmI0-2h0-6tE-znVJEAI2kWHzLZvRngpHIVLMM0wjZ30EvyAZmvpZqoJ95uhKsQlBajr2fL_edx6

2.  http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/25/news/drone-pilot-degree/

References:

1.  Unmanned Flight. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/unmanned-flight/horgan-text

2.   What Role Should the FAA Play in Regulating Civilian Drones? (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.govtech.com/products/What-Role-Should-the-FAA-Play-in-Regulating-Civilian-Drones.html

3.  Civil Operations (Non-Governmental). (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2015, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/civil_operations/