Why the Pilots left?

A captain's Confession

August 4, 2010

Yesterday, a gag order was circulated by the airline preventing its remaining narrow body pilots, as well as the rest of its employees to speak to the press about what is happening inside our ex-company. Also last night, a meeting was called by the government for us and the management to talk. We intentionally did not attend the meeting because there is nothing to talked about. We have no intention of going back either. We already severed our working relationship with them. Its better for us to see each other in court and just pay whatever damages there is to a breached contract than deal with them again.

On this ground, we also have no intention of showing our faces today at the meeting re-scheduled at 10 a.m. If worse comes to worst, we have or lawyers to defend our rights.

What made us leave is perhaps the best question to ask.

But contrary to management's propaganda of greener pasture abroad, is only half truth of what is really happening inside, a condition which prompted us to decide our fate for a better future. Its not all about the money. Its about respect.

PAL claimed that they are operating at a loss for three years in a row. Honestly, its not our problem if they mismanaged the company with indiscriminate fuel hedging. But it became our problem when some of our peers were declared redundant by the airline for the sheer incompetence of its managers.

And maybe because of a company named Air Philippines.

Last year, the service contracts of four senior Captains, namely De Dios, De la Cruz, Guttierez and Roma were terminated from service months before they were set to retire. The reason given by management was redundancy. Two of those pilots were due to end their contracts, one in about 3 months, and the other in about 6 months time. We found out later on that they were pre-terminated so that the airline could not pay its full retirement benefits.

If management can wrestle its way by short-changing our old guards, then there is no reason for us not to be wary about our own future with the airline. They already have done it with the turboprop pilots which left them without much choice. But maybe not us.

As early as October last year, the time when the axe first fell on the old guards, some of us were already scrambling to get out and find other employers before our time comes. By November some of us were able to contact other airlines and few got interviews as early as December.

True to our fears, a bombshell was dropped in January when information leaked that PAL is consolidating the operations of Pal Express and Air Philippines to compete with Cebu Pacific and that some of us might be transferred to the low cost arm of the airline because they were planning to retain only nine narrow bodies, most likely the ones ordered last year, while giving all the A319/320's to Airphil Express.

We thought there was no problem with that as long as they respect our contract. But behold, they didn't. By February, the next axe dropped when 11 senior Captains and 7 of the most junior First Officers were given redundancy notice. Some of them were even rated to fly the A330.

What is so unusual about the notice is that pilots were flying the average flying time of around 90 hours or more than what is required of them, meaning they are already over-worked. Yet management still declared redundancy when what they should have done is to hire more to cover the extra time.

It turned out that the purpose of redundancy was for them to move somewhere else, somewhere close. In a twist of fate, those declared redundant were offered work assignments at Airphil under a grossly disadvantageous terms to the old one they were currently enjoying at PAL, almost half to be exact, and if they choose to leave, they won't have the chance to work at PAL anymore.

All 18 of them doesn't have much choice, surprised perhaps, and with families to feed and mortgage to pay, they agreed to transfer to Airphil Express which was launched in March 27. And with the third A320 flying in July, its only a matter of time before the next redundancy will come.

Two more A320's from PAL are expected to join the Airphil fleet by October that we are expecting the next round of transfer by September. Therefore, it becomes paramount for us to find greener pasture outside the fence.

Four more aircraft will join the Airphil fleet next year, five aircraft in 2012 and another five in 2013 that by that time there will be no more A320 left in the PAL fleet.

All the remaining A320 pilots started exploring other options available to them before they got hit, both regular and contractual. I was fortunate to be called early. If PAL did not respect the contract of other pilots, then I am not expecting them to respect mine. So why should I respect theirs?

If we can't have security of tenure, then at least it would be a lot better to work elsewhere with the same unsecured job but with maybe a better compensation and benefits. Same risks but better returns.

If they don't respect us, then certainly they don't deserved ours!


Video courtesy of GMANews.TV