Arlington Heights pilot talks about optimism in his industry

Change. Hope. Responsibility. Yes, I'm talking about the InTransit column and a change that I hope you'll like because I'm responsible for it.

Every month or so, I plan to run a Q and-A session with a local resident who's also expert in his or her particular field of transportation. We start with Dennis Tajer, an Arlington Heights resident, American Airlines pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.

Coincidentally, the interview occurred just as Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River Jan. 15, which added a new significance to Tajer's answers.

Tajer, 46, joined AA after six years with the U.S. Air Force, including service in Operation Desert Storm. He has flown with American for 17 years and lived through a three-year furlough period.

"I grew up in Chicago on the Northwest side, so I could see airplanes flying over, mostly 747s. I think that lit my fire," Tajer said. "It was just a childhood dream, but I took the steps necessary (to make it happen) with a bit of hard work. I also had a desire to serve in the military and those two desires seem to blend together."

Tajer obtained an undergraduate degree while undergoing a two-year evaluation period by the Air Force. He was selected for a limited number of slots and after training, flew KC-135s, military refueling airplanes.

"You pull up right behind and plug in," Tajer said. "It's an incredible asset our country has, because it enables us to reach destinations otherwise unattainable. There's only so long aircraft can fly, but if you take the refueling card out of it, then it can go literally from the United States to the Middle East without stopping."

Q. What's your job like?

A. It's a very challenging job, some days more than others. Every day I put the uniform on and go to work, I expect to be the most challenging day of my career and I'm prepared for it.

There's a constant level of awareness and difficulty going on. Even when it seems activity is at a low point, your mind is preparing for the next item, whether it's an equipment failure or a weather event. In summertime, you may deviate around thunderstorms to ensure a safe, smooth ride.

But no one point seems more intense than the other, although takeoffs and landings are the more challenging times. But just as many things can go awry at cruising altitude that you have to be prepared for."

Q. What are the challenges for the industry?

A. In the near-term, it will be reinvestment in the employees that kept American Airlines in business instead of going into bankruptcy.

This year at American, Continental, Southwest and United Airlines, the pilots will be in contract negotiations. We at American have been in negotiations for three years and our pilots have given over $3 billion dollars while our managers and executives have taken $300 million in bonuses. That's going to be the challenge to reconcile that.

Q. 2008 was a tough year for airlines with multiple planes grounded, including hundreds of American MD-80s because of wiring concerns. What's next in 2009?

A. We grounded over 300 airplanes and stranded tens of thousands of people two separate times, once in early April and a few weeks later. I hope we're over that, but pilots at American are extremely concerned this management team is not paying close enough attention to the operation and are more focused on their bonus program.

But there is optimism in the airline industry. Most of the analysts are saying due to labor concessions and drop in oil prices, they're forecasting solid profits for 2009 even in the face of economic turmoil. Airlines have essentially gone through their recession - we've been in a recession for five to six years and are in the throes of solid recovery.

Q. Do you share the optimism?

A. I do share that optimism for those reason. Even United's CEO (Glen Tilton recently) said airlines will do well through this recessionary period because of adjustments and, I will add, the concessions of labor. Oil has been a huge factor across the board, everyone agrees on that.

Q. What's your favorite airport?

A. Chicago, because I know I'm going home. I'm not just pandering. I'm a huge fan of the Chicago airport, and many other pilots will mimic that because of the outstanding support of the controllers and their expertise.

I (fly) with such frequency that it's easy to forget, but there are times when I look to the other pilot and we look at the sun setting over the west or the skyline of Chicago and we'll both smile and shake our heads over how spectacular it is.

For more of my conversation with pilot Dennis Tajer, go to dailyherald.com.

A. d for the record, here's what American Airlines had to say about bonuses.

"Performance share grants are part of an overall compensation structure designed to pay our executives at the midpoint of the market for comparable positions in other companies," AA spokeswoman Susan Gordon wrote. Total compensation includes a mix of base salary and incentive pay (cash bonuses, stock options and performance shares) and varies from year to year depending on how well the company performs, she noted.

So there you go.

Q. Do you have a favorite airplane movie like "Top Gun?"

A. No, I don't. "Top Gun" is Hollywood hype. There's a stereotype of, 'Gee, that looks like it would be fun.' It's a very serious profession that requires a great deal of discipline and training.

A. d, like most professions, it's a much less exciting world than you would imagine. Every six months, we have to go through a FAA physical. If you fail, you're without a license and without a job.

Every nine months, we have a rigorous training and evaluation with an evaluator where you follow a scenario in a simulator, if not perform correctly can lead to loss of job

We also have no-notice checks where the FAA comes into the cockpit. It's like someone sitting at your desk all day and watching you do your job and deciding whether you should continue your job.

With the current concessions, pilots make less in pay rates than we did in 1993. There are a lot of families of pilots who had to move out of their homes and relocate. Currently, there are 2,000 pilots on furlough status. And one of the difficulties of the job is that you go in every day and know this to be true and you turn to the senior management team who have received $300 million in bonuses.

If these concessionary pay rates continue, the flow of young pilots may dwindle because the reward is not worth it

Q. Does anyone train pilots to have reassuring voices?

A. There's no formal training - but American and other major carriers have pilots with thousands of hours of experience - years, sometimes decades - and with that comes an air of confidence, humble confidence.

Q. What's the hardest part of the job?

A. Making the unpopular decision of returning to the gate when you know your passengers are very interested in getting to their destination but it's not safe to go. That's a responsibility we take very heavily.

Just recently in Chicago during a snow event although we had been de-iced, the time to takeoff was such a lengthy period that it no longer was going to be effective. We had to make the decision to come back to the gate to get de-iced again. In that case, we were de-iced and left, but sometimes you return to the gate and you're not able to do it that day.

Our obligation is to our passengers. We're in the same airplane, we're not at a desk, we're with them and our calling is to ensure they have the safest flight possible.

Q. Was the transition from military to civilian work difficult?

A. The discipline in the cockpit is very similar, Many of the individuals I fly with today are men and women I served with so the personalities are the same. The tenets of aviation cross over to the civilian world from the military and vice versa.

Q. What do you like about your job?

A. I like the service to the public. Getting our passengers to important life events or business engagements. Helping the country do the day-to-day business that makes us so successful.

Q. What were you doing during 911?

A. I was in New York in a hotel, so it was a television event for me, but I was very attuned to what probably happened on those airlines. It was a very difficult time, the whole nation was aligned in our sorrow, but it hit aircrews especially hard.