Switzerland: From pilot to train driver, Swiss and SBB are examining new job cooperation

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Aviation is in its worst crisis since the Wright brothers first took off a vehicle. Airlines around the world are laying off staff en masse in the wake of the covid-19. A recovery in passenger numbers is not in sight. Even Swiss is now expecting a return to normality as it was known in 2019 at the earliest in 2024.

The Lufthansa subsidiary continues to emphasize that it wants to avoid layoffs. There is not yet a reduction program. But Swiss boss Thomas Klühr has announced that costs must be reduced by up to 20 percent. And Lufthansa manager Harry Hohmeister Klühr's predecessor at Swiss and a master of cost saving -recently said that he considered large scale layoffs at group level to be inevitable.

The misery in aviation could now lead to new collaborations. The SBB could become the savior in the Swiss emergency and mitigate possible wage losses or even layoffs at the airline.

A spokesman for the Federal Railways confirmed, there are considerations for possible cooperation. Initial, non-binding contacts had taken place. Swiss does not want to comment on this.

There are few or no alternatives for pilots

The focus is particularly on the cockpit crew. In the latest member magazine of the Swiss Pilots Association Aeropers, its President Kilian Kraus writes: In the last few months, the idea of ​​the famous second pillar has surely come back to mind.

With this, Kraus is addressing a sore point. Because, as he goes on, there are few or no alternatives for pilots in qualified professions on the job market. Therefore, those who have an additional degree under their belt are happy. It is not without reason that pilot representatives have long appealed to future generations to acquire other skills in addition to flying and to continue their education.

Aeropers spokesman Thomas Steffen confirms the problem, pilots have an extremely demanding but at the same time very subject specific training. A degree is no longer mandatory in order to apply for the Swiss-Cockpit in contrast to Swissair, where there were times when a university degree or military training was required. Finding another, highly qualified job is difficult for pilots today. In a crisis anyway.

There seems to be an interest in switching partially or entirely from the clouds to the rails. The SBB spokesman says there are already some former and active aircraft pilots in the train driver team. And we are currently receiving a lot of applications from the aviation industry, especially in the greater Zurich area. Train driver training takes one and a half to two years. All classes are already occupied for 2020.

Simplified hiring process for pilots?

The spokesman said, SBB's interest is no coincidence. As you know, we underestimated the need for locomotive personnel in recent years and planned recruiting too defensively. The covid-19 crisis is also delaying training and further education. Therefore, several train connections are canceled, depending on the region even until spring 2021.

The SBB spokesman suggests that a simplified recruitment procedure would be possible for Swiss pilots, even if the requirements for suitability and approval were issued by the Federal Office of Transport. Because we can assume that a pilot will generally meet the requirements for health or safety.

In an interview, a Swiss captain is open to a change of scene, if my workload at Swiss is cut significantly, I could imagine doing a sideline as a train driver. But then you need predictable part time days. The idea has already surfaced abroad. In Germany, for example, the soon to be defunct Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings advised its staff to hire Deutsche Bahn.

The wage aspect when changing

Nevertheless, an exodus in the Swiss cockpit is hardly to be expected, even if one or the other pilot might be enthusiastic about the engine driver's cab. Because the pilots have an interest in staying with the company. Ultimately, the wage development is closely linked to the company affiliation and the function. If a co-pilot earns around 70,000 francs at the beginning of his career, after around 30 years it is around 200,000 francs for a long-haul captain. Conversely, it is a risk for Swiss to lose too many pilots, because if the economy recovers, the next generation would suddenly be lacking, as pilot training takes up a lot of time.

According to Swiss, around every third cockpit crew member works part time today. Some of them work elsewhere the rest of the time, sometimes as real estate managers as financial advisors or in the catering trade.

Steffen said, however, these are exceptions. Most pilots, even those who work part time, have no way of doing anything else.

Swiss: It's about saving jobs

Steffen said, this has to do not least with the employment conditions of Swiss. The company claims practically every flexibility when planning part time days. This means, the pilots will only find out about the assigned working days and Fridays five days before the start of the new month. Self-determined, fixed part time days have not yet been possible, which makes it difficult to do other work on a regular basis.

Swiss recognizes the irregular working hours. These are an integral part of the job but are still reflected in the very high wage level in the cockpit. The part time models offered are attractive from a Swiss point of view. In principle, Swiss employees are free to take on a part time job. It is important that the statutory maximum working hours are not exceeded. In addition, they are now examining extended part time models. However, this is not about the pilots wish for more predictability. Rather the focus is on saving jobs.