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From pilot to train conductor: Swiss and SBB are examining a new labor cooperation
SBB has too few train conductors, the Swiss will soon have too many pilots. The two companies are now discussing whether the flight crew could also be used by the federal railroads.
Will Swiss pilots study train schedules soon? Photo: trapezoidal
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 crown crisis. A quick recovery in the number of passengers is not in sight. Even Switzerland does not expect to return to normalcy, as it became known in 2019, until 2024 at the earliest.
The Lufthansa subsidiary continues to emphasize that it wants to avoid layoffs. There is no reduction program yet. But Swiss boss Thomas Klühr has announced that costs must be cut by up to 20 percent. And Lufthansa manager Harry Hohmeister, Klühr’s predecessor in Switzerland and a master of cost savings, recently said he considered large-scale layoffs at the group level to be “inevitable.”
Misery in aviation now could lead to new collaborations. SBB could become the savior of the Swiss emergency, mitigating potential loss of wages or even layoffs at the airline. A spokesman for the federal railways confirms: “There are considerations for possible cooperation.” Initial non-binding contacts had been made. Swiss does not want to comment on this.
There are “few or no” alternatives for pilots
The focus is particularly on the cabin crew. In the latest member magazine of the Swiss pilots association Aeropers, its president Kilian Kraus writes: “In recent months, the idea of the famous second pillar has surely come to mind.”
With this, Kraus is addressing a sore point. Because, as he continues, there are “few or no” alternatives in qualified professions for pilots in the labor market. Therefore, those who have an additional title under their belt are happy. Not without reason, the representatives of the pilots have appealed to future generations to acquire skills other than flying and to continue their education.
Aeropers spokesman Thomas Steffen confirms the problem: “The pilots have extremely demanding training, but at the same time very subject-specific.” A degree is no longer required to apply for the Swiss-Cockpit, unlike in Swissair, where there were times when a university degree or military training was required. Finding another highly skilled job is difficult for today’s pilots, says Steffen. “In a crisis anyway.”
There seems to be an interest in switching partially or totally from the clouds to the rails. The SBB spokesperson says that there are already some former active aircraft pilots in the train conductors team. And: “We are currently receiving a lot of requests from the aviation industry, especially in the greater Zurich area.” The training of train drivers takes from one and a half to two years. All classes are already occupied for 2020.
Simplified hiring process for pilots?
SBB’s interest is not a coincidence. “As you know, we have underestimated the need for locomotive personnel in recent years and we plan to hire too defensively,” says the spokesman. The crisis in the crown is also holding back training and higher education. Therefore, several train connections are canceled, depending on the region, even until spring 2021.
The SBB spokesperson suggests that a simplified recruitment procedure for Swiss pilots would be possible, even if the suitability and approval requirements were issued by the Federal Office for Transport. Because: “We can assume that a pilot will normally meet the health or safety requirements.”
In an interview, a Swiss captain is open to a change of scenery: “If my workload at Swiss is significantly reduced, I could imagine doing a part-time job as a train conductor.” But then you need predictable part-time days. The idea has already emerged abroad. In Germany, for example, Germanwings, a Lufthansa subsidiary that will soon disappear, advised its staff to hire Deutsche Bahn.
The salary aspect when changing
However, an exodus in the Swiss cockpit is hardly expected, even if one or the other pilot may be enthusiastic about the engine driver’s cabin. Because the pilots have an interest in staying with the company. In short, salary evolution is closely linked to the affiliation and function of the company. If a co-pilot earns around 70,000 francs at the beginning of his career, after about 30 years it is around 200,000 francs for a long-distance captain. On the contrary, it is a risk for the Swiss to lose too many pilots, because if the economy recovers, the next generation would suddenly disappear, since pilot training takes a long time.
According to Swiss, around one in three cabin crew members currently work part-time. Some of them work elsewhere the rest of the time, sometimes as real estate managers, as financial advisers or in catering. “However, these are exceptions,” says Steffen. Most pilots, even those who work part-time, would not have the opportunity to look for another job.
Switzerland: it’s about saving jobs
This also has to do with the working conditions of the Swiss. “The company claims practically all the flexibility when planning part-time days,” says Steffen. This means: Pilots will only find out the assigned business days and Fridays five days before the start of the new month. “Until now, fixed, self-determined part-time days have not been possible, making it difficult to do other jobs on a regular basis,” says Steffen.
Swiss recognizes irregular working hours. These are an integral part of the job, but are reflected in the still very high salary level in the cabin. The part-time models offered are attractive from a Swiss point of view. In principle, Swiss employees are free to accept a part-time job. It is important that the legal maximum working hours are not exceeded. In addition, they are now examining expanded models part-time. But it is not about the drivers’ desire for greater predictability. Rather: “The focus is on saving jobs.”
