The Allied Pilots Association has released its video that criticizes William Swelbar, the researcher who runs the Airline Data Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Swelbar, a longtime industry employee and consultant, launched the airline project earlier this year, and crunches airline data on finances, employees, productivity and other areas. He's been quoted in a variety of publications, including the Star-Telegram, the New York Times, the Associated Press and elsewhere.
In the video, the first in a series of weekly updates, the pilots' union takes issue with Swelbar and some of his conclusions about pilot productivity. Cyndi Dawson, an American pilot and union spokeswoman, points out that Swelbar has worked for American when he was a consultant with Eclat Consulting. She also notes that he sits on the board of Hawaiian Airlines, which has a codesharing agreement with American.
Dawson says that Swelbar's project is funded in part by Airline Industry Consortium, whose members include American Airlines. "Mr. Swelbar presents his data in whatever format suits his clients," she says, calling him a "close confidante" of American "with a history of airline affiliations."
The union takes specific issue with Swelbar's claim that American pilots fly fewer hours per month than Southwest pilots. Dawson argues that the two airlines have vastly different business models - American, for example, has different fleets of aircraft, a hub-and-spoke route system and international flying, while Southwest has a single airplane type, an efficient point-to-point system and just flies domestically. She calls it was an unfair comparison, adding that "American pilot work rules are more productive than those of Southwest in every way."
Swelbar, for his part, says he's not beholden to American or any other airline. We spoke with him about the APA's criticism, and he said he's not surprised to be attacked, "but the venom is a little horrifying."
He pointed out that he sits on Hawaiian's board as a representative of the Association of Flight Attendants. He worked for that union and represented attendants in restructuring agreements with United and US Airways.
Swelbar acknowledges he's done work for airlines, including American, at Eclat. But he said that's given him perspective on both the management and labor sides of the business. "It's been a pretty balanced career, quite honestly," he said. He said that the MIT project gets funding from a wide variety of sources in addition to the Airline Industry Consortium, including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
When it comes to the comparisons between American and Southwest, Swelbar said that it is a standard industry measure based on data reported by the Department of Transportation. "I understand why they don't like the numbers, but that doesn't make them any less valid," he said. He said that pilots from other airlines, such as United, have praised his analysis "because the data reveals that they're underpaid compared to the rest of the industry."
In the APA's video, Dawson suggests that any productivity problems ultimately can be traced back to American management, rather than the pilots. "American trades efficiency for flexibility and revenue generation," she says. "That has nothing to do with the pilot contract."
Readers may want to decide for themselves who has the best argument. You can see the union video here. And click here for Swelbar's data site and here for his industry blog.
- Trebor
