By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SKY Bahamas President Randy Butler yesterday called the two-day industrial action from Bahamasair pilots “irresponsible and careless”, adding that the pilots are already overpaid.

His statement came as the management of Bahamasair expressed disappointment in pilots for engaging in a sick out “in a bid to secure a pay package which far exceeds their local and regional counterparts”.

According to the airline, some of its turbo prop pilots earn $91,000 a year with some jet captains taking home $132,000 before overtime and benefits.

The pilots engaged in a sick out on Monday afternoon, shortly after representatives from the Bahamas Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) walked out of a negotiation meeting at the Department of Labour. The sick out continued yesterday leaving many holiday travellers stranded.

When contacted for comment, Mr Butler said the two days of industrial action has cost the cash-strapped airline a loss of “a couple hundred thousands of dollars.”

“The pilots are overpaid,” he told The Tribune. “They fly in non-complex areas. They’re home at night. They do very short flights. There’s no hardship and the government pays for training every year and that costs about $10,000 plus. Then there are the other benefits they get like a medical fund, etc. Furthermore, their demands are a driving force when it comes to what other companies in the industry feel like they have to pay even though those standards exceed regional norms.”

He continued: “This is the holiday time when Bahamasair is actually going to be able to make some money to do some things. But they have lost easily a couple hundred thousand dollars already because of the industrial action, and if they deny it I would be able to show you how they lost it.

“This is not the time to inconvenience people. They know the government is supporting the airline. So are you suggesting the government has to put in more subsidies?”

Mr Butler suggested the problems facing Bahamasair reflect a broader issue of a lack of a national strategic plan for the country.

“Because we don’t have a plan, whether for financial services, the aviation industry, tourism or whatever, it seems we don’t know what to do,” he said.

“The government has long promoted Bahamasair as an essential service when in fact it is no longer an essential service. Sky Bahamas, Pineapple Air and all these other domestic airlines are servicing islands that Bahamasair is not. And no one in the world is having national airlines. That happens in third world countries to facilitate corruption.”

In a statement, Bahamasair Senior Manager of Customer and Public Relations Phyllis Johnson said the airline has made “every effort to negotiate” with BALPA during industrial agreement negotiations.

Ms Johnson then compared the salaries of Bahamasair pilots to those of other regional pilots in order to highlight the stark contrasts.

“Several captains on a turbo prop aircraft earn the maximum of $91,000 annually,” she said. “Likewise, several jet captains earn the maximum salary of $132,000 annually before benefits of 18 per cent and overtime is paid. The proposal from the pilots would result in increments that range from $5,100 to $8,400 per person over the life of the contract.

“When a comparison is done with other regional and state owned carriers, a 15 year turbo prop captain earns an annual salary of $42,627, less 15 per cent income tax of $6,394 for a take home pay of $36,233.

“In April 2010 pilots of another state-owned carrier took a 45 per cent pay cut followed by 40 per cent of all pilots being laid off. As a result of high labour costs and operating expenses this airline was subsequently acquired by another airline.”