Aviation workers look to redirect skills

By Jack Naudi
Indianapolis Star

As a young boy, Shoaib Ahmad was enthralled with planes and hoped to fly them as an adult. Unfortunately, colorblindness kept him grounded.

So Ahmad, born in Pakistan and raised in New York, did the next best thing. He learned how to fix planes.

To find work, Ahmad chased airline mechanic jobs from one coast to another, landing at United Airlines' maintenance operation in Indianapolis a year ago. Today, he is jobless, a victim of the 9/11 attacks that cut airline travel to the bone and a poor economy that has smothered any recovery.

He is not the only one.

Nationally, tens of thousands of airline workers have lost their jobs.

In a few cases, losing an aviation job was liberating, a forced opportunity to try something new. Many people, however, are still looking for work. And the majority of those who have found jobs have had to settle for lower pay and fewer benefits.

Passengers probably have noticed little difference because the cuts have come primarily in maintenance and administrative positions. But those who have lost jobs feel the cuts deeply.

Ahmad wants to remain a mechanic, even if it means taking a pay cut.

"I can't see myself doing anything else," he said. "Unlike other people, I enjoy what I do. I like working on (planes). I like being around them. It's my first love."

Many in his position have turned to The Air Project for help. The federally financed program run by Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana offers career guidance and training.

Tori Bucko, the program's director, said her agency's task is to uncover skills that can be redirected to other jobs. About two-thirds of Air Project clients find work outside the airline industry.

A typical example is Brad Gradert, a 27-year-old who has worked as an airline mechanic since graduating from high school. When he was laid off from United in November 2001, Gradert wasn't sure what the future held.

"I couldn't think what else I could possibly do besides working on an airplane. That's all I ever wanted to do," he said.

But with Air Project's help, Gradert managed to transfer his airline mechanic skills to a passion acquired after moving to Indianapolis three years ago: car racing. After taking a four-week course, he was hired to work as a mechanic for 310 Racing, an Indy Racing League team.

"It's demanding," he said. "The whole month of May, I had only one day off. But in the end, qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 (with driver George Mack), there's nothing like it. To walk out on the grid, you're on a stage."

Former US Airways call-center employees have adapted fairly well, Bucko said, because they tend to have flexible skills. Most have found work in customer service and sales. Some have gone into court reporting and healthcare. Others returned to college. Most former airline workers, Bucko said, should expect to make less money.

Bill Plymale, a United mechanic who lost his job in August, had to give up a planned one-month trip with his wife to California on their Harley. And they also are putting off having a baby — at least for a short while. While Plymale recently found a job as an elevator mechanic, it doesn't pay close to his United wages.

"Basically, you're starting from scratch," said Plymale.

Plymale also considers himself lucky to have a job; more than half of his co-worker friends from United remain out of a work.

Bucko is steering those who want to remain in the industry to other parts of the country. Most people decide to get out of the industry so they don't have to move for a job.

Ahmad is No. 12 on United's callback list, although he could end up at maintenance centers in Oakland or San Francisco. He is resigned to moving if it means he can keep working on planes.

"It's the difference between having a job, and having a job you enjoy," he said.