James Oberstar: “I was shocked to find out that for those airlines who don't have higher standards, that they can hire someone with 250…”

“I was shocked to find out that for those airlines who don't have higher standards, that they can hire someone with 250 hours of experience and put them up there on the flight deck. This didn't become apparent to a lot of the American public until after the horrible tragedy of the Comair crash last year, but it has been something that has been going on for years. These low-budget sorts of carriers are trying to drag down the industry. Instead of hiring people with higher qualifications, paying them an actual decent working wage, when you have someone working for a little bit over minimum wage flying your airplane, do you feel good about that? I don't. With very inadequate training and someone who's been up overnight because they can't afford to have their own apartment and they have to commute across the United States of America to go home and sleep in their mom's house? That's a heck of a way to run an industry. By raising the bar and raising the standard, we will not disadvantage anybody except those who are dragging down the system.”