SAN FRANCISCO -- When the FAA announced that curbside check-in at airports would be eliminated, nobody felt worse than the skycaps -- those friendly folks who help passengers with their luggage.
While passengers gloomily tried to get on their way at the reopened San Francisco International Airport on Thursday, the skycaps stood idly at their usual curbside posts, remarking on the unjustness of the whole affair.
"This is the third time they stopped us," said a clearly upset, elderly skycap at the TWA post. He declined to give his name, but he was generous with his opinions of the Federal Aviation Administration's order: "They did this during the Gulf War, too, I remember. They always pick on the weakest link."
Skycaps perhaps have just cause to feel singled out, as each time the FAA fears terrorist threats, curbside check-in is immediately curtailed. In the past, the FAA has relented, reinstating the service -- but this time the ban looks permanent, the skycaps here fear.
"They say it's gone indefinitely, that's from the FAA -- they're not saying a thing," said another skycap who also wished to conceal his name. And does this ban bother him? "Like heck it does," he said.
Ron Wilson, a spokesman for SFO, said that he can understand the skycaps' frustration over the new rules. "They would be mad, that's their job," he said. "But those people will be redeployed to other parts of the airport."
Redeployment, however, may not be something these fellows will like very much. According to an FAA website, "Wages (for skycaps) range from $1,100 to $2,100 per month." But the site adds that "skycaps receive tips, which can be considerable if numerous passengers use the terminal and the skycap is helpful and outgoing."
And depending on that friendliness, it's possible that skycaps could make more than their station suggests, according to a 1995 report in the Wall Street Journal.
The article said: "Skycaps handle hundreds of bags each day. About 20 percent of customers don't tip, they say, but many are quite generous, palming $5 or $10 or even $20 bills. A bad day's tips might be $100, a good day's $400."
"A skycap pocketing $40 an hour, working a 40-hour week could earn $80,000 a year. Estimates among aviation experts for skycap earnings range between $40,000 and $70,000 annually, with some skycaps suspected of bringing in as much as $100,000."
Here at SFO, the skycaps would not comment on how this will affect their livelihood. But the elderly man did say that he's had enough with this job. "Three more months, I say, three more months. Then I'm out -- 37 years on this job."
