Bankrate: You write candidly about the personal and family sacrifices you made to be a career aviator. What would you have done differently?
Sullenberger: In retrospect, I would have begun a second career earlier. I also could have moved more times as the company closed pilot bases to follow my job. Living closer to where I was based would have meant a shorter commute, giving me more of an opportunity to be at home, but it also would have meant uprooting my family more often.
Bankrate: Most assume that commercial pilots live very comfortable lives financially, yet you paint a very different picture. What was the cause of your financial challenges and how did you overcome them?
Sullenberger: The root cause of aviation's challenges is the tremendous financial pressure that this industry has been experiencing for decades, which has only gotten worse in recent years, especially following the events in 2001. The kinds of financial difficulties that many people are experiencing now, airline employees have been experiencing for eight years or more as a result of the changes in the industry and the intense financial pressures we are facing. I was able to overcome them by trying to positively influence the factors I could control in every other area of my life.
Bankrate: Where did commercial aviation go wrong?
Sullenberger: Most pilots start flying for the love of it, but like in any other profession, it has to have enough to offer to make it a worthwhile career choice compared to all the others. Where the industry has gone wrong is in not treating their employees as valued partners, and instead thinking of them as only costs.
Bankrate: What is the single best piece of money advice you were ever given?
Sullenberger: The best financial advice I've received is to know why you hold every one of your investments and have a concrete plan for when you need to get out of them.
Bankrate: You formed a lifesaving bond with 155 total strangers that fateful day. Do you stay in touch with them?
Sullenberger: Yes, I stay in touch with my passengers and crew. The lifelong bond that has been formed because of the event has reminded all of us that it is our connections to our family and friends that matter most.
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