He explained to AOL Jobs that the 6-10 percent pay cuts were part of the bankruptcy proceedings and were imposed by the previous management, before his team came on board. Union workers will have that money returned to them, but the unrepresented workers are not so fortunate. "Of course they want their money back," Bedford said in a recent AOL interview. "But I was impressed with their awareness of what's important. If getting that money back puts their jobs at risk, they don't want it."
"It was a big risk to film during the transition," Bedford continued, speaking of the merge between Frontier, Midwest and Republic. "That's probably the worst time you can imagine to open your company up to cameras. But it's also the best time to show employees at their finest. I saw how hard they worked. They looked at this challenge like it was just another hill to take."
The important jobs
The hills were a little steeper for Bedford as he struggled to do the various airline jobs, but he acknowledged, "part of the experience is being humbled. Dumping aircraft lavs is not very glamorous, but you don't appreciate it until you take the time to do it. You realize what an important job it is, which is a perspective you don't get in your office at headquarters."
The proper disposal of human waste from planes is actually so important that the FAA closely monitors it, and can dole out a hefty $10,000 fine to any airline found guilty of improper disposal. In the 'Undercover Boss' episode, the employee who shows Bedford how to hook up the disposal tubing jokes that Bedford was just 'christened' when he accidentally gets some fluids on himself. Disgusted, he manages to keep working, then chats with his supervisor about the working conditions.
Garbage is another sticky issue Bedford deals with. As an "aircraft appearance agent," he and his team have all of seven minutes to clean each plane between flights -- and that includes cleaning the seats and the seat pockets, the bathrooms and the floors. It's enough to make you vow to never leave an empty snack wrapper in the seat pocket in front of you ever again. Bedford is impressed how everyone, even the pilots and flight attendants, chip in to help sometimes.
More challenging jobs
Speaking of employees willing to multi-task, when Bedford heads to Oklahoma City, one of the company's smaller markets with only four or five flights a day, he works alongside a "cross utilization agent," who is essentially a one-man band, doing everything from serving as the marshal who directs planes to their assigned gate to unloading luggage to checking in passengers.
And what airline 'Undercover Boss' experience would be complete without a stint as a flight attendant? The gregarious Bedford does such a good job chatting up the passengers that he inadvertently slows down the boarding process and causes the flight to be delayed. One of his fellow flight attendants mentions that he is working several jobs to make ends meet and is disappointed with his pay cut. The two men bond over the fact that they both have eight children to support.
Bedford's children range in age from 2 to 17, and it wasn't easy leaving them for the nine days it took to film the 'Undercover Boss' episode. "I married a living saint," he said of his wife. "Between the two of us, she's clearly the strong one." His job generally takes him away from the family only for about two days a week, so it was a bit of a sacrifice.
But Bedford said his invaluable experience was worth it. "I learned a lot, and got so much more out of it than it cost me to put into it," he said. "The most important thing I learned was how passionate our employees are about making our airline work."
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