Originally Posted by
Blueskies21
I want mainline to recapture scope as much as the next guy, it would help my career progression, however you are VERY VERY WRONG. It's more complex than the wages. Wages are a tiny part of the bottom line and we're all ego-driven to believe otherwise.
You're in complete denial. Insurance premiums are what they are. That's how liability is handled. If there was not the huge difference between RJ pilot wages and Major pilot wages, there would be no outsourcing to the regionals. There has been additional positives for management at the majors such as removing debt from the balance sheet, but the initial catalyst for this debacle is the much cheaper cost of pilot labor at the regionals.
Originally Posted by
Blueskies21
Do you know why mainline's outsource? I'll let you in on a secret, it isn't the wages. It's the liability. Regionals indemnify their mainline partners of liability for their operations.
Totall wrong, read above. Indemnification occurs through insurance. Airlines have ALWAYS considered it just the cost of doing business. Majors outsource to save on labor costs. Period.
Originally Posted by
Blueskies21
In this litigation centric society, if you could transfer the risk for half of your operations to someone else, still collecting the revenue for the operation, wouldn't you do it?
Notice in the Continental 3407 crash how quickly it became the Colgan 3407 crash. The families who are suing won't have a claim against the assets of Continental they have a claim against Colgan. Much smaller fish.
Again, you misunderstand the system. The families may have a claim against the respective airline, but the money to pay that claim comes from insurance. Those premiums are a cost of doing business at both the majors and the regionals. Transfer of risk is meaningless as to why outsourcing was desired by the majors in the first place. Without your continued willingness to work for far lower wages, there would not be the desire for continued outsourcing.
Originally Posted by
Blueskies21
It's all about risk management, not wages.
No, it's about your justification for continuing to give management their main impetus to continue outsourcing. We caved on scope, and we never should have. You continue to give management their main tool to continue outsourcing, and you shouldn't. That's where we are.
Carl