Crawl

What a fresh concept. I've never heard of it before. Unfortunately, it's not really practical until you can collectively get that message across to all current and prospective airline pilots, and convince all of them to agree.

From what I've heard, C5 actually used to be one of the best regionals to work for. Pay was not amazing but schedules were good and employees were treated well. On time bonuses more than made up for the lack of "regular" pay. Those days disappeared when they started transitioning to the Dash's, operations all moved to CLE, etc. etc. and the whole thing went downhill. Then after ALPA was voted in, management continued to underhandedly do everything in their power to keep the pilot's (and flight attendant's) QOL down as negotiating leverage.

CommutAir wasn't my first choice, but I don't necessarily regret my decision. I was off reserve in 2 months, held a line with 14 days off/weekends off after 5 months, and if things continue as they are, will upgrade in roughly 12-16 months. I'll have off for Thanksgiving and Xmas. Had I gone to any other regional, that would not be the case.

But that's only me, and I suppose I got pretty lucky here. I know "chasing the upgrade" can get you burned, but some of us are willing to take that risk. The TA's pay rates are nothing to get too excited about, but the change in work rules and how pay is calculated will be a huge improvement... if it's voted in. Unfortunately, there are a few "more seasoned" pilots that want to get back the airline they had 7+ years ago, and will vote "NO" until the contract is printed in gold ink.

So back to FloridaFlippper, while I understand where you're coming from, and have shared your view in the past, I've realized it's a lot easier to be a critic when you're watching from the sideline. The negatives of this TA being voted down far outweigh the lack of positives if it's voted in.