Originally Posted by
padre2992
Carl, how about this from the older valid 2009 Form 41 data:
Going back to 2009 and adding the yearly pay raises since then.
Form 41 average 2009 Wages and Salaries
Delta $132,374
SWA $176725
We know that SWA received a 2010 pay raise of between 1% and 3% based on operating margin (I used 2% in the calcuations), and a guaranteed raise in 2011 of 2%, and nothing in 2012 as their contract is amendable shortly.
Delta pilots received the following changes in the same time period: 4%, 4%, and 4%
That brings the wages and salaries numbers to:
Delta $148,902
SWA $183,865
So using the valid 2009 Form 41 data, the average SWA pilot is currently 23.5% ahead of an average Delta pilot.
If I contribute 2% of my pay to my 401k, Delta matches 2% and also adds another 12%.
If an SWA pilot contributes 2% of his pay, SWA matches 2%, but adds nothing else.
Combining those two major components of our compensation, it would appear the average SWA pilot is about 11.5% ahead of the average Delta pilot (23.5% - 12%). I guess that is close to where Roger value comes from.
But the question remains, is the median Delta First Officer on the 737? Is the median Delta Captain on the 737?
The numbers posted on most sites are total pilot costs. That means that while the average pilot might only need 11 percent with the difference in the average fleet sizes it would take a larger raise to reach parity with SWA. There are a lot of ways to look at the data.
There is a lot going on at the moment. It looks like we might well have a contract to vote on in the near term. I suspect however its not going to be what most pilots like. The question however becomes what strategy puts the most money in your pocket. We take a 3 or 4 year contract now or enter the traditional section 6 process and take 4 or 5 years to produce a contract. Each pilot will have to decide for himself which option is better for his family.