Originally Posted by
Red97Vette
I would love a great contract, but I also realize that the industry leading wages usually don't last long, or you get to see your flying go to other places. Let's be realistic and get something better, perhaps not what I hear all these xjet guys want though. I'm not a lifer, but 6 years is enough as an FO I don't care what regional your at. We are all basically contract workers, when u get to be the most expensive contractor, guess what..your customer goes elsewhere.
What are you hearing all these greedy XJT guys want? I'm an XJT guy and I told you a few posts back what would make me happy. Give me back the concessions I gave up 3 years ago, a set annual cost of living/inflation adjustment, minor changes to the reserve rules and no PBS. Hardly sounds like asking for the moon to me. But then again I haven't been brainwashed by ASA/Skywest management yet.
Originally Posted by
JustAnotherPLT
Best quote yet. Hand them out to freezingflykid and all the other "almost 3 year FO"s. Seems to be a common trend among them.
I think our management has them right where they want them, drinking the Kol-aid.
That's Captain FreezingflyBOY to you, SIR! If you're going to misrepresent me, at least get my damn name right! And for the record, I haven't been an "almost 3 year FO" in over 4 years, but good try
Seriously though, read and comprehend much? Where did you get the idea I'm in the "concede to succeed" camp? My position throughout this discussion is that our JCBA can and SHOULD be better. Now this Red97Vette character...read on.
Originally Posted by
Red97Vette
Expressjet was headed for bankruptcy, you were expensive and continental pulled a lot of flying, gee I wonder...your industry leading contract must have had nothing what so ever to do with that.
Well if you were familiar with the facts, you would realize just how ludicrous that statement is. Continental lost their shirt bringing CHQ on and quickly realized what a good thing they had with XJT. If we were so outrageously expensive, why were those aircraft (minus the charter fleet) back flying for Continental within 2 years while CHQ's COEX fleet went from 30 airplanes to 8? But why let a thing like facts cloud your argument.
Originally Posted by
Red97Vette
Expressjet got bought, yet they still have the desire to want to sink the company that bailed them out of having to take concessions. No one gets a better contract in BK and now y'all are not headed for it, that is unless you want to sink ASA too. And for what? A few years of another "industry leading" contract only to be praying you dont go BK when mainline drops you years down the road?
We are not in bankruptcy, L-ASA or L-XJT! We (L-XJT) haven't been headed for it since the dark days of 2009. But you're right, we sit around in our posh crewrooms in Houston, Chicago, Cleveland and Newark counting our fat stacks of cash and sipping Pellegrino, plotting how we can take ASA down. Face it, we have you surrounded.
Another idiotic statement. The last thing any of us wants is a bankruptcy. If you're gonna gut my contract, I at least want a say in it, not some bankruptcy court. But evidently we don't even need a judge for that, they have some of you CRJ guys so convinced that the sky is falling that you seem intent to gut it for us!
I don't know where this idea that the ERJ side is are more expensive because of our pilot pay came from. I can only assume it's more company kool-aid and brainwashing by your MEC. If the ERJ side is so expensive, why is that where all the growth and hiring is going? Why not add more CRJs to the UAX operation and park ERJs? Everything I've ever heard is that the CRJ side is more expensive. From what I have witnessed firsthand, it's not because of our paychecks, it's because the rest of the operation is so inefficient over there. Scheduling: Could not be less efficient. Maintenance: Spare parts? Who needs 'em! We'll just take a delay or cancel! SkedPlus and Rainmaker: garbage. It's not an automated system if everything has to go through a human scheduler or pay analyst to be done right!
Originally Posted by
Red97Vette
Your a contractor, in fact a sub contractor, and yet you demand to be paid as if there is no one else that mainline can turn to for a regional feed. GoJets is the classic example, or mesa, or whoever.
Growth = movement and better schedules, and thats exactly what will not happen when you get to be the most expensive. Im not saying we go the route of being broke and flying like GoJets, but we are far from that...lets get a better contract, but not one that blows everything everyone else has away. In a perfect world we would be getting paid the same as mainline and have 100% job security, blah blah blah. Get over it, your at a regional, if your a lifer...sorry, but most of us want to move on and not sit as FOs for a decade either. Getting paid over 100k a year (left seat)...and thats only after 10 years isn't bad. But its never enough...
If all you care about is growth, go fly your beloved 700/900s for free then YOU can laugh in the face of all those GoJet goons when you tout your phenomenal GROWTH. Cause who needs money when you got GROWTH. You know that's a deal mainline just couldn't pass up! You act like you are the only airline that's ever had flying shifted around on you. We've been there too bubba, ala Continental's foray into slumming with CHQ and Colgan. Our contract is STILL head and shoulders better than both of them yet Colgan will cease to be in about 6 months (respect) and CHQ is fighting to get their contract out of the toilet while they continue to lose flying. Hmmmm... Again, those pesky facts...
Listen, here is the bottom line: Even if the CRJ guys JUST took our contract with no modifications, it would be an improvement in YOUR pay and QOL. Most guys here are fine with our current contract (with the usual minor gripes here and there of course, we're all pilots, right?). But NO ONE I know on the ERJ side is willing to accept LESS than what we have RIGHT NOW. Period. Myself included. I don't think that's asking too much to keep what we have, do you? Of course you always aim high in these situations and we all have our wishlist of improvements we'd like to see but at a minimum, keep management out of my pockets. That's all I'm asking.