Originally Posted by sailingfun

I have no involvement with the company in any way shape or form and never have. I simply asked several of the reps about where the survey came in at. All were willing to give a basic idea without repeating hard numbers about what initial raise most pilots want.
In general airline pilots tend to have above average intelligence. When they fill out something as important as a contract survey they are thinking about their family and how best to provide the highest quality of life for them. They understand most of the forces at work in the industry and will try and construct survey items and numbers they feel are realistic and achievable given all the constraints in this industry. There are always a few who will put down bizarre things they demand but they are very few. The impression I got from my reps was that the contract surveys were for the most part well thought out and very rational. Our opener was crafted from those surveys. I guess this forum is now saying we should ignore the wishes of the pilot group especially if they don't match up with what a specific individual wants.
The last classic line you here is to simply state that everyone involved in the contract which is a fairly large group are all liars and its a big conspiracy where they forged all the results.