Originally Posted by
The Juice
Sounds more like you sold yourself short from day 1, doing all this for a lot less than the pilots who you are, in your own words, imitating to be. You want to be one, then makes the moves to do it. If you are as experienced as you say you are, shouldnt be an issue at all. Right?
So, no. Being "part of American/Airways" entitles you to zippo when it comes to being a part of their seniority list unless it is something you negotiate and AA pilots agree to. And why would they agree to it? They wouldnt. Keep dreaming.
Serious question...
What would you recommend a young aspiring pilot do? Not everyone can be a military pilot. Part 91 or corporate jobs are usually hard to come by.
Working at a regional is selling yourself short, and doing the job for less than mainline pilots, effectively undercutting them. It's difficult to raise the level of compensation when flying simply gets shipped from contractor to contractor, and ALPA both negotiates and advocates contracts that trade monetary gains for potential growth. I can promise you that no one is more unhappy about the existence of regional airlines than regional pilots. It's a mess. And unfortunately for many people, it's really the only way to gain the experience that the major and legacy carriers require. How do you propose to stop the undercutting that regional pilots are engaging in? Is alienating them the correct answer? Blaming the pilot groups? Clearly a merger/integration is off the table, and flow-through agreements have proven to be useless. Staple? Integration, but with eternal fences?
I'm honestly not trolling or trying to be inflammatory, I'm just really curious as to what appears to be the best (realistic) solution from your vantage point.
I sympathize with your distain for the PSA situation. I dislike it too. But there are many regional pilots who aren't interested in selling others out for personal gain. We seem to be rewarded with a 10 year upgrade in a Dash-8, though. There must be a better way...