No, I don't have all the answers, but I came from the regionals three years ago and I still shake my head at the things I took for granted there that don't exist here:

Trip pay protection; schedulers who actually followed the CBA (I rarely had to quote the contract to a scheduler and when I did, it was basically fixed immediately); training events/vacation/sick days that paid as much (essentially) as a normal trip; a trip trade system; a robust safety culture with quarterly reports that dug deep into what we were doing wrong and why, instead of hearing about every incident through word of mouth; a functional reserve pilot system; new hires who were put into the lowest paying airplane in the most junior base; and chief pilots who you could call when something funny was going on and they would actually fix it.

Oh well, at least Atlas gives me the same retirement contribution I got flying a CRJ.

So, let's say I'm king for a day and the company asks what they can do. How about follow the CBA! Scheduling, Travel, hotels, catering, PAYROLL! How much of your contact with the company is spent fighting to insist they comply with the CBA? For me, a large majority. If they're playing by the rules, I don't need to talk to anybody. Rarely happens.

As for "breaking the bank" - why do Flynn & Co. get paid on par or better than the majors while we lag so far behind? Do you really think paying us industry standard (that is, average pay instead of below average) would make the company lose money?

Things are starting to change, at least. Trip trade module is in progress, and word is RD is a pilot's chief pilot. Can't wait to press to test on that.

Bigger picture: DHL is a classic race to the bottom, just like the regionals. We'll be in their crosshairs someday, probably sooner than later. Enjoy it while it lasts, and take all you can. Concessions, shrinking to profitability - none of that crap works.