Originally Posted by
RonRicco
Love you T, and I am not necessarily against senioirty based pay, banding etc, all I want to see is the overall plan and the numbers. Just like setting a goal of "restoration" and repeating it over and over again, I want to know what "since bigger does not pay more" is going to look like.
So, while yes the 747 guys might be taking a "pay cut" if they down bid airplanes, if we agree (and you did on an earlier post) that without increasing the costs of the current pilot contract, the fact is they would have never reached that hourly rate in the first place. As a matter of fact, for most, the aircraft that they down bid to will still most likely pay more than the seniority based pay average of $215.
Tell me what it is going to look like with our current contract value. Tell me what it will look like if we then decide to upgauge or down gauge the airline.. Everybody gonna be happy flying an A380 for the same as a 717 if the captain pay is $215?
What I just cannot understand is why everybody keeps interjecting an airplane type into the equation. Forget all about shiney new airplanes. Forget about big ones. If you guys haven't figured it out yet, DAL is not going to be in the super premium airplane business. If you want to fly a whale, go apply at UAL. This is about longevity based pay. You have a pulse... stay here a long time... get paid more... every year. It's that simple. WhoGAS whether it is a 380 or a 717? It... doesn't... matter... If the company decides to buy a bunch more 777s.. Great. It won't change a thing. More guys then get to fly to Dubai. Or if they find that idea repugnant as I do, they can stay on domestic without penalty. If they buy a bunch of 717s... great. It will affect the company's bottom line seat mile costs, not my W2. The company has to justify its' affect on the bottom line. I could can stay senior on the 737 and fly where/when I want. (And I'll bet you will be surprised at how many guys bid off of the super premium stuff when they find they can make the same coin flying MCO turns.) So let's say that they buy something that is more "productive" and the company starts printing (more) money. In contract negotiations, all we need to do is raise the Y-intercept of the money/time graph. Over time, it has gotten waaaaaay too complicated, and it is a broken model now because we do not have a DB retirement plan.
And your last sentence is interesting. Assuming that they are the same DOH, one guy might like flying a 380 and laying over in Dubai. The other guy might prefer laying over at home every night for the same coin. It becomes a QOL choice at that point, and neither is penalized for making that choice. Timbo could layover in MLB and sail on his layover.
