Originally Posted by
bedrock
UNtil the 90's there were no "regional" jets. Everything was commuter turboprop feeder airline--which paid crap. BUT, you did eventually move into a good paying airline job after 5 years or so. Regional jets popped up and mainline wanted to buy them and have mainline pilots fly them on a B scale. Mainline pilots said no way. Mainline mgmt., then negotiated scope relief to create alter ego airlines flying the "small" 50 seat regional jets over 5-700 mile distances. A few years later, after 9/11 bankruptcies, these "regional" jets are flying transcons on mainline routes and mainline pilots are ceding more and more scope.
The COMAIR strike of early 2001 CRIPPLED Delta and forced them to increase pay. After that, EVERY mainline was hellbent to outsource flying to multiple regionals to diversify risk. But they got greedy and went overboard. Post 9/11 meant pilots were cheap and plentiful, there were no flight time regulations, other than commericial mins of 250 hrs. So "airline pilot" suddenly became an entry level job. MESA and maybe some other regionals were hiring at 250 hrs in order to pay 19,000/yr.
Here's a little perspective from a former furloughed mainline DL pilot;
The Comair strike "crippled" Delta only because...MAINLINE DELTA PILOTS refused to fly CMR struck work..even though you were flying DELTA passengers. I know..I flew a 727 thru CVG several times a week throughout the strike and we checked our "struck work guide" on every turn. We could have EASILY covered every COMAIR city pair and moved DELTA passengers through the system. HAD WE NOT SUPPORTED COMAIR PILOTS, the strike would have been CRUSHED.
Instead, we wrote strike assessment checks and did everything we could do to support COMAIR pilots close the pay gap and make them the highest paid RJ drivers in the industry. Then 9/11, and furloughed DL pilots were replaced by those very same COMAIR pilots. Did those COMAIR pilots refuse to fly those "transcons" until all mainline furloughees were recalled? No..instead, the COMAIR MEC refused to let furloughed DELTA pilots sit in the RIGHT seat to raise the gear for the "graybeards" in return for preferred hiring at DELTA.
Had the COMAIR MEC done the right thing..this whole scope, RJ pay, whipsawing FFD race to the bottom could have been shut down in 2001. Every former COMAIR PILOT would have had a stack of rec letters from DL MAINLINE PILOTS and all of us would be flying across the pond buying beers for former COMAIR pilots.
Instead..we got the RJDC and years of scope relaxation during post 9/11 BK contract concessions that, believe me..no mainline pilot wanted. Yeah, yeah..we "sold scope for pay".. Fine, but RJ guys sure didn't pay for it and certainly benefitted from it for the last 15 years.