Originally Posted by
kfahmi
This is an honest question.
The system of pay in the airline industry is beyond convoluted. The rules covering regular pay, soft pay, deadhead pay, breaking guarantee pay...I mean, they make the engineer's panel of a Lockheed Constellation look positively minimalist and simplistic by comparison. Just trying to understand the airline pay system would probably drive an accomplished corporate tax accountant to an early grave.
I know of no other industry that is legally allowed to require an employee to report for work at 0800, finish duty at 2100, and get paid for 4 hours of work. (As happened to me today.)
Why are we paid this way? Why don't we have a system like every other hourly job in America, where you are paid from the time you clock in till the time you clock out, minus perhaps a lunch break?
Why do we allow ourselves to give 13 hours of our lives for 4 hours of pay?
Seriously?
Many many pure salary jobs work this way. I work in the Army Reserves and there is no such thing as a duty day, we work until the job or mission is complete. But many jobs in corporate America often involve working late hours etc with no extra incentive pay.
I agree that regional pay is crap, but there's many jobs that don't pay extra if you don't leave the office til 10pm. If you want the least amount work for the most pay and don't want to hold out for a Legacy gig trying flying corporate. Most (keyword being MOST) corporate guys I know/talk to fly about half as much as I do. The catch is that they're on call almost every day...