Originally Posted by
sailingfun
Keep in mind that as the mainline expands they are hiring in very low cost employees in every division. No retirements and low wages for many years. A growing airline can support increases because of the net employee costs relative to revenue drop with new hires. SWA lived off that concept for 25 years. Once the magic chain was broken and they stopped growing employee costs soared. In addition headcount is growing slower relative to revenue as many departments increase productivity.
Expect the company opener to focus heavily on that concept with the pilot group also. Don't buy into forum hysteria that is sure to come but keep a sharp eye on jobs. Money is not everything. In the past DALPA's estimates of jobs lost or gained have proven to be very accurate. There will be contractual changes that effect jobs but there is no reason to have a net job loss when everything is tallied in this contract. We gave enough in jobs in the past.
As we are retiring senior pilots and hiring newbies, our 'average' pilot costs will go down, no doubt, just look at teh cost savings with a number 10,500 as a Captain, vs. any 12+ year Capt's pay/benefits.
And parking the 50 seat RJ's, replacing them with 717's will also drive down 'unit costs'.
But the next big productivity concession I see coming in this contract is Pay Banding. American just did it, and you KNOW this industry is always Monkey See, Monkey Do, so I expect we'll get it shoved down our throats too.
OK, here's my suggestion for pay banding...
Everything, from the 717 to the 777, is banded to the soon to be parked 747 rates!
Now, let's see how just how badly Richard wants it....
