Originally Posted by
Avroman
How is starting at $40 to fly a CR2 a problem when Frontier, Spirit, Virgin, ect. are paying less than that to start flying an Airbus? Seems to me the problem is with the starting Airbus pay today more than Endeavor's starting pay (granted that does take into account the $20k/year retention pay, but that's not just a newhire bonus. All active pilots get that so it's effectively a pay rate)
And $25/hr to fly a DC-9, Fokker,B-732, even FE on a B727 is pretty pathetic even in 1980 Dollars. So what if it's your first year, that should mean you don't deserve a wage to support your family? Yea it was nice in 1980 when a Pan Am B747 captain took home $180K (in 1980 Dollars), yet a United captain is still taking home that same amount today. Progress is beginning to be made on the bottom of the regionals, meanwhile Delta puts a TA to its pilots (after billions in profits) that looks to be overall status quo. Sure the pay rates go up a bit, but at the expense of QOL and other pay opportunities.
The problem is that the Legacies allowed flying for their code to
ever be done outside of their seniority lists. Regional feed should be part of the system seniority list, performed by mainline pilots and their pay should be in keeping with longevity and equipment size/responsibility. There are many reasons it isn't, but most are shameful and certainly nothing to brag about.
I'm all for a living wage, and never meant to represent any differently. To point out on an anonymous internet message board that an RJ new hire makes more than a Frontier Airbus new hire, and the Frontier pilot is somehow inferior, disregards (and disrespects) the struggles we continue to face at Frontier, and the many years of prospective provided by the history of airline pilot's pay.
And here I thought this thread was back on to the QOL of new hire reserve pilots at F9
