Originally Posted by
FlyerJosh
IMHO, pilots should be paid based on EXPERIENCE and YEARS OF SERVICE. Not on the size aircraft they fly. Yeah I know the arguement that larger planes = larger revenues, yada yada yada. But show me an airline that flies only 777s. Without the feed from smaller aircraft, those big planes wouldn't be nearly as profitable.
The problem here is that our traditional longevity pay scale only allows this to happen if you stay at one company forever...management has gotten wise and is making that hard to do. The only solution would be a single national union where you union seniority stayed with you regardless of who you work for.
I disagree about aircraft size...key employees who handle goods (pax) have traditionally gotten paid based on the revenue generation they are responsible for...a widebody can gross $1M on a long international leg. UPS/FDX undoubtedly earn more than that.
If I were king, the pay system would work like this...
No longevity for pay. Hourly pay is based on equipment and seat and is fixed. A 737 FO gets paid $XX/hour, period. A new hire and a ten-year vet get the same rate (hopefully the ten year guy has the common sense to transition to a bigger airplane.
Longevity can count for vacations and benefits.
You DEFINATELY keep seniority...this rewards time in service with bigger (higher paying) equipment, QOL, and upgrades. You don't really need longevity, cuz the more senior pilots get paid more anyway (bigger airplanes).
Getting rid of longevity removes the temptation to replace older pilot groups with younger workgroups (less longevity = cheaper).
Higher starting pay would drive up the competetion at the entry-level and hopefully weed out some of the @ss-clowns getting in today.
Jet Blue based their startup business model partly on low longevity (although that's fading fast).
Ornstien and a few others intentionally "churn" their pilot group...musical domiciles and torturous QOL forces out most senior folks, keeping the average pilot low on the scale.
Regionals have to compete with each other, which puts experienced workforces (AWAC, XJet) at the mercy of younger and less experienced groups.
Longevity is bad...essentially it is working for nothing today in exchange for a promise of more later. But the folks making the promises are the Lorenzo's, Hulas', and Ornstiens of the world
Get the picture?
EDIT: My suggested dollar value for a 50 seat RJ: $75K FO, $125K CA (If they have to raise fares, tough)