The new TA:
Obviously we'll need to read and analyze it, so at the moment we're dealing in hypotheticals and a general but vague idea of what to expect.
First off are pay rates. While it wouldn't be anything impressive, most of our less senior pilots would seriously consider industry average rates. That said, our expectations are being managed to an extent that we may not even get that... It's true we aren't mainline and their profits aren't necessarily correlated to ours, but with the lost decade finally coming to an end (hopefully) and in an era of record profits, it's pretty awful if we can't even secure regional industry average. Presumably this contract was finished to give confidence to mainline partners and recruit more FO's, but if pay has only increased negligibly that won't attract anyone. The exception would be if 1st year rates are dramatically improved but nobody else's are, in which case, I think we'd vote it down.
Scheduling: this seems to be the bread and butter of the new contract, but if there's not even a min day, what's the point? Transparency with the reserve buffers is nice but not enough on its own. I'm tired of sitting a whole day then doing one leg back.
We'll see what's in it soon. I'm not saying "Burn this place down," that hasn't worked out for numerous other pilot groups both historically and recently. However, I don't see the point in passing a TA with only negligible gains, particularly if it's a 5 year term. Maybe we'll get a little better, worst case scenario we stay where we are.