Originally Posted by
David Puddy
Good points. No, I don't support the ME3 capacity dumping practices. When the Chinese dump cheap steel on the U.S. market I don't support that either. I also don't support excess Saudi oil pumping to keep prices low to kill-off our North Dakota fracking industry.
I am very hopeful that NAI sees the light and increases crew wages to more competitive levels - especially since they will need to attract more pilots to grow if they are legally allowed to expand.
I just think we forget that most non US/Euro legacy pilots are waaaaay underpaid on a relative basis and nobody seems to care until NAI threatens the more lucrative routes. Again, Virgin Atlantic pilots are not paid well to fly 787/744/A330s relative to their Delta peers. Now that it is more established, let's hope for more competitive wages for NAI 737 and 787 pilots...
It's not even really just about the pilots (although I know that's our number one concern). It's the whole operation being run as a Flag of Convenience carrier from Ireland (where they don't even plan to serve with their LCC model). How is proper oversight of a carrier supposed to take place if the carrier doesn't even land in your country?
The planes you see now are from NAI in Norway, and fly according to the laws and customs (and taxes) of Norway. That's too confining if you want to offer seats across the atlantic for $50 plus fees....