Originally Posted by
Judge Smails
Why would anyone want to come and be the second lowest paid Airbus pilot, with NO upgrade in sight at all for anyone hired today? Every captain we need for the current aircraft order is already on property unless attrition picks way up or another order is placed.
As for me, yeah, I took the job, but when I did the pay disparity was nowhere near what it is today, and I upgraded in under 3 years. That's not happening today. I'd love to get out too because a contract is nowhere in sight.
When you say "no upgrade in sight," that's just not true. We have 95 airplanes on property now. According to the fleet plan, we will have 157 in FIVE YEARS. How can you say upgrades will stop when the company is growing 50% in 5 years? I would say that days of 2.5 year upgrades are over (until / unless another order is announced). But 4 to 5 years sounds reasonable.
In initial training early this year, I ran across a DTW FO who moved half way up the FO side of the base in one year. I've moved 1/4 of the way up in about the same amount of time. Not as much as I'd like, but by the jist of what I read of the last quarterly notes, it SOUNDED like management wants to put some planes on order in '18. Trying to decide between Airbus and Bombardier.
Also, from the beginning of this year to present, there are 9 more 319s at the end of the fleet plan because they aren't going back to the lessor. This is the same as buying 9 more planes (which need Captains.)