Originally Posted by
Qotsaautopilot
Honestly what the cube warriors make is not my concern. Most of them are completely replaceable and honestly if they want to make more their best course is to gain a skill that makes them hard to replace or to unionize. That's the sad state of corporate America today and why the middle class has disappeared.
We are both unionized and becoming much harder to replace in large numbers. That gives us leverage if we choose to use it by working together instead of an every man for himself. Fly safe. Legal and safe is our concern. If going out late is a byproduct of that then oh well.
Agreed!
Originally Posted by
Macjet
I had a long conversation with an interior employee at Spirit on the infrastructure support side of the company this week. Not director level but not a 9-5 Joe either. After my conversation with them I left feeling even more depressed than ever about this company.
Forget pilot pay, we don't pay anyone market rate. Not HR. Not benefit administrators. Not IT. Not accounting. Not payroll. No one. Everyone is making 50% of going market rates. And the Mirimar turnover rate is atrocious. And Spirit couldn't care less. Loyalty and longevity is meaningless here. It's all dollars. Bendo and Euro were both mentioned in very little regard.
Their assessment of this company was that it'll take a merger level of an event to see the wholesale changes need in management to ever get anyone paid market rates. And that assumes that our management is shown the door with golden, I mean yellow, parachutes and we're managed by someone else.
I think very, very few here realize the kind of fight that we are in. This company doesn't give a damn about your green lanyard (I wear one proudly), picketing (I've walked), or the industry average ask from our negotiating team (I support them). Why don't they care? Because airplanes are moving, we're making record profits, and IMPROVING our on-time performance. This is war and Mirimar is the enemy. The only way we will get anything that resembles what we deserve is if airplanes stop moving. And they need to stop moving today. Not intentionally or through sabotage but by following the manuals and regulations that we have before us.
Do not fly an airplane with an undocumented discrepancy. If it isn't in the MEL, DMI, or NEF then write it up. Exposed metal on the fuselage, horizontal stabilizer damage, missing hoist coupling covers, portions of an LED light inop, torn seats, missing luggage tie downs, foot rests that won't retract, mismatched cowl covers, seats that won't retract upright on their own, damaged ACP's, and anything else that isn't working as installed. This is their airline, make them fix it or document it. We should not be moving airplanes that are not legal to fly.
This is your job and your career. It's time to quite fighting amongst ourselves and time to take the fight to the enemy. Grow a pair, properly preflight your airplane, don't extend, and quite picking up open time. This is going to get ugly so be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there.
FSHF
EXCELLENT POST!
In regards to Labor Costs, look at this article. Its almost criminal what we allow our management to get away with. Also, I do feel somewhat sympathetic to the HR folks and Crew schedulers who are making less than market rate but we our highly trained professionals and there is no excuse for us to be paid less than market average. Its the cost of doing business in today's environment.
Why Are Airline Labor Costs Set to Rise? - Market Realist
Why Are Airline Labor Costs Set to Rise?
By Ally Schmidt | Dec 7, 2016 12:24 pm EST
Airlines Are Flying High: Is It Robust Earnings or Warren Buffet? PART 9 OF 13
Labor, the second largest cost
When crude oil prices were at their peak at $100 per barrel, labor costs were an airline’s second largest cost. Thanks to the substantial fall in fuel costs, labor is now the largest expense for any airline.
Why Are Airline Labor Costs Set to Rise?
In fact, Southwest Airlines (LUV), which has the lowest margins, has the highest labor costs. In the third quarter of 2016, labor costs made up 37.0% of Southwest Airlines’ revenue.
American Airlines (AAL) has the second lowest margins but the second highest labor costs. In 3Q16, labor costs accounted for 29.0% of AAL’s revenues. United Continental has the third lowest margins and the third highest labor costs of 26.0%.
For 3Q16, JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) labor costs were 24.0% of its revenues. Delta Air Lines’ labor costs were 23.0% of its revenues, Alaska Air’s (ALK) were 22.0%, and Spirit Airlines’ (SAVE) were 19.0%.
Other costs
Spirit Airlines’ labor costs are lower than Alaska Air’s. But Spirit Airlines has lower margins than Alaska Air. That’s because aircraft rent accounts for just 2.0% of Alaska Air’s revenue, while aircraft rent for Spirit Airlines is 8.0% of its revenue. For all the others, this cost is 1.0%–2.0% of their revenues.
Aircraft maintenance makes up 4.0%–5.0% of revenues for all airlines except JBLU at 9.0%. Landing fees and other rents account for 6.0% of revenues for all airlines except Delta, which is at 4.0%.
Labor costs to rise
Most airlines, including Delta Air Lines (DAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), United Continental (UAL), and American Airlines (AAL), have recently renegotiated contracts with pilots and other contract workers. According to the contracts, pilots will receive a good pay raise over the next two years, followed by decent pay increases for two to three years after that. That means peace on the labor front for at least the next few years. That’s good news for both the airlines and its workers, especially for Southwest Airlines, which has been struggling to reach an agreement with its pilots for the past four years.
Another factor driving profitability southward is leverage, which we’ll look at in the next part. You can get exposure to travel stocks by investing in the iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT), which invests 22.0% of its portfolio in airlines.