Originally Posted by
pete2800
Real answer? Alright, here you go...
Take the QX seniority list, and staple it to the bottom of the AS pilot seniority list. Put fences in place to inhibit junior AS pilots from bidding down and bumping senior QX pilots out of their single-digit bidding power. Do the same for the flight attendants. And mechanics. Hire a few more dispatchers. Fire every manager in the Portland ops center. Save tons of money on redundant administrative costs. Have a real scope clause so a massive furlough/transfer to Skywest isn't an option. Better yet, scope all flying except for maybe a few PenAir Saabs.
The Q400 would be the junior airplane, and as seniority allowed a pilot could bid the E-jet or the Boeing. The line of applicants would be out the door and around the block. Hell, don't tell them this... but you could probably leave the Q pay alone and still have more applicants than you could shake a stick at.
It won't happen, but that would fix the problem.
As you say, that won't happen. Realistically, how do you move forward? You just got a new contract. You gave the company what they wanted.
The advice I'm hearing to CFIs is go to Horizon, get the bonus, then in a year go somewhere else and get another signing bonus. Depnding on bonuses is not a sustainable model.