Originally Posted by
Egg320
Better working conditions...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
No paid leave (Europe 5 to 6 weeks a year) plus days off, rubbish medical insurance, no sick days where you still get paid, can be fired at the drop of a hat (much better protection in Europe, Aus, NZ etc..) On this front Europe wipes the floor with US working conditions
A seniority system that benefits the airlines, not the employees except the top 1% in base.
Seniority forces you to stay where you are because if you leave for another airline you start at the bottom. What other industry on earth forces you to do that?
Would a senior network engineer at say Microsoft leave for Google and start on the help desk....ERRR NO!!!
Best working condTions.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
In the western developed nations US working conditions are considered some of the worst in the world....
HAHAHAHAHA....I cannot stop laughing!
I have worked both in Europe and (currently) in the US, so I am qualified to reply to this BS:
Paid leave: I had 32 days in EU, worked 10 on 5 off (10 days off/month). To get 21 days off I had to take 16 days off, so 2 blocks of 3 weeks. I now have 3 weeks, and will get 4. Each of these easily get me 3 weeks off. And I only work 15 days a month average.
Medical insurance: might be more expensive on average here, but I was paying €90/month in 2004 just for me, that would be at least $150 corrected for inflation. Now $87/month for 1 person through company sponsored plan.
Also I definitely have paid medical leave here in the US, including 60% pay till 65 if I lose my license.
Job protection:
If you don't do your job at Ryanair/Wizz/Norwegian or any of the other scumbag operators that hire through crewing companies like OSM you have ZERO job protection, and lots have been fired for starting unions. I enjoy job protection through my union.
Also took a 20% pay cut and people were let go with no severance package back in EU. Got my full paycheck and 8 weeks severance pay when I was let go from my last job in the US.
Seniority:
Aside from the fact that ALL European legacy carriers have seniority systems, and companies really couldn't give a rats ass about who flies which plane, who gets what schedule or who goes on vacation when as long as the schedule gets covered, senioritys protects all pilots in the company. My new-hire class in the EU was half DEC (no, not me) and that was the norm, even though there were FOs on property with enough experience to upgrade. How effed up are you to see that as a positive thing.
Also when working in the EU I had zero input in my schedule and was regularly denied vacation request. Now I bid for a schedule/vacation, 50% on the list, most of the time get most of my request.
Not even mentioned by you:
Forgot getting on with a legacy carrier if you are not a national from that country with a license from the national flying school and younger than 30 years old so the only jobs available are for crap paying low cost carriers that rebase you across Europe against your will. All US Legacy carriers hire from all over the board.
For pilots the conditions in the EU are vasty inferior to the USA right now, yes, if you flip burgers at McDonald's you are better off in the EU, so maybe that is a better fit for you looking at your post.
PS forgot to mention most LCC make you pay for training, and then give you a 0 hour contract. Not a single US operator does that.