Originally Posted by IronWalt
Do any of you 500 hour wonders GET THE CLUE??? The guys at Delta are standing up to management so that YOU have a chance at career where you can do more than live 20 guys in a two bedroom apartment surviving on beenie weenies and making more than the 25000 a year that you are currently doing.
If you want some real perspective, the call up some of your college buddies who went to law school or engineering school and ask them what they they started at.
I am a young wonder- or CFII/MEI - or whatever you want to call me, and I do appreciate the stance that the DAL and NWA pilots are taking. I believe that labor costs are not the problem. Look at Southwest. Senior 737 Captains currently make more than Senior 777 Captains at Delta. Management should focus on reducing costs elsewhere- not on the hard working pilots that make the airline work everyday.
I am also sick of the arrogant public perception of 'the autopilot flies the plane'. There needs to be more education out there regarding the hard work required and dues paid to get to a major airline. IMO, anyone who has not had the privledge of riding in the jumpseat (as I have) does not have the right to judge how hard pilots work and how much they should earn. It is ironic how everyone wants to pay $89 to get from New York to Orlando, but in the event of emergency, I am sure that 100% of the passengers on board would be glad to pull out their MasterCard and swipe it in the airfone in order to pay the deserving folks up front who are responsible for getting them safely on the ground.