The ol’ “if you don’t like it leave” reaction. Maybe being acutely aware of what our peers have will help us next time around. Having awareness of what we are worth and can leverage doesn’t mean someone is miserable to fly with, it doesn’t mean they hate working here, and it doesn’t mean they hope this place will morph into _____ (insert reputable airline name here).

I thoroughly enjoy working here and am grateful to work for a solvent company with a potentially bright future with fellow pilots who are skilled and have great attitudes. I also follow what my peers at other companies have and negotiate. I yearn for improvements in pay, calendar day/trip duty rigs, scope, hotel language, reserve rules, and profit sharing. How to get these things, I don’t know, but knowledge is power. Do you think management closely tracks our behavior (voting, premium flying, extra flying, and a multitude of other metrics) in order to extract the most from our workgroup month to month and during negotiations? I think yes, we’re one of our employer’s biggest expenses, they’d be foolish not to.

I hope the pilot culture here doesn’t truly spurn planning for future improvements and aspirations starting well in advance of the next contract.