Originally Posted by
The stillest
This states, logically, that US carriers have no real competition apart from each other. Which I hope, to you, sounds as illogical as it is, to the rest of us.
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There is completion. Let's look at a few things....
1. The price of a pilot is the price of a pilot. On mainline routes it's starting to even out to where most airlines are paying fair and are near to each other.
2. The cost of fuel is the cost of fuel. management decides the fleet plan and therefore how fuel efficient their fleet is. They decide on the terms of buying that fuel.
3. Everything else is up to management to figure out (how to compete).
CAL never made a dollar UNLESS they held a labor cost advantage. True. no dividend also on their stock since 1968 all the way to the merger. But, CAL did compete. How? They used the pilot labor force as a profit center to subsidize the rest of their decision-making.
I don't like being used as a profit center for management. NOR should you. If you're a regional pilot consider this: your low wages are directly subsidizing management's bonuses. The cheaper you work, the more Ornstein makes.
It's management's job to compete. It's my job to make sure I get paid what I am worth. Part of that compensation is working in a professional enviornment where the value of my services is in demand. Therefore this "enviornment" must include a scenario wherby downward pressure that holds down my wages is not used aggressively or excessively that inhibits my unions job to protect my career, career path, real time earnings, job protections, and future earnings. So, the minimization of the influence of the RJ industry is a plus for the entire injudstry, not just mainline pilots, but all professional pilots.
Eliminating, or reducing forces that put DOWNWARD pressure on pilot wages is a priority!