Originally Posted by
Mtnbikemike
Not to sound crass, but that is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve heard. So I’m supposed to adjust my budget as a captain, 15-20% ($50,000-$60,000) so I can keep you as a junior guy employed? So basically after going two feet forward and one back in my 29 years as a commercial pilot, strikes, furloughs, bankruptcies, 9/11, the Great Recession and now Covid, I’m supposed to just throw out the seniority I’ve gained so you don’t face a possible short furlough? So we can go from the second lowest paid Airbus operator and set the bar even lower?
I hate to tell you this, but the company doesn’t care, never has, only cares about their bottom line and responsibility to it’s shareholders. If you are offering concessions, which you are, it is something that is very difficult to get back from this management. What stops them from filing Chapter 11 later and we had given concessions already? You do not know what the future holds, the company may face more headwinds. Most pilot groups have realized from past experiences that concessions do not help.
Why isn’t Flying the Line a mandatory requirement to read?
I'm a Captain and nowhere in danger of having my job lost or even downgraded. So, I'm not asking you to do anything for me. However, having been furloughed I do realize what our junior pilots, the guys and gals sitting beside me, are looking at. We currently have LOA's and MOU's in place covering pilots infected with C19, LCR callout, and VIL's. Nowhere have I advocated a change to our CBA. But I am open to another MOU/LOA that for a given period of time (6 months, 9 months, etc) cuts my guarantee (let's say 61 hours for arguments sake) with the caveat that no one is furloughed. There's an expiration date to such and a clause that if one pilot is involuntarily furloughed then that LOA/MOU is terminated.
Spirit has $1.7 billion in liquid assets with a current daily cash burn rate of $1.5 million and a coming option of another $700 million in government loans. I'm not willing to do anything for the company but I'll damn sure make a small change to keep a fellow aviator from making a major one. You obviously don't care and that's your right. Be sure and share your vacation plans and pics of the new boat with your FO next time right after he/she gets their furlough notice. Don't forget to mention your seniority too.