Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Per the .gov definition, AS is a legacy. Period. The average pilot on the street would probably think of the big three when you say legacy.
But there might be more to the distinction than chest puffery... would you rather an arbitrator compare you to your fellow legacies or to ULCC?
You can argue that AS resembles the others, except for widebodies. And widebodies have their own hourly rates and workrules.
I don't give a rip about being compared to the other 4 "Legacies", I prefer to be compared to the top 4 compensated pilot groups. Of which, currently, 3 are "Legacy" and one which isn't. If this Russian invasion of Ukraine really upsets the economy, that may change and the "Legacies" my be dethroned as we've all seen before. Wasn't long ago when people chose SW over UAL, AA, DAL and CAL because they were the top compensated pilot group. Nobody was strutting around telling folks they worked for a Legacy back then. Post 9-11, being compared to the other Legacies was AS's contractual downfall. This idea that "Legacy" carries panache is self imposed by pilots. It's an ego stroke. So Flyprdu's use of the analogy of AS being a pseudo Legacy is meaningless because the title of "Legacy" is nothing more than a time stamp. Sure, compensate me in line with DAL, UAL and SW soley because they're currently the at the top of the compensation pyramid. But drop the Legacy b.s. because if NK, F9, JB or any other pilot group exceeds them.....compensate me in line with them, not the "Legacies".