Originally Posted by
boxjockey
Interesting take. I came to Spirit after 13 years at one of the most prestigious airlines in the world. I flew widebody aircraft all over the globe. My FO last week was 18 years at another top-tier airline and left there as a senior training CN on the 380. He is not the first FO I've had the pleasure of flying with who meets or exceeds my experience. You may be surprised to find just who flies for Spirit, and maybe you underestimate our understanding of our own value as professional pilots. Perhaps it's best not to use generalizations when referring to your likely future coworkers.
box
Look, I don't care if half your pilots came from FedEx. Your contract is among the worst in the industry (only slightly below our own). That means majority of your pilots voted yes to being at the bottom. If you wanted to continue walking and were over ridden by your "brothers" then my comment doesn't apply to you. If you did vote to accept bottom tier pay, then you underestimate your value and suffer from low self worth (at least professionaly).
We have former UAL and a TON of Airways and TWA guys here. They can be some of the WORST when it comes to fighting for more. They are tired, defeated, and tend to just roll over and take it.
As for what you are worth, in a free market you are worth what the market will bear. Most businesses raise prices until demand begins to slow. In the case of labor its driven by how easily you are replaced. We are very hard to replace. Our labor is very valuable. If we withhold it for even a short while companies fold. If we go above and beyond they large sums can be made. Know my worth? I'm worth every penny a DAL or UAL pilot is. I provide the identical service, as do you.