Yes, year one at a legacy from a captain at Breeze will be a pay cut, that’s a known fact. But if you’re attempting to convince yourself that somehow sacrificing that one year won’t earn you way more in later years, you’re wrong. Unless maybe you are 63 years old and don’t have time.

But if you just compare apples-to-apples. Year 2 legacy narrowbody rates starting January ‘25 are $185. Year 3 starting January ‘26 are $225. Now factor in 17% for retirement!! When you do that math, the legacy FO makes about $1k more than the Breeze year 3 E195 CA, or year 1 A220 CA.

Year 2: A220 CA vs NB FO
237x85x12=$241,740 +6% match= $14,504
185x85x12=$188,700 +17%=$32,079

Year 3: I’ll use year 4 Breeze CA pay for this one and year 3 NB CA at reserve min guarantee

243x85x12=$247,860+6% match= $14,871

363.66x76x12=$331,657+ (18% now!) 18%=$59,698

so by year 3, and on reserve, a legacy CA makes over 130k more PER YEAR than a line holding Breeze CA. Not including any per diem or any form of other compensation. Not only is their compensation higher, but they have contracts that dictate what can and can not happen to you!! This is a very simple ROI problem. Is a 2/3 year wait enough for you to jump ship because you know you’ll be making more by then than Breeze will ever pay, or do you slug it out and hope that Breeze middle management agrees to the best LCC contract to ever exist, which would still be lower than a legacy! The decision is yours to make. Anyone under 50 years old staying at Breeze seriously makes me wonder about their mental health! Luckily for me I earned my golden ticket and my class date is approaching!