Originally Posted by
BusDriver2000
False, we will always make less than the legacy pilots because they make more money for their companies. It’s like this in so many industries so I don’t understand why so many people are pressed about it. Chefs at higher end restaurants get paid more to make the same steak, and yes they make it better just like the legacy pilots make air travel better for their customers. NBA players get paid more than WNBA because there company makes more money. Until we start making what the legacies make percentage wise let’s stop with the daydreaming.
It’s true legacies make more money make more money, but their pilots don’t individually make more money for their companies. What specifically does a legacy pilot do that F9 pilots aren’t? What is the legacy pilot doing that warrants additional pay? In fact, F9 lacks the support structure some other pilots enjoy, so I argue our pilots are actually doing more in terms of actions taken toward accruing profit.
Chefs at higher-end restaurants get paid more not to “make the same steak” but to use their skills and experience to make a particular steak unlike any other steak available on the market. They may use dry aged meat, Wagyu sourced from Japan, or rare game that would suffer from even a moment of extra heat.
Unlike chefs who influence the preponderance of the customer experience by virtue of what they plate, 121 pilots have a comparatively miniscule role. Make a few announcements, turn on a sign, shout out a birthday, talk about the weather? Perhaps. But probably silent for almost the entire flight.
Legacy and F9 pilots fly the same A320 and A321 aircraft. The FAA type rating is the same. The runways, airports, and approaches are the same. The pilots are locked in their cockpit and therefore I assert they cannot substantively affect profit any differently than an F9 pilot.
NBA/WNBA? When’s the last time customers flooded to a legacy because a particular pilot (save perhaps Sully) is at the controls? Fans specifically go to watch NBA/WNBA stars. The comparison between NBA/WNBA is a false equivalency. There are so many other factors at play including the derision of female sports, the economics of advertising/broadcasting rights (also historically male-dominated), advertiser choices and so forth. Airline customers care little to see us unless they’re touring a kid or want to joke about a landing. Most customers simply want to get from A to B safely and in relative comfort. It’s not daydreaming to demand we receive pay equal to our counterparts. And “pay” might not all reside in the hourly rate. Maybe it’s DC. Maybe it’s LTD. Maybe a combo. Kit Darby just highlighted SWA as having the highest total career earnings.
If we’re serious about having a “career contract” then it shouldn't be a “daydream”. If we're serious then the economic proposal put forth by the NC has merit and we should rally behind that effort.
The same pay, for the same license, for the same aircraft, via the same SIDs/STARs, to the same airports.
I respect you Bus; if you truly think it's fantasy, perhaps our NC should revise our collective expectations.