Originally Posted by
dracir1
Ok, first of all. Don't "believe" the profit quotes from the company. A lot of it is smoke and mirrors to show stock holders that they don''t make money. There are many possible reasons for doing so - insert your favorite now.
Second, the company picks the model they follow. They could decide to do anything they want - better customer service, all first class seats, better food options, etc. Anything they desire can be accomplished - it may take time but how else do you think legacy got to the way they are? Some through consolidation, some through better management and most through investment into the product. Being a ULCC is management's choice - not mine or yours. There were many pilots here before Franke/Indigo came along. And the ULCC model has many variations - Southwest was once one of them.
Third, I will never ever understand any human being who works somewhere, does the exact same thing as someone else but selectively decides they are worth less. This is sad.
Making money as a company is an individual company thing. Legacies don't always make money and MANY have folded along the way.
A 50% increase in pilot pay could come as easily as charging (about $10) more for tickets. Yes, you would sell less (in the short term) but that, with an increased commitment to customer service, would pay for itself eventually. Frontier could be the best airline in the US or it could be the worst. It's a competition.
UA CEO said it himself - pilot pay is a pass through, you pass the costs onto the customer.
Profit quotes need to be correct. F9 is publicly traded. I read people’s comments about smoke and mirrors all the time, but cooking the books or not carrying the “1” to hide profits would land someone in jail.
Indigo is another story, but they are privately held.
I hear your point about F9 chose to be a ULCC, but name a ULCC that has pay rate parity with a legacy. There is none. This idea that F9 just has to write bigger paychecks and the problem is solved is really absurd.
The F9 pilot group is not asking for pay parity. Whether they realize it or not, they are telling the company to change business models, sell or close your doors. Barry and Franke like the business model right where it is and legacy pay would lay a serious hurtin’ on F9. They won’t do it. They really won’t.
The only way you will get pay parity is if Barry and Indigo are no longer in the picture and whomever is at the helm wants to completely retool Frontier.