Originally Posted by
Noisecanceller
I don’t expect anyone hired today to be a WB FO or NB CA in 2 years. This isn’t 2022 anymore.
If you’re a Spirit CA making north of $400 W2 going to $120hr on on guarantee is yeah about an 80% cut
You also have to calculate the difference in earnings each year it takes to get back to that pay you left and then the earnings you could make on that money and the lost retirement contribution. It’s a massive investment to start over. If you’re young and/or junior it’s a no brainer. If you’re middle aged and senior the math is much more complex.
If you have kids in influential years and you only have a few short years before they leave home it makes giving up the schedule voluntarily very hard. When you know you can get any day off you want for anything it’s hard
January of 2026, first year pay will be $125. No doubt it’s still a massive pay cut, but still better than $120. I also find that most reserve pilots will reach approximately 80 hours of month without flying a single leg (SC add pay). Again, still a massive pay cut, but better than $120 at MMG. Just something to consider.
CA is about 3 years right now? Maybe? We’re gonna have another vacancy in the fall with NBCA positions so that will paint a better picture of how long it takes to hold the left seat. I’m curious myself where the needle lands with that that vacancy.
But the 756 FO went to probationary pilots so it’s still definitely a thing. 756 reserve is barely above MMG due to the nature of the flying, but those reserve pilots average 20ish days a month at home while on reserve (do not need to live locally for this to happen).
Totally agree with what you said about the difference in earnings. More so with the 401k. That’s where you see the biggest difference. In January, we go to 18% (as will most legacies, I’m sure) so that would help a bit.
I don’t want to see y’all struggle. The decision to move on or stay is a deeply personal one, but I don’t want to see the decision being made with bad info like “it’ll take a decade to hold weekends and holidays off.” Other people on here feel the same way. Hence why we come back here