Originally Posted by
dojetdriver
Agree with what you are saying, but just playing devils advocate.
In the case of a furlough, and downward slide, where do the "narrow body" pilots go? Do the "small jet" pilots get sent to the street while the "narrow body" pilots take those seats?
Point I'm getting at is this, previously the "small jet" pilot had "no expectation" of moving up, just the like the "narrow body" pilot had "no expectation" of being able to flow down to the "small jet", now he does.
I acknowledged that a small jet pilot had no expectation of moving up, while a narrow body pilot had no expectation of flowing down. That is where the conflict and gnashing of teeth begins: is the future upside potential of having larger, higher-paying equipment available to bid worth the immediate risk of being furlough fodder?
The only way such an integration of small jet lift back into mainline (after it was given away a decade ago) would be palatable to mainline pilots is to have access to those small jobs, and the only way for it to be palatable for small jet pilots is for their jobs to go with those jets to mainling along with some guarantee that most of them wouldn't immediately get furloughed.
I don't have a simple, easy solution to that...I'm not sure
anybody does. But my own personal opinion is yes, the long-term upside is worth the short-term risk. I've always said I'd rather be furloughed from the bottom of a mainline list than anywhere on a regional list; my opinion may not necessarily be shared by others.
I think the proliferation of contract lift will prevent this kind of integration/reacquisition of scope from ever happening...but the fact its being discussed is a start. Bottom line is if these discussions are to become anything other than an academic exercise, BOTH parties (mainline and regional) need to put their egos aside and realize BOTH will need to make sacrifices near-term for their mutual benefit long-term. Knowing the pilot mentality, I'm not sure that would ever be possible.