Originally Posted by isawyou

All this animosity within our industry makes me sick. I have heard the stories of people hating GoJets pilots. Hate the management, fine; but don't take it out on the pilots. It's absurd.

I hear arguments that these pilots are "scabs" (really, they're a healing bruise? What an absolutely rediculous vernacular to use in this context). Why are they hated? Because they are paid so little? They are paid more than their repsected industry siblings at Trans States. Even if that weren't the case, why would you treat badly someone who is not making much money? That's dispicable. Poorly paid people are working long hard hours to come home and have difficulty paying their rent or their bills. Cut 'em a break. Because they don't have a union? Well, GoJets does. But even if they didn't, or even if the contract provided lousy working conditions, that means they are putting up with more crap than they should be and that ought to warrant sympathy, not ridicule. Depending on how you look at it, the pilots either have the same situations as the rest of the regional industry or worse conditions that should generate respect.

So management has created a company that can operate with lower operating costs and can outbid other regionals for routes. First off, that is the simple premise behind capitalism and its fundamental principle of supply and demand. Secondly, any anger should be directed at management, not pilots. Pilots are just doing their job.

So, they say, pilots should not work for this company. Okay, great solution. But can this ever really be implemented? Where are their pilots coming from? $12,000/year flight instructing jobs in dilapitated Cessnas and Pipers. Come on, you've all been there. You can only live so long without being able to pay for food, shelter, and tens of thousands of dollars of student loans.

GoJets is obviously nobody's first choice. Pilots flying there would have gone to a better company in a heartbeat if it were plausable at the time. They have done nothing wrong and should be respected as anyone else in the industry.

That being said, I woudn't go there. I am one of the rare flight instructors who have fallen into a well paying gig and I can wait a little longer until some better company will hire me. Not many of us have that luxury.

Ooh, people are going to hate me on this one. But that's just how I see it. We're all in this small industry together. There's no room for this kind of fraternal hatred.