Originally Posted by
JobHopper
+1.
Every time I visit my son at college and walk into the house he's renting with his buddies, I have to remember to put on my horse blinders and bite my tongue. It's a total mess, yet he is perfectly happy with it. So is his girlfriend. And his roommates. And every other kid I've run into there. Young people have a much different perspective than us "professionals".
So, for a young adult to get the opportunity to fly a JET, you'd better believe they will jump at it regardless of "our" opinion. That mentality will never change; it comes with being young.
Lesson from a divorce: You cannot change the way another person feels or acts; you can only take care of your own actions. We need to stop focusing on what DCI pilots may or may not do, on how they should or should not feel. You can't change it. Our focus needs to be on our lives and our contract, not theirs.
That's my opinion and it oughta be yours.
A) I feel like doubling down here. Pilots who apply for and fly for a carrier in bankruptcy wages are unprofessional. Thats all of the 2007-2008 hires at Delta whether they're RJ, 20 year military or corporate. The fact that they're willing to fly big jets for rates less then those jets should be flown (in the oppinion of most everyone already flying those big jets) is shameful and they should have scorn heaped down from those on the seniority list above them.
gag. btw I'm being saracastic. New hires can't change any system- old hands can... if they want, and chances are they don't care enough to step up to the plate, they'd rather demand the kids do the work such as scope themselves out of a job so mainline pilots everywhere don't have to undo the mess they allowed.
Maybe I should double down again, maybe any pilot who doesn't quit because they're flying under bk wages are the problem with this industry.
Thats using the same logic.
B) If you want to enact a change then those with the power are the only ones that can. The worlds largest pilot union certainly could be heard if we stepped up to the microphone or the airline passengers' beloved USAToday and WSJ op eds and said that we believe the low wages paid for by regional airlines produces a situation that is unsafe.
Pilots are getting burned out financially, the lack of work rules causing faitgue in the cockpit and personal training costs are so high that they'll never make their money back and therein fewer quality candidates are in the pipeline for the profession. Also, the quality of the training and flight operations of the regional carriers varies so wildly that an investigation is warranted not only into the airlines but the FAA system. Top it off with a if it wasn't for the shear drive of these pilots to fight through these adversities and do the right thing the airline transportation system would fail. That'd surely get some attention if DALPA made an official complaint about that and not one bit of it a stretch. Its just whether we think as a pilot group its worth a fight and my bet to most pilots it is not.
C) We took jobs for $18/hr to fly a turboprop. And luckily I came in after you had to do a SWA and drop $10K on PFT. A jet had nothing to do with it. In most all instances jets are the only option at the regional airlines today. In many cases where there is an option between props and jets the wise ones motivated to get PIC time go prop.
Originally Posted by
johnso29
PG,
I fear this will never happen. I partially blame ALPA National. I feel they do NOTHING to educate guys coming into the field. Can't they go to the Embry Riddle's, North Dakota's, and all the big schools and EDUCATE these guys/gals about what they're getting into?
Another thing that I feel is an issue is the RLA. It's got every pilot group hands tied. Many of the ALPA Carriers are working on contracts that are 6+ years old, and management gets to use the RLA to their advantage just laughing all the way to the bank as they get years of cheap labor. Look at Pinnacle. Their contract is basically what they had when they were still flying turboprops, and now they're flying CRJ-200/900's. They had 4+ years of contract negotiations, and management SPIT in their face with a contract that had ZERO improvements. It's a win-win situation for 9E management. Either the pilot group breaks and signs it, or it's back to drawing board. What's more sad is ALPA National told the pilot group to sign the TA. Or what about Spirit? The company has been profitable, and management wants 30% CONCESSIONS!!!
The blame does not lie squarely on the shoulders of the regional pilots. ALPA National got greedy, and now they've hosed all of us.
Good post. To add, any regional airline that has gotten a pay raise has lost flying to other carriers.