Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Guys,
It is not an affront when folks run the numbers for their personal situation and come up with a different answer. I DID decide to come to Delta and am pleased. The flying is good and the crews are great. With our raise maybe next year I will break even and then be off to the races ... as our f-NWA pilots have pointed out, our pay system for reserves is not equal to many in the industry.
My friends at the regionals have made choices that were every bit as correct for them. For some families it means a move, selling a house in a down market, making mommie go back to work. There are a million good reasons for staying senior & staying put. Sure, some could not get hired at Delta, but most never wanted to, or never tried. Because of longevity and the avoidance of bankruptcy they have a pretty good deal. The Captain that did my MD 88 IOE earned less than the guys giving IOE on the RJ's due to contractual differences in the pay for training / LCA team at my former carrier.
As we recapture flying we can not arrogantly assume our jobs are better in every case. We can not arrogantly assume the regional pilots are inferior. Part of unity is not exploiting those things that divide us.
A couple of things here. There are a bunch of reasons for staying put. I have no problem with it. The problem is that they are different companies. For every dollar extra they earn, it is money out of MY pocket. You can scream unity until you are blue in the face, but it boils down to that. Comair pilots' gains comes directly out of my pocket. ASA pilots' gains comes from my pocket via lucrative contracts with my company.
BTW, your example of a check airman earning more than a Delta check airman is a perfect example. It is unsustainable for the ASA check airman to have such a deal, as it is a Delta 88 check airman to have BK pay. BTW, I doubt your figures tremendously--just viewing my own -88 non LCP pay last year.
SWA coming to ATL now just exacerbates the situation at ASA. Those small RJs are about to become even MORE expensive--and unsustainable. Jerry is flailing to acquire whomever and whatever to stay viable. Republic as well. My prediction is that we see our 100 seater here after all, Alaska is next on the purchase block, and ASA, Comair, Republic, Skywest begin to shrink even more. Of course, SWA just blew their model right out of the water as well, so all bets are off.