Originally Posted by gloopy

I get that. And we will hire, a lot, over the coming years and decades. What I don't think we need to do, however, is to force additional hiring to cover the exact same amount of flying just for the sake of hiring. Is there a seniority based benefit to hiring for the sake of hiring? Sure. But there is a cost to that that is proportional, and that price will come out of somewhere else anyway, negating the bump in seniority for sliding up to a slightly higher pay rate a little bit sooner than one otherwise would. Forcing extra hiring for the same amount of flying is expensive and will come out of pay, benefits, maybe scope and of course QOL elsewhere.

Some things will result in more pilots needed, such as the new flight time/duty time rules...assuming its not just a "hey let's gut the relief pilot positions to pay for slight improvements to the regionals" which I'm suspiscious it will be, but some needed improvements in reserve rules and other work rules as well. But we're kidding ourselves if we don't recognize that productivity is vital to each pilot getting as big of a piece of pie as possible.

If we even mention SWA narrowbody rates or JetBlue 100 seater rates in the negotiating room, management will fire back instantly that productivity is the reason for that, and to a significant extent they will be right and everyone knows it.

C12K will be an increase, and that increase will be substantial. The checkbook will be opened. Period.

How much we will be able to get will be applied to various areas. 50 million per year more? 500 million per year more? 2 billion per year more? Whatever the number is that we get, I just don't think spending that on fake mobility is the answer. If we can force raises by more hiring and therefore more opportunities to bid up, we can simply take that money and put it into additional pay rates, retirement, scope and work rules to begin with.