Hey everyone. We here at Horizon have recently learned that Skywest management are surveying their pilot group to learn whether there is support for potentially flying the Q400 at CRJ 200 rates.
I'm not sure if it is normal practice for SkW management to get input from the pilots on pay rates, especially for aircraft that are not on property, or even on order. The timing of this particular poll however looks somewhat suspicious to us at QX.
Many of you may not be aware, but the pilot union at QX is going into a pay rate arbitration in early september. Our management team are hoping to demonstrate to the arbitrator - who will IMPOSE pay rates on us for the next two years, that QX Q400 rates are considerably higher than "industry standard". Our management team was greatly dismayed by the recent gains made by the folks over at Pinnacle/Colgan with their new contract, which will eclipse current QX Q400 rates in a couple years. They would love nothing more than to be able to point at a published Q400 payscale at a large CPA carrier, operating in West coast markets, that was considerably lower than our current rates. Our management team obviously has been in close talks with yours over the last several months over the CPA deal, and they are experts at the divide and conquer game.
It is of course up to you to decide how to answer the poll. In doing so however, please consider the following:
a) the Q400 is certified for up to 78 seats. (ours have 76)
b) the Q400 costs less to acquire, finance, and fuel than the CRJ 700. It has the lowest break-even load factor in the industry.
c) Q400 block times are just a few tenths off of CRJ times on stage lengths of 400nm and less.
d) Your management team is aware of all the above. If they are serious about potentially acquiring Q400's (from whatever source) they know they can operate them profitably at pay rates ABOVE your current CRJ 700 rates. If they aren't serious, your answers won't matter to you - only to us.
Bombardier has a marketing website with some good comparison info:
Q400.COM - Home Page
Thanks for your attention, and good luck.