Delta or better. I don’t care the senior guys are losing $100k or more per year in 401k contributions while we get this done. You boomers need to go so us mid timers can make that bank.

 

As an outsider. It appears to me that the retention bonus that your union agreed to has served to enslave the pilot group. It was a horrible idea to agree to that. The more time that passes, the more leverage the company has.

 

I disagree. That retention bonus is really bad for their books and any chance of them getting financing for anything becomes much more difficult.

 

So the retention bonus is bad for the books, but a new contract with rates far higher than the retention bonus ones will be good for business??

 

you know we only have like a dozen boomers on the seniority list right lol

we are a relatively young pilot group, hence the slow seniority progression: not too many retirements

 

Retention bonus is a sweet hart deal for the company. Lowest combined industry standard pay and they get to defer 35% of it for however long they can drag this out.

 

Jimmy8 continues to inhabit a magical kingdom where patience solves all problems. Let us just wait long enough, and a fairy will appear to solve our issues with her shimmering wand, bringing happiness and harmony to the land!

But sadly enough, Jimmy is not alone in this tale. There is a whole fleet of pilots living in this self-constructed wonderland.

Dear Jimmy, no, the retention bonus is not "bad for the books"; it adds a touch of brilliance to our management. Once you venture beyond your rosy bubble of wonder, do share how many magical enterprises you know where employees offer their company interest-free loans and then drag out the process to get that money back by being represented by a totally incompetent negotiation committee (NC). Meanwhile, over at Black Rock, the cheerful characters couldn't be more thrilled with this twist in the narrative!

And no, a contract isn't exactly "just around the corner," not with our current union representatives steering the ship. It seems they share a rather fanciful view of how the economy and real negotiations work together. Here is a little spoiler, dear friend: it’s not the process that takes center stage, but the RESULTS that bring the curtain down!

And no, dear Jimmy, even if some of your pals nod along, charging dear “Joe Blow an extra $20”won’t magically cover all those additional costs. It seems there might be a little misunderstanding about the price sensitivities in that colorful market. If you think my fairy tale might be off, then perhaps Spirit could whisk you away as their consultant, and you’d have their troubles solved faster than a twinkle of a star!

As long as we have our current NC and a hearty group of pilots cheering them on, we find ourselves in a whimsical balance with the universe: truly embodying the spirit of an Ultra Low Cost Pilot flying high for an Ultra Low Cost Airline. It's a harmonious dance, where everyone plays their part in this magical adventure!


Wishing you a merry and magical Christmas! May your holiday season be filled with joy, wonder, and a sprinkle of magic!

 

$100+ million of debt/year going on their books absolutely is bad for their books. Any financing they want to secure is affected by this.

I don’t disagree with the majority you said so stop talking like you’re somehow superior to everyone else.

Raising ticket prices is long overdue and would cover a huge portion of the contract. Don’t compare us to spirit when we fly a completely different customer and do not fly to almost anywhere they go. We are very similar to SWA (minus their west coast customer base) in respect to customer, flying to vacation destinations.

yes our current NC is pathetic, i don’t think many disagree with that. The fact we have experts that ran Atlas into binding arbitration is a scary thought. I wonder if there is a way around it…hmmmm….. send in a ****ing ALPA CARD.

Lastly, no I do not think patience will solve all. I think if we were smart we’d get this done 9 months ago. GU and his cronies could **** away all leverage if this last more than a year.

 

Should be fairly simple for the company to get out of paying retention bonus.
They just need to drag out negotiations a few more years and it will be so large that it will be unaffordable.
We’ll be given the option of collecting and bankrupting the airline or giving it up to keep our jobs.

 

My Dearest Jimmy8,

I must confess, watching you drift about in your self-constructed bubble of ignorance regarding the most elementary principles of accounting is rather disturbing. Perhaps, dear friend, it's time to crack open a tome or two on financial wisdom?

Let me illuminate matters as simply as possible. When one speaks of a $100+ million debt (our bonus, as it were) in the accounting ledgers, it is accompanied by an equal sum in cash (or other assets) on the other side of the ledger. Upon payment, both vanish simultaneously. It’s called double-entry bookkeeping.

Any prudent company owner - much like a shrewd tech entrepreneur managing their startup's funding - would prefer to maintain this interest-free debt while their cash generates interest income or can be used operationally. It's really quite elementary, dear Jimmy. Why pass up the opportunity to hold $100 million in cost-free borrowed money, which you could invest in Treasury Bills to effortlessly earn $4 million annually? You wouldn’t pass up either, Jimmy.

When you struggle to grasp such a fundamental concept, what credibility do your claims have about suboptimal ticket pricing and missed revenue opportunities? Making unfounded assertions doesn't advance our discussion.

Our revenue team has demonstrated expertise that would impress even the Goblin bankers, while your arguments seem to rely on little more than lower-middle management intuition. And as Professor McGonagall would say, when one lacks understanding of fundamental principles, gut feelings are about as reliable as a chocolate teapot.

Regarding the contract negotiations of summer 2023 - oh yes, the union leadership then made our current lot look like the Wizengamot in comparison. Yet our pilot group as a whole, displaying all the strategic acumen of a confused troll, not only supported, but even re-elected AR with abilities that would make even Crabbe and Goyle look competent.

We find ourselves precisely where our choices have led us, we deserve to be where we are.

Progress now demands that we face reality with high clarity and open eyes and expel both GU and the NC from their positions. We require neither middle-management mindsets nor novice negotiators. The situation calls for a seasoned negotiator (not a pilot) who has experience managing major leverage points and can skillfully deploy them when necessary

But most crucially, we must dispel this ridiculous notion that management is our Voldemort. The truth, my dear Jimmy, is that we have met the enemy, and it is us - as plainly visible as a Thestral to those who've seen the truth.

WE ARE THE PROBLEM, Jimmy.

Regards,

A Concerned Colleague