VERY JUNIOR FOR A LONG TIME???? What? When things start moving, you will quickly move up the ladder. Right now we are waiting for that initial age 65 push for retirements. When it starts, it won't stop. There are some years when 800 pilots turn 65. If one guy moves from the top (744 or 777 Captain), then something like 9 or 10 move up (A330 or 764 Capt move up to 744 or 777, 767 Capt moves up to A330, 737-800 Capt moves up to 767, etc). So, with 800 moving in one year (and that's if they stay all the way until age 65), there is a heck of a lot of movement. We just have to get to that stage, and it's been slow for the last few years. It will happen.

The bolts just blew!!:D

I'm afraid if the company continues to shrink, however, the movement will be much more limited than we hope.

That, and I'm afraid of who the company will find to sit in the right seat in another 10-15 years. With the current wages and career expectations, it could get ugly. The talent will flock to the usual suspects here and overseas, and we'll get stuck with... :eek:

I don't have my pay table in front of me. Does this mean the company's trying to pay us 737-800 wages for the 900?

Do we even have a table for the 900? If not, that would give the company some motivation to negotiate quickly.

We gave away section 3B6 a long time ago...

The career earnings for a 20 year SWA F.O. using minimum guarantee and current F.O. pay rates on this forum-$2,554,344. Career earnings for a 20 year Delta pilot upgrading to Captain at year 10-$2,191,800. I started the Delta F.O. in the lowest paying equipment and moved to the next higher paying equipment every 2 years, and continued this progression at the 10 year switch to Captain pay rates. That is a $365,544 over the 20 year period. I would take that bet all day. Of course many will say the Delta rates will go up and the SWA rates will go down, but that is a gamble most betting folks would be willing to take. The SWA number is for minimum guarantee only. I will not speculate as to what each individual pilot will gross, but most pilots at SWA (including me) go well beyond guarantee on every paycheck. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

There are only two fleets FO's don't get typed on, and they are both made by the same manufacturer. McDonnell Douglas :D

No he didn't. He joined Delta and built up some solid 121 time while he waited for a proper paying airline that has management that wants to run an airline versus a ticket brokerage. He'll now be part of a union that values scope above all else, and have 100% of his union dues going toward his own pilots.

Smart move. Delta will increasingly be used as a training ground while awaiting SWA, FDX, UPS and the high paying foreign airlines. Get used to it. Management couldn't care less.

Carl

Big gamble. Opportunity for advancement is much better at Delta then SWA. Payrates come and go. Seniority is where it's at.

You are correct, seniority is where it's at. As a 20 year SWA F.O. you are bidding at the very top for everything including weekends off, Christmas off and premium open time. In this scenario you still make significantly more money over the same period of time and enjoy much higher seniority as a 20 year F.O. as opposed to a 20 year Captain. I won't even go into the additional time off over the life of a career.