At the time of the 1st year pay negotiations we weren't hiring, the company had lost money for six straight years / wanted concessions (ended up filing bankruptcy about 18 months later) and had a first year rate way above industry standard. In the four years after ratification of the lower 1st year rates Frontier only hired about 50 pilots.
You couldn't be further off about the motivation behind the lower rates. I don't define greed as refusing to take a pay cut in later years' rates (the voting pilots) to keep the above industry rates for employees that weren't likely to ever get hired (remember we were losing money / about to go bankrupt as sure as a Trump business venture in AC). The 2007 first year rates were still above industry average after the cut.
This contract is so outdated that trying to rationalize the changes to the first "whenever possible" 1999-2000 POS contract, which brought us to the 2007 pre-bankruptcy deal, is like asking why they just didn't put helium in the Hindenburg to avoid the fire.

 

Example:
In 2004 F9 starting pay was $52 ph.

 

The Helium Control Act of 1927

 

So you're trying to say the first year pay chop WAS NOT a concession? Then *** is it exactly? It was more then it became LESS. And if it is a concession (yes it is), what is the limit on concessions before you can no longer tell yourself it isn't a concessionary contract? Go ahead and call it a trade for the pilots that were already on the list, that is my whole point. It was short sided and greedy decision with no effect on the monetary bottom line.

 

Ha ha ha! Outstanding! You just killed F9Driver's witty closing statement. Darn it Google search, you win again.

 

Can anyone tell me what the training footprint is like?

 

Well there it is! Buried deep in a list of excuses. That's definitely a way of saying "well everybody else was doing it!"

Oh bonus! And there is the short-sighted ideology. Thanks for backing me up, F9Driver!

 

Likely will be 7 weeks from day 1 to passing your checkride. In my class everyone got about 6 days off after week 4 (between ground and FTD) and 6 or 7 off after FTD before going into the sim. You'll get 5 FTD sessions, and 9 full sim sessions, plus a checkride, and then a LOFT, so 11 sims total. Definitely enough time to get pretty comfortable with things.

After finishing in the school house, I had 15 days off before starting IOE.

I enjoyed my time in training, as much as an initial can be at least. The instructors and check airmen (both sim and IOE) were truly fantastic people, and I think that most of my classmates have said the same.

Also, they gave us our badges and had us in CASS by about day 2 or 3. I think about half of my class were commuters, and nearly all of them went home on the weekends.

 

Now that's funny!

 

Potshots from freeriders in the cheap seats, based upon incomplete information, via hindsight are always so helpful. Thank you.