PiperArrow

Good day for QX, we will be growing in the future, and we just became the highest paid ERJ pilots in the country with some of the best PBS language there is.

cactusflyer

I think the signing bonus is $3k (before taxes), and I think someone at the road show I attended said the bonus is paid the first paycheck after Jan 31.

The 8 year duration probably isn't as big a deal as some people are making it out to be, since our last three contracts have all ended up being re-negotiated well before they expire, and with how fast things are changing for the regionals, I'd be surprised if Air Group didn't try and amend this one before we get anywhere near 2024.

Taylor814ce

What's the pay scale? And is it more than Skywest and RAH?

cactusflyer

The pay scale is essentially our current turboprop rates, with a 1.5% annual increase.

Compared to Skywest's E175 rates, our FO pay is slightly higher for the first six years, then it's about $2/hr less by year 8. The QX captain pay is slightly higher (by $1-2 hr) than Skywest until year 18, and both of them top out at the same level.

RAH will pay FO's slightly better throughout their contract ($10/hr in year 1, but $2-3 after that), and their captain pay caps out about $5/hr higher than QX does, with the RAH rate being a couple bucks more than the QX ones throughout.

Since existing QX employees have good benefits and we tend to get decent bonus checks (about 9% the last couple years, although that can change), I'm guessing the difference in take home pay between the three airlines is probably pretty small.

snackysmores

Long call is the only nice part about it. Being forced to call CS and then wait an additional 30 minutes after a trip for more flying is a concession.

fisherman

Sorry to see you guys in this situation. At Eagle, we proudly took a stand and voted down a concessionary contract for 175s. Then we were punished and had our fleet size cut in half and our planes and flying given away to places like Compass, PSA, and TransStates. They all got one year upgrades while our careers at Eagle stagnated. Eventually we "held out for less" and ratified a slightly worse concessionary contract.

Maybe you have saved yourselves from some short term pain. Still, it's a terrible situation to be in, and it seems there was no good outcome. From the outside looking in, Horizon always appeared to be one of the higher quality "regionals."

The whipsaw is ruthless.

DashAviator

I'm also one of the "NO" voters. We all have reasons for voting the way we did and here are a few of my thoughts on this TA:

(1) The proposed PBS was not a deal-breaker for me. As a relatively junior captain, I've been stuck on reserve or composite for the last several years. My schedule under PBS could hardly be worse than some of my composite lines (which are built using all the crummy stuff that drops out of SAP 1/SAP 2, plus a mixture of AM and PM reserve). I would say that my biggest concerns were the 8-year duration of this contract, plus the changes to our reserve rules. I just couldn't stomach the mandatory phone call to Crew Scheduling AFTER finishing a trip, plus the bonus 30-minute contactability period that follows. It's basically unpaid airport reserve.

(2) The Union stated that they did not believe this to be a concessionary contract. Tell that to the lineholders that have now lost the ability to SAP. Or, tell that to the guys/gals that used to be CRJ700 captains. They took a 9% pay cut that they'll never get back.

(3) Worst of all, what does it say about our pilot group that we're willing to take concessions when every other pilot group is fighting for (and getting) better pay and improved work rules? I know a bunch of the "YES" voters and I respect their reasons for voting yes, but raising the bar in this profession has never been easy (or risk-free). I was willing to call the Air Group's bluff, to force them to choose. Now management will be able to whipsaw us against Skywest until the world runs out of Jet-A.

I'm trying not to be too hard on the "yes" voters, because the Air Group basically had Horizon between a rock and a hard place. If I had to summarize the whole negotiation process in ten words or less, it would be something like "Power will have its way".

Ashes

Yep, anytime that mgt. wants to screw pilots all they have to do is find other pilots.

pete2800

Self-assignment is also nice, depending on your risk assessment and strategy.

Slaveaway

Does this apply to reserve and line holders? If so that sucks.