Yes- risk/reward and I agree most guys dont have the stones or financial stability for a prolonged strike- not sure if I do. The bottom line is after a week B6 would lose so much money that they probably cave as Spirit did, but picketing and a strike vote may be enough. Im hoping for jetblue to really come to the table with a decent offer- not holding my breath.
As far as the NMB, no one ever knows how they'll rule, but I wouldnt be as confident as some guys about it being pilot-friendly. The confidence in a top-shelf TA comes from what? I agree the MEC will not allow a vote on anything substandard-but whos to say how long JB will drag this out. This little raise has set off my BS detector.

 

I freely admit that one day is what I would hope for, and I probably could make it to 5PM financially, but not beyond

 

Somebody posted earlier and they are spot on.

Could you imagine the company giving the other work groups the 8% or 17%(FAs) raises and not offering the pilots anything? You'd have to get an industrial tub of Desitin in the crew room our asses would be so chapped.

 

It's hard to take the Kumbaya out of the Kumbaya Airline. The TA will pass.

You've got a majority group who will do anything for the jblue experience. Time and time again we all do "what is right" and there is zero reward. The first TA should be a standard "NO".

The NMB doesn't want a strike. Industry average is a blurry statement and will result in a compromise. I would guess the the strike language will NEVER happen. I chuckle when I read he Alpa Financial Planning emails. Im sure guys are already in the BMW and Mercedes dealerships as I post.

-Bubs

 

I hope not. Positive check in was a shot across the bow as far as what the company thinks of us. If you don't have a strike backup/sugar momma in this business you are wrong.

 

I think our pilot group is as big as those 3 combined. Maybe bigger. I think our brand and product is a lot more premium (at least they tell us that while feeding us blue juice), especially now with as much Mint as we have, our publicized international ambitions, and the number of intl codeshares we have. We have been morphing into more than a cheap, fun, low cost, no frills startup. Our labor costs should morph (upwards) commensurately. Legacy pay? I dunno if we will get that. But we should be above allegiant, frontier, spirit, and virgin IMO.

 

The wife prefers the Audi actually. But hers has been paid off for five years so she's not getting another anytime soon. Just like buying a plane. Purchase price? No problem. The maintenance? Just set $500 on fire the moment the malfunction indicator light (yeah, Audi refuses to call it a check engine light) comes on. Start there. And go up and up.

 

Well that is usually when happy hour starts...

 

Latest blastmail summary makes the LOA sound much more appealing. I stand by "call your rep," but I lean yes now:

"This week management announced a Company-wide change to the profit sharing formula. Management will offset this reduction by implementing an across the board “8% pay increase” to all non-unionized employees effective January 1, 2017, and offered the same increase to ALPA represented pilots.

Our PEAs explicitly state that profit sharing is at the sole discretion of the Company and we have no contractual or legal basis to challenge this change. However, signing of this LOA secures a contractual protection that no other changes will occur. If you choose to ratify this, the profit sharing formula will become a part of our employment agreement and cannot be altered while we are in negotiations. Your MEC believes there is no logical reason not to accept the LOA.

The agreement clearly states that we are not waiving arguments in collective bargaining. We are well aware that this “pay increase” is in no way equivalent to the AIP’s, TA’s and collective bargaining agreements that have been negotiated throughout the industry. Even though it denigrates the contribution that we make to the success of the airlines we see no reason to deprive the membership of additional pay and holidays while we are bargaining. This means that our choice is not whether to refuse the reduction in profit sharing; our choice is only whether we should refuse the increase in pay that is being made available along with the other benefits we have obtained."

 

3rd year B6 FO currently $103 vs Delta TA $144 ~39% A320
3rd year B6 FO Jan 1 $111 vs Delta TA $148 ~34% A320


3rd year DAL A321 $154 Jan 1.