I think it says on their website that they don't even have a phone number.

 

osu, I wonder if you believe that all those senior pilots ecouraging 300+ salaries and B scale pay rates as well junior manning, seat locking for junior pilots and negotiations in the carribean for ALPA...I bet you dont remember ALL those things and more pre-911...I bet they all had the future of pilots in mind.....

 

I know a lot of guys really don't like the whole Skybus idea. However the starting pay doesn't really seem too bad considering all the other starting pay levels. If a person went there and was upgraded in a year or so, their pay would closely follow others minus the well known powerhouses. Now if their Capt pay stayed at it's current level, that would be atrocious. I would expect that it will increase substantially in the years to come though. Those being hired now will be the ones to reap significant rewards in the future. They are paying the difference right now in potential...30k on red?...Vegas has moved to CMH! I really wouldn't expect them to roll out with Southwest grade pay right off the start. Unions? Everyone there currently is probably part entrepreneur at this point I would think. Anyone know how much additional duty stuff is requested/required?

 

[QUOTE=grasshopper;190686]I know a lot of guys really don't like the whole Skybus idea. However the starting pay doesn't really seem too bad considering all the other starting pay levels.QUOTE]

Airtran first year captain pay, $102 FO $43
Jet Blue first year captain pay $110 FO $47
Southwest 1st year captain pay $173 Fo $52 2nd year 88
Frontier 1st year captain ..........$111, FO $37 2nd year $64

These are the carriers that this dump is comparable too. Hello McFly, are you in there? What the heck are you comparing wages with, 50 seat RJ rates? If this place succeeds because of guys like you who think that its "not so bad" the whole damn industry will try to come down to compete. Do us all favor Mesa called they need you to go to China.

History is repeating itself right in front of our eyes and a bunch of self serving near sights fools are gonna ride by and "go with the flow" so they can fly an Airbus thinking this will get them to the next "Big Thing". News Flash, this will be the next "Big Thing" if we let it. It's up to us not to allow it!

Skybus, you are not welcome. You can walk to work or home for all I care.!

 

I appreciate your ability to recall numbers...first year pay stinks everywhere...not my fault. A first year CAL FO has to fly 84 hrs to match the F/O pay at Skybus (granted it takes off after that)...see I can look things up too. Yes...it is very low for Capt pay. No one would consider going there if that was the pay after a couple of years. I wouldn't consider any of those skybus guys regular line pilots though either. There aren't any majors that I know of that hire into the left seat and start that pay off at 12 year level either. The skybus guys are flying management at this point. Should they grow and succeed, they will be in a very good position. As such they aren't really worried about their pay all that much...only the potential and future position. If they weren't offering options or anything else, it would be a different story. It's a promise for the future...don't know if it will make it...but interesting to see. I wonder what the Southwest guys were thinking by joining such an organization way back then. They sure are undercutting the industry aren't they?

 

You'll never know what their second year pay is because they won't last that long.

 

... it is your opinion that these, "management pilots" are doing everyone a favor . I never said anything about starting at 12 year pay. Point is that they are starting at 3 and 5 year regional pay. There is no mention of a payscale insight, heck they are just shy of asking you to pay for your training.

You honestly think that they are going to continue to offer options to pilots once they get up and running. The "management pilots" that took the job for the options are only going to make money if they are profitable. You're going to need to sell a whole lot of Coke's and snacks to pay for those airplanes when the loans come due.

The management is going to fight to keep the wages rediculously low so they can make there options matter. I am all about getting on something good but this so far has nothing but cheap written all over it, and from what I can see those in the front of the line are going to end up as cheap management pilots as well. I imagine the maintance will be top notch too. Good luck to you.

PS: The only reason "I looked things up" and quoted it to you was that you apparently had not. Furthermore, I had left CAL, UAW and AMR out of the picture seeing as though those companies are inverted. Why you ask, because of the low cost carriers wages that I did qoute. Go back 10 years and look at the real joke todays wages are, how many other employees make less today then they did 10 years ago.

 

Still Grounded...got bad news for you....just look at European short haul market and that model will be in US soon..Virgin and Skybus are just the first salvo...I wish it were different....salaries don't migrate to the highest pay...all you can do is try and hang on.

 

Guys... the money is not in the US... its overseas... thats if you want to stay in aviation and afford a wife a nice car a nice home, kids and don't forget the mistress. Cabin crew earn more money tham F/Os in the US. Hate to tell you this but F/Os earn more than Captains in the US too. There will always be seat for the dumb schmuck willing to fly for minimum wages. Could you imagine if trips to be flown would be auctioned off to the lowest bidder??? who know maybe the crewmembers would pay the airline to fly the trip.

There are members of management in both VA and SB from European LCCs. This short turn times and commissions of goods sold by F/As is not novel by any means.

Hey... don't blame management for offering low wages. They are doing their shareholders good by keeping expenses down. You need to blame the sheep willing to fly for hay.

 

This is a question that is a riddle to me. I understand wanting in on the ground floor, and having a one or two digit seniority number. I also understand that flying for nothing hurts everyone.

What is the consensus about this - obvioulsy SWA did not offer great wages in the 70's and 80's. The pilots took the job, worked for less than they would have made at Pan Am, TWA, Eastern, Braniff, etc, but are now VERY well paid, and looked at much differently - they made a wise choice. While I agree that there is something very cheesy about Skybus, what about VA? I can see a reasonable, if entreprenaurial pilot saying "yeah, first year pay blows...but it is Richard Branson, and he has done exceptionally well with the things he has touched...". This, in my view, would be a reasonable business decision for the individual to make. To what extent should protecting the industry play a part in that decision? For you old timers, how were SWA pilots viewed in 1976? 1986? Were they accused of driving "the race to the bottom"?

I mean these as serious questions, not to start a flame fest. Thanks in advance for your answers.