Sir James

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/cha...ml?jst=b_ln_hl

AA777-ER

Of course they do, its part of the ATAs "Pull together, Win together" PLAN!

corl737

ATA?

AASuperSlug

Corl737,

ATA is the Airlines Execs Union so to speak This is the org that plans ways to screw labor!!! The only way to combat the ATA is for all of Airline pilots in the US to band together and form a national Union! You fly "X" equipment you get Y per hour and Z benefits! The time is now to organize all airline pilots and stop the race to the bottom -IMHO

http://www.airlines.org/home/default.aspx

AASuperSlug

AA777-ER

The Slug is CORRECT!

ITS TIME!!!

LAfrequentflyer

I thought this was already in place...YOu fly X you are paid Y with Z benefits.

-LA

AASuperSlug

Hey LA,

Good question. Let me expand on that thought. If you had a real national union the union would set the wage rate and benefit rate for a type of aircraft flown regardless of the employer. Lets say you fly a 737 for a established airline, the union lets say has set the 737 rate at 200$ for a captain and 145$ an hour for an F/O. So now when Mr. CEO SCumbag wants to start a new airline with 737's, he would have to pay the flight crew the "going rate" of pay the first day of operations- Capt 200$ and F/o's 154$ This way all airline pilots would be paid the same for like equipment flown. This I would hope would stop the race to the bottom of this profession. To me the minimum FAR 121 captain pay should be at least 100k a year and go up from there. The professional pilots of this country should be paid a heck of a lot more than we are settling for today.

Regards,

SuperSlug

corl737

Sounds pretty utopian -- and Orwellian. Also seems like a recipe for disastrous unintended consequences whereby the pressure is to set the wage rate low to assure the maximum number of dues-paying members. Without the ability to negotiate wage changes -- even increases -- at the efficient airlines, the strong carriers accumulate massive amounts of cash and simply put the weak out of business through quasi-predatory practices.

It ain't pretty, but the free-market works in the long run. I'll admit that so far I've been fortunate -- even though everyone told me I was crazy to go to work for that low-wage, commuter airline called Southwest. Would you really want the revitialized AA to be capped at our pay rates? I think you deserve more than me simply for having to put up with operating out of DFW!

corl737

Ahhh. I get it now. I was thinking ATA as in ATA Airlines, not the ATA as in "Air Transport Association." Never mind that confused look in my reply to AA777-ER!

SkyHigh

The only way it would work is if a 777 Captian would earn just a little more than a CRJ Captain and so on. Otherwise there would still be huge conflicts. It isn't fair that some have so much while others who essentially do the same job have so little.

I like the idea of a national airline pilots identification and Lisence. One 10 year backgound check and all your records and medical could be stored in a chip located in the id itself. One swipe and everything is there.

SkyHigh