Why it is ok for Delta Connection CRJ 900 pilots to get paid significantly less than what Delta mainline pilots would get paid to fly the same equipment?

 

At $500 or less round trip to Europe, they won't need hub feed to fill a Dreamliner or 737-800MAX.

Keep in mind that WOW Airlines which operates A321s between the U.S. and Europe via Iceland and they offer super cheap seats too... The low-cost revolution is here already.

 

Simple.

Because the Delta Connection pilots are willing to get paid significantly less than what Delta mainline pilots would get paid to fly the same equipment.

Here's a question for you...

What do you think would happen if just 20% of all regional pilots were to walk off the job for 1 year?

 

Nobody would notice.

We constantly change express carriers. We'd fill the void quickly with no pain.

 

What you're insinuating is point-to-point feed from small airports in the US to small airports in the EU, correct? How would these smaller airports process these thousands of international customers?

I think NIA would have to get a solid foot in the door at these mega-hubs to really decimate legacy international traffic. That, of course, goes against their business plan (read...higher costs).

Yes this is bad, but the entire aviation infrastructure isn't changing overnight. Hopefully the powers that be are able to adapt to the changes that the low cost revolution is forcing.

 

You guys are missing the real damage here. Every airline in the EU can now: Move it's tax base to ANY country, staff with pilots under ANY other country's laws. THAT is the big problem.

 

They're not "willing" to be paid significantly less. Comair struck and got a good contract and we all know what happened afterwards. Delta is good at keeping their regionals constantly fighting each other for the lowest cost. They have a history of shifting flying from one regional to another in a heartbeat.

 

United Master Executive Council of ALPA Endorses Hillary Clinton

 

I totally get your rationale. I've asked myself that question countless times. "What if the Regional Airline Association would just say 'we are not flying for inadequate pay anymore. We're walking out.'?" Unfortunately we don't have the level of solidarity to cancel half the commercial flights in the US.

It's not that pilots are willing to fly for less. It's that they're willing to compromise for the promise that they'll one day fly mainline equipment with the inflated pay rates. We've created a culture in our community that says you have to pay your dues because it protects mainline jobs. Are mainline pilots willing to negotiate contracts that would allow the legacy carriers to pay their regional pilots more? Or dissolve the "regional" model entirely and absorb all those contract carriers? Our legacy carriers have to find some way of remaining competitive in order to pay what they pay to mainline employees.

 

According to their CEO, they have a decent network in Europe and the US cities they want to serve are big enough to support point to point.