Compass Contract Highlights
 

The following are some basic highlights of the newly signed Compass contract that were passed along to me from a contact within the company. They are basic highlights and I cannot vouch for accuracy, but they give some picture of the contract:

Effective DOS / Amendable April 1, 2013. Automatically renews in 12 month intervals unless either party requests amendment.

Pay rates:
1st year CA (current scale): $60.41
1st year FO (current scale): $23.18
2nd year FO (6/1/08 scale): $34.27
3rd year FO (6/1/09 scale): $37.10

Contractual increases every year on June 1, through 2012.

1st year CA (6/1/2012): $64.92
1st year FO (6/1/2012): $24.91
2nd year FO (6/1/2012): $36.19
18th year FO (6/1/2012: $44.25
18th year CA (6/1/2012): $107.17

75 hr guarantee.

Junior Manning provisions in the contract. Junior man is assigned in reverse seniority order. 50% premium, above guarantee.

Extension pay (rescheduled beyond schedule block in on last leg of initial pairing). 50% premium, above guarantee.

Critical trip pickup (company assigned): 50% premium, above guarantee.

Vacation pay = 3 hrs/day of vacation.
Ready reserve = minimum 4 hrs credit/day of RR.

Custom clearance pay = :18 min pay for each overnight that requires clearing customs.

Taxi movement pay = :15 min pay for each taxi movement.

Holiday pay = 4.0 hrs above guarantee for work performed on New Years, Easter, Memorial and Labor day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Min Duty Credit: 3:30.

Credit for better of scheduled or actual block.

Deadhead pay = 75% of scheduled or actual block.

50% disability guarantee during disability "wait period" if pilot sick/vacation time is used up.

Per Diem $1.55/hr TAFB

Day rooms (double occupancy): scheduled ground time longer than 5 hrs.

FAA Medicals covered by pilot.

Max Monthly credit of 100hrs.

11 days off minimum.

Sick time accrual:
0-4 yrs service = 3.0 hrs/month
5+ yrs = 3.5 hr/mo
Max 450 hrs in sick bank.

Sick leave policy: Sick pay is variable depending on number of sick calls in previous rolling 12 months. 1st sick call paid at 100% credit. 2nd paid at 75% credit or 100% credit with doctors note. 3rd sick call and on paid at 75% credit.

Captain upgrade minimums: 2500TT/1000ME or 2000TT/1500ME. Company will confer with MEC Chairman prior to granting waivers to upgrade minimums. Waivers will be granted in seniority order.

Street captains may be hired to staff the initial operation of the first 18 aircraft (E175), provided there are insufficient NWA furloughed pilots to staff those positions.

Technology provisions in the contract for computerized scheduling, online schedule retrieval, online bidding, online reserve bucket/pilot availablility rosters, home-based/computer-based training, online trip trade/swap, and other computerized functions.

Retirement:
401K eligibility after 30 days service.

Retirement Match:
Year 0-1: 0%
year 1-4: 50% match up to 6% of earnings
year 5-8: 50% match up to 8% of earnings
year 9+: 50% match up to 10% of earnings

Employer match 100% vested after 3 years of continuous service with Compass or NWA (via flow through). (Pro rated at 1/3 for each year).

Good trip trade/trip drop provisions (automatic/24 hr). Set reserve availablity perimeters for holidays and weekends with regard to trade/swap/drop.

FDR/CVR data protection provisions (Can't be used against pilots in disciplinary/grievance actions).

Uniform Allowance of $20/month.

Initial uniform purchase covered 50% by company. Rest payroll deducted at $15/pay period.

Any mandatory changes to base uniform will be paid 100% by company.

Standard commuter clause. Provisions for online and offline travel provided that listing and availability can be proven.

ASAP program in place.

Insurance benefit eligibility on first of month after 30 consecutive days of employment.

These payrates are terrible, dont they fly 70 seat airplanes?..............whoever signed this should be ashamed of themselves............

75% Deadhead???????????? are you serious

These are hardly "highlights" this is another disappointment, what where they thinking?

Not a great contract, but not terrible IMO...

I would have pushed for something better pay wise, and a shorter amendable time period.

The 75% deadhead sucks, but these days it seems like fewer places offer 100%. I also wasn't too impressed with pilot paid medicals/no medical allowance, but maybe I've just been spoiled.

I do like the min duty day, the holiday pay (which is no biggie but still nice), and the retirement is better than most regionals from what I've seen.

Junior manning is a big negative, but I guess only time will tell how those provisions work out in the long run. From what I have heard it's something that NWA management wanted in the contract, but something that Compass management was willing to let go as leverage against something else.

In all though, I don't think that it's terrible, especially since it's a first contract. Not great, but there are certainly operators out there with worse.

I agree the Holiday pay is very nice, something here we dont have, Junior manning is common in this industry and for good reason I believe, as long as you are compensated accordingly, but yes the amendable date is too far away, and what people dont understand is that pre-9/11 pilots were flying these size airplanes for well into the mid $100.00/hr range, but I guess EMBRAER and BOMBARDIER have become synonymous with sub-par wages, I can tell you that if EMB-175, ever came on property here we would demand much higher pay, and thats probably why we wont see larger airplanes here in the future..............


PS. You cant blame management when we agree to work for such dismal wages..................

True. And that's why you don't see me bailing out of corporate to return to the airlines.

It's also why I think the present standard of "more pay for more seats" is broken. Pilots need to understand that we all do the same job, regardless of the size of the aircraft. Rather than pay based on equipment, I personally think that pay should be based on experience and longevity. But you'll never see enough pilots agree on this to make a movement, and management would never sign off on the idea.

100% agree, very good post

"Max monthly credit 100hrs"

What does that mean? You can't EVER bill more than 100 hours? Or is that just for when they make the schedule (ie line composition)?

I don't have the language, but I think that it means that once you hit 100hrs, you can't pick up any additional flying.

this contract is on par with most of the other regionals. are they alpa? if they are so much for taking it back.

Compass is represented by ALPA. As I understand it, they are actually a subset of the NWA MEC.

Pay is crap. They get away with it cause they know people will go for instant seniority. I was hoping to see something better so we at RAH have something to work off of. I guess we will have to do it on our own and raise the bar ourselves.

While I agree, I think you lose sight of the fact that airline pay is very limited by revenue generated on a particular aircraft. Small airliners such as 1900's, Dashes, SAABs, and 50-seat RJs will only ever generate small levels of revenue, and those pilots will only ever be able to justify small wages. The only way to offset this low wage (given the responsibility that even a small airliner pilot has) is having the prospect of earning higher wages, which can only be paid for by higher revenues, which can only be generated by more seats in the current US market. I believe the flat wage regardless of aircraft idea would work well in the bizjet world, where costs are more accurately passed to the clients, and revenue generation does not rely on passengers boarded but rather on hours flown.

Not the issue. Does it mean they cannot assign it (JM, EXT, TRNG?) Considering current staffing lines would be about 90 hours + WX + fine ramp service + JM will peak higher than 100. Does it mean you can go home on the 28th or just work for free?

Not to take things off topic, but that's BS. I don't think that there's a way that anybody can quantify what a 1900/Saab/Dash/CRJ makes in the big scheme of things.

Saying otherwise is just like saying that corporate jets don't make any money for companies. Why then can they be justified?

It's easy to say that regional aircraft only offer "small revenues" when compared to their "bigger brethren". However, in today's economy of scale and interconnected web of regional flights to international flights, it's impossible to tell exactly how much of an impact such flying has on it's parent. (The last time that any data might have been collected on this issue is during the Comair strike/shutdown).

Regional pilots sell themselves out anytime that they repeat the mantra of "we only carry so much revenue." Like I said, it will never happen on a national scale, but it requires the understanding that rather than having the "possibility of better QOL/Pay" for a small group of individuals that reach the pinnacle of the career, it's better for everybody to see the median wage increase, while the range of salaries (both low and high) moves towards the center. (IE regional pilots are paid more, while career major pilots are paid less in the end). The result would be a more even career progression, that could be based less on seniority and equipment and more on experience and longevity.

But like I said, it won't ever happen. (Unfortunately)

Hi!

The contract says "max credit" of 100 hours, so that means that no matter how much pay credit you build up, you'll only get paid for 100 hours.

That sux!

Guys at PCL have been scheduled for 98 hours. If Compass gets low on pilots, they will schedule guys for lots of hours, and all that vacation, incentive, and min pay for non-flying duties will go down the toilet.

I could see capping the max credit at some figure, but I would think 150 would be a reasonable number. An ATA check airman got 350 one month-I do think that's excessive.

cliff
YIP

Looks a lot like the ExpressJet contract... except XJT only flies 50 seaters!

It actually looks a lot worse than XJT's contract in many ways.

Refer to Comair and AWAC 2001 contracts for you to "have something to work off of" in your negotiations as far as payscales for 70+ seats. I have electronic copies of both if you are interested...

Point out the differences, please. Do you fly for ExpressJet?

Well NWA's ALPA negotiated the Compass Contract. I don't like the pay rates but it's just another sign of ALPA national letting down there pilot groups. ALPA national had to sign off on this. It still has many benefits over contracts like MESA ,Etc. Yah Air Wisconsin had a nice contract in 2001 but the contract today looks nothing like the old Air willy contact...pay, and QOL issues that resulted from the TA dramatically changed how the company was able to build lines. The company found many loopholes and today a Air Willy pilot (unless hired in the last 3 years) is likely a commuter who spends on average at least 5 nights away from home a week. Truely the only really nice contract in the regional industry from what i see is Horizon. Everyone has a long way to go to make this industry respectable again!!

No, I work for Air Wisconsin. I've posted the XJT 2004 CBA a few times before, so you can do a search and compare the two for yourself. I'd post it again, but for some reason it won't let me.

My impression of this Compass CBA is that it is very much industry average...which isn't unexpected or saying much. Specifically, I am disappointed with the crappy FO pay, 75% DH, Sick Leave policy, lack of medical reimbursement and 100 hour credit cap. I noticed there is no mention of cancellation pay.

It could have been MUCH worse though...and I'm glad they have an ASAP program out of the box.

Standard disclaimer...I'm not bagging on Compass pilots, including the former AWAC captains that I flew with that recently went there for QOL reasons.

Just an objective analysis of the summary...that's ALL.

None Taken.. I just wanted to point out that every pilot at the regional level has taken it in the shorts for a long period of time. Just when you start making headway a new RFP from your legacy airline will stop you in your tracks. I personally emailed Worthless when MESA's contract was signed by him and asked "how that contract could be looked at as anything other than competatory towards other regionals! As usual ALPA and worthless never responded. He was so worried about freedom that he set back the industry standard for the rest of us.

Just to clarify a few things we get 100 percent pay for cancelled flights. I have never seen anything that prohibits us from crediting more than 100 hours of flight pay... just no more than 100 hours of block. Not saying it doesn't exist just been to busy finishing up my type rating to actually dig to deep into the contract.

The 100 hours is a serious issue right now. You must be in YUL at the moment - those of us at MSP right now are still awaiting an answer regarding that topic and have been given nothing but a runaround. On a side note - CASS should be up in the last week of August. (supposedly). I hope someone can get me answer soon.

Pretty funny in that some of these provisions are better than Mainline..LOL

We get %50 deadhead at Colgan, and some guys here don't want alpa. I got drafted twice this week, so thats a 6 day work week (again). I guess i dont get to see the familly for a while.

Any scope language in there??? Don't want another whipsaw situation...
:(

I was looking at their jobs page, and it looks like they want 1500TT with 1000ME. This is much higher than any other regionals..anyone know if they're accepting guys with less time?

I suspect that it won't be to long before they will have to lower there minimums. They were high from the begining because everyone hired up to this point is expected to upgrade quickly. I was hired for the fourth class and everyone except 1 person was a previous captain of a 121 airline. The class was compasses first class of 12 the previous three were 6 people each. The class i am in was hired as Captains so i don't expect to sit in the right seat. If i do have to sit in the right seat ifor a month it will be at captain pay. I imagine that as this process continues they will lower there minimums since not many people are going to have 2000tt and want to be junior as a FO. This however is not expected to happen until summertime next year. I believe compass has now hired 80 pilots and they plan on having approx. 370 by the end of next year once the 36th plane comes on property.

FYI everyone in my class had over 6000 hours, many with 121 jet pic time. Almost everyone left there previous job because they lived near msp and were sick of commuting to there old jobs..

Hi!

They just called me. I tried to call back, but they weren't there.

Would I be a street captain?
When would I start getting paid as a captain?
Is there a 100 hour the MAX I can get paid each month?
Please confirm the Yr. 1 captain pay rate and guarantee.

Those are the first four things I would like to find out.

Any questions ya'll have? I can ask and hopefully find out.

cliff
YIP

Is compass even flying? They were showing the 1 plane off the in DTW the last couple of days, seems like they are still on the PR tour instead of actual routes.

Compass flights start on the 21st of this month, mainly from the msp hub. A list of cities is floating around but a few to start with are missoula, mt. omaha, nashville, etc. The planes are running a couple weeks behind from the factory. Currently there are 2 and a third should be here by the end of the month.

To the previous poster you would likly have to wait until spring sometime 08 for a capt. position. once you are a capt. the pay is 60.41 per hour. I don't know what class they offered so i have no idea where you would fall on the seniorty list but as of yesterday there are at least 80 pilots on property. figure 4.5 captians per plane and that would be approx. 18 aircraft are already covered with captains. We will have 9 or 10 planes by the end of this year .... then 2 airplanes a month until all 36 are delivered. This is were i think the compass thing might start turning off some people. you might have to sit in the right seat for awhile (anyone hired in the seniority range of 190 and later can expect to wait a few years for upgrade.

Compass currently flies two round trip revenue flights a day. IAD-MSP on the CRJ-200 that they used to certify the airline. E175's will come online as soon as FAA approval is completed.

FAA approval for the e 175 and table top discussions were completed last week. The company has put out approx. 8 lines of flying for septemember.

Guys been offered an interview, I was told a 1-2month upgrade? Is this bS? Are you guys still hiring street captains? How are the lines looking so far?

I FINALLY received a call from Compass yesterday now that I am in the middle of initial ground school at another carrier. What to do... what to do...

depends on who you are with now? if its a first class regional, stay. if its not... possibly look at compass.

I don't think where I am now would be known as a first class carrier due to its third class wages; however, it looks as though I may possibly be awarded an upgrade class soon after training. Compass was my first choice, unfortunately they didn't call me in time. Maybe I should just schedule an interview as soon as I find out when I have a break from training?

As far as upgrades go.... I don't think anybody hired tomorrow would upgrade for at least 4 months or more. Here's why Compass is not scheduled to get there 10th aircraft until January 2008. If you use the logic that it takes 4.5 or 5 captains to crew one aircraft it means that at most 10 aircraft would mean 50 captains and 50 fo's to fly those 10 airplanes. Today i believe there are 100 pilots hired and in some form of training. That means that we have enough pilots today to crew 20 airplanes worth of captains... simply meaning that anybody hired tomorrow can expect to not see a captain postion until sometime around march-may of 08'

Disclaimer this is my guess and i do know the company is concerned that they are not going to be able to find qualified canadates in the near future. I personally think they are going to have some troubles.. the old supply and demand principles at work.

I wouldn't mind waiting for an upgrade at Compass, but I may have an upgrade class sometime in January where I am now. There are two other guys in my class in the same situation and we're trying to figure out what to do.

Lines
 

Well, as far as lines go.....
We have 11 lines posted so far
-9 hard
-2 RSV

Hard lines are as follows
2 - 17 day off/ 79 CRDT
3 - 16 day off/ 89,83 CRDT
1 - 15 day off/ 86 CRDT
1 - 14 day off/ 87 CRDT
2 - 11 day off/ 75 CRDT (CDO,Standup's)

RSV lines
2- 11 day off/ 75 CRDT.......Call out on RSV is 2 hours