FlyASA, may I ask how long you been at ASA? How long will it take you to upgrade? How long will it take you to reach 1000 turbine PIC to just check off a silly requirement at some majors?

Among many reasons why I couldn't give 2 sh*ts about GoJet is that reason alone - regionals for damn near EVERYBODY are a stepping stone - it's all a rat race to get to a major for a big majority of regional pilots. So this whole "woohoo... save the profession by bashing GoJet" is a bunch of bullshiite.

This ENTIRE industry needs a MAJOR overhaul, and I mean Chip Foose overhaul because it is just that big of a turd right now. The friggin' engine is sputtering and catches on fire, the transmission is gone, a/c isn't working, the alternator is dead, all seals and hoses have about had it, and you people are b*tching about a chip in the paint. Unreal...

 

"Overhaulin" the industry sounds great. AirWillie and the other GoJetters are more into the "Pimp My Ride" philosophy. You know, throw some new paint and wheels on the car and the fact that it's still a Ford Tempo with 243,000 miles on all the important parts is easily forgotten. Because hey, at GoJets, they have almost industry standard hourly rates and the fact that they are helping the rest of the industry to remain in shambles is not very important. Isn't Xzibit a flight manager at GJ?

 

Unless one knows a thing or two about business practices, the current situation cannot be fully understood.

This industry as a whole has been able to build downward inertia for a long time now. If you pull the wool over people's eyes slowly enough, they won't notice. Consumer hold on the current low ticket prices didn't occur overnight and will not be undone overnight. Airline managements are not entirely stupid as most pilots think, but rather their goals are different. To the end of maximizing revenue, you've got to hand it some of them. The GoJet situation was an attempt to maximize margin and nothing more and it was potentially a smart thing to do from an entirely profit driven perspective.

From the viewpoint of one who creates a company, builds a name and a reputation (assuming a good one - not the case for some), and is hellbent on turning it into a money making machine, the single line item on the income statement labeled "Pilot wages" needs to be as low as it can be - and so it is today.

These bean counters have the pilot cycle down to a science. Don't think for a second that they want you working a career at their companies. Numbers have been crunched to determine the maximum return on a pilot considering training cost allocation, increasing pay scales, needs for captains, etc. Make it too pleasant and folks top out on the payscales - much of this stuff we bicker about on this board is engineered, I PROMISE you!!

Things might change for the better. My opinion is that things will improve, but it'll be a long time down the road. So long as new regional pilots keep showing up to take the jobs in more numbers than slots - and they are, after all the experience requirements are adjustable - and consumers demand ultra cheap travel, managements will do their thing.

Labor supply is at a surplus and will always be, even if experience requirements have to be moved to wet ticket levels and the 6 month zero to hero schools show record enrollment.

The ultimate question one has to answer for themselves is whether to be a part of it or not.

 

I hate to break it to you, but you ain't gonna overhaul the industry by mudslinging at yet another sh*tty regional.

I recently hung out with a Brit guy who's flying a Legacy now, but used to fly an EMB-145 at BMI Regional... right out the gate, his min GUARANTEE translated into USD was around $56k AS AN FO! You don't see that kind of money until you upgrade to captain in the U.S.

Another thing... they use seniority for promotion, but if they're also open to hiring direct entry captains if experienced enough, and funny thing - they don't seem to mind it nearly as much as you all would do, but then again, their mentality is quite a bit different from ours.

Oh yeah, and the first year captain pay? $93,000 USD for an ERJ-145 captain, and that's bare bones reserve. How long will it take a US regional pilot to make that here?

I asked him if it was a livable wage as a brand new FO. He said, it's an OK living. Much, much better living than your average US pilot flying the same equipment in the US.

The guy married an American girl, has an FAA license, but took one look at our payscales, and said "no, thanks. I can't believe people sign up for those wages!"

Hilarious...

 

Word up, failed Gojet interviewer and 16 dollar per flight hour FO. Honestly....

 

It's hard to make 54K starting out when there are 30 different BMI regionals though... It's nice to compare but the market it totally different here. I don't think people abroad can imagine pilots spending careers flying CRJs along with the union mandated pay where pilots actually take pay cuts due to inflation.

 

You seem to point out a lot of stuff that was arguably caused by GoJetS. Keep in mind I had a job that I'd almost certainly still have if it weren't for the pilots that jumped over to GojetS at the first opportunity. Additionally, my hourly pay on a 19-seat airplane that flies routes that are in the true spirit of a commuter airline is hardly causing the problems that your pilot group is causing.

My current pilot group just voted in a new union and has a contract proposal in the works for much better work rules and pay. It was never an issue before because nobody stayed at this company long enough for any of it to matter. Now that it matters, the pilot group is ready to fight for what we deserve.

If you want to rehash my "failed" GoJetS interview in every GoJetS thread, that's fine. I'm not hiding from it and I'm not proud of it. I'm glad I didn't get the job there and I regret ever considering it. If my punishment is that you remind me every few weeks of how stupid i was, so be it.

I think the story of my pilot career thus far is a pretty good example of just what this whole GoJetS debacle has actually done to real people out there. I don't want to be stuck somewhere working my butt off, making $16/hr but here I am...and I'm probably one of the more fortunate ones.

I think the only possible solution to the problems we face in the industry is a national strike. Maybe even a strike just among the regional airlines would suffice but I don't think there's enough unity among the regional groups. I think a national strike including the majors would have better luck...but then I don't think Southwest would be on board and I'm not sure what would happen then. The fact that the strike would be illegal really doesn't bother me. Half of the things the Federal Government does right now aren't legal either.

Oh well, I don't see a whole lot of good coming in this industry. I'm strongly considering getting out. I'm tired of seeing my friends who dropped out of college buy houses while I'm stuck living in my Mom's basement. That's enough rambling for one post.

 

You would think it'd be easier considering there's more of them.

Oh yeah, nevermind... the unions mandate that we ALWAYS have to start making year 1 apprentice pay regardless of our past experience - hence no one is able to walk off their job in pursuit of a lateral move forcing the company to provide better working conditions...

Sad...

 

How much does he take home after taxes. I've heard taxes are high in Europe.

 

And here is the problem with arguing with AirWillie. We make valid points and he turns to personal attacks and rationalization.

You know, I will never agree with they guys who went to gojet for any reason, but at least many of them have a reason. It seems that you're only rationalization is resignation.

"Every regional sucks, so it doesn't matter where we work"