Times have never been more uncertain in the regional industry, economy is still and is projected to remain stagnant, oil prices will continue to rise. We couldn't get good contracts back when things were good, how do you expect things to get any better when most regionals are in survival mode?

I think current negotiations as well as upcoming ones will be considered successful if pilots actually mange to keep what they currently have.

 

Hey that's the attitude! And management continues to salivate at the collective resignation. I would think you would be hungry by now being furloughed and all!

 

I am surprised regionals don't start pay for training again. If I owned a regional I would make both captains and FO's pay for a job. I bet I could get at least 20k from FO's and maybe 10 or 15k from captains. I guarantee would have a stack of resumes on my desk the first day. "Gotta pay those dues right"? "Build that turbine PIC. It will open doors"?

There are few less business savvy professionals out there than airline pilots. How many other professionals pay between 40k and 100k for training and then work for less than peep show janitor wages for years on end? And so many of you have been totally duped by the unions. Particularly the regional guys. ALPA is run by a bunch of bottom feeding political hacks that charge you 2% of your salary to blow smoke up your posterior. The only leverage regional pilots have in negotiations for pay would be to deprive airlines of their services by quitting and going someplace better. Unions have saw to it that it would be foolish to do so. Good job ALPO. Unless your company sells their own tickets you are always going to be at the mercy of the next bottom feeder out there.

Yes I am a fool. I used to belive this could be a lucrative profession. While I do love the flying I hate about everything else about this business. I learned my lesson and am working on my exit strategy at the moment. For those of you that think you have made it in this business, you are only fooling yourselves. If you were to get furloughed tomorrow or your airline were to go T.U. where do you think you will go and how little will you be payed?

 

Sounds like a lot of you didn't do your research before perusing this career. I'm not in this for the money and never will be. I never had any money, my family never had any money so I'm used to not having any money. I know how to live off what I have. I never expected to get rich in this field. I know some of you Riddle guys I went to school with have a ton of money, or your families do anyway. I would always see you pull up in your BMW's and whatever. Hear people talk about their daddy's airplane. Must be nice. So now that you don't have any money and the money you were "promised" isn't there you are all freaking out. It's your own fault for not being happy with what you chose, not the airlines you work for.

I am all for higher wages and better work rules. I agree it could be a hell of a lot better and we should fight to get what we deserve. Why does it seem so many people want stuff handed to them? Like the airlines are gonna be like, "sure here you go." You have to fight to get what you want. I guess too many people are so used to having everything handed to them on a silver platter. I'm just tired of hearing guys complaining about it. If you don't like it either A: let's do something about it or B: quit so we don't have to hear your whining and open up a spot for the people that want to be here. If you knew what the pay was when you took the job, and didn't like it, then why did you take the job?

 

I agree with most of your post except that comment. Why are you in it? For your health? And please don't give me that: "I always wanted to be a pilot" crap. You can be a pilot, its called playstation 3. I chose this career to make a living. You are right, I didn't do very good research though. Nevertheless, a job is what you do to make money. This is the job I do. It doesn't pay enough. I don't do it for fun. What I do for fun is limited to my measly couple days off here and there and the few pennies I have left after my bills are paid.

 

Mesa duh...they already did it with their new contract!

 

Great post

 

I never went to Riddle, but it sounds as though you may have some deeper issues with you and your families financial situation.

I never thought I was owed any certain wage automatically. 10 years ago when I made the jump to get into this industry there were twice as many legacy jobs to be had and the pay was around 50% higher. 10 years ago 55% of domestic departures were not being done in RJ's. 10 years ago CRJ 700's 900's E-170 and 190's didn't exist. It would have been impossible 10 years ago to predict 9-11 and the takeover of domestic flights by RJ's. 10 years ago there was a much different career progression than we have today. Nobody was sitting in the right seat of an RJ for 7 years then.

Quit you say? More RJ pie for you? Why yes, I will quit as soon as I can. You may have all of the turd sandwich you can eat. Bon appetit.

 

Plus



Equals status quo.

Nationwide / International "regionals" will keep getting bigger, gobbling up little(r) airlines along the way, and displacing high(er) paying airline jobs, planes will keep creeping up in size toward 100 seats or more, and there will continue to be an endless oversupply of "I'm not in it for the money". Overall, your wish will come true.

 

So I made it to 700 some odd hours before I got furloughed, does this mean I can't get recalled now? Funny, the government is still requiring payment of my loan to Sallie Mae, but now by legislative fiat I am not allowed to return to a job I am entitled to. Meanwhile California is making it illegal for me to flight instruct without paying the state thousands of dollars a year for accreditation at a time when that kind of money can't be made CFI-in. I guess the government just does not want me to work or fly.