My head isn't in the sand Joe. I'll admit that I worded it poorly. I should care that these jets are going to a Teamsters pilot group. I want the flying back at mainline. The planes can come back to mainline, & the ALPA DCI pilots can be offered jobs at mainline. That's what I want.
Keep ALPA pilots unified, and get our flying on one list.

 

Absolutely. I'd fly them. I'd find some of the best rates and go up from there. New FO rates would have to be negotiated because 1st yr pay regardless of equipment is $56 an hour. Even if it was a B scale the better work rules would make for a better QOL for those flying them at regionals.

 

RgrMurdock is correct.

 

And that my friend should be the wish of every pilot! How do we get to that point though

 

ALPA "unify" pilots ?

That's a hoot.

 

$56/hour new-hires for RJ's ?

You can forget that.

If AMR's 1113's look anything like their last "best" proposal, the new-hire A319 pilot at AA would be $40/hour and second-year at $50/hour and the new full-time job of United and Delta management's (along with everyone else with comparable aircraft), will be how to get their pilot rates down to the new competitive bar.

The future 70 and 90-seat RJ new-hires will be half that. Problem is, is finding people willing to work for that.........well, if the jet is shiny enough, it beats a 172, so they'll probably get pilots, but not as many as the past. If one looks out across the typical hub now, one sees about 50% of the domestic flying covered by 50 to 70-seat RJ's. The majority of that will simply be replaced by 105-125 seat larger RJ's (really the A319Neo, 737Max and perhaps the Bomb C-series and E-190/195, but shhhhhh...........don't tell anyone they're really mainline-sized aircraft) and thus the future capacity obstacles will be improved, but with very little additional labor expense. Let's put that into perspective, shall we ?

50 dollars/hour times, say 75 hours/month times 12 months is $45,000/year. 4 years from now, with health care increases and inflation at average, that would equate to roughly about $37,500/year in todays dollars. That will be the MAJOR airline pilot with 18-24 months at his carrier's compensation, off probation and considered no longer a new-hire. This will be the new "bar" (as in, "lowring the bar"). This aircraft is likely to be a LARGE portion of AA future ops, so it may take a pilot 5 years or more to graduate to say, the 737NG, so with modest increases in hourly rate to say 5th year @ say $72/hour that makes the half-decade MAJOR airline pilot still flying this class of new RJ of the future about $65K.....but add another few years of upward medical and inflation and chop that back to about say, $52,000 in todays earning power and again, that will be the new bar that forces all the other competitors to chase. In reality, United, Delta, American, etc., will be the future regionals and their future pilots will be back flying many (though not all) of those routes, just for essentially regional scale (pay, scheduling constraints and 401(k)). I don't see the current major hopefuls out there getting what they dreamed of and I see a LOT of anger and disappointment coming.

If only pilots weren't blinded by shiny metal, perhaps they could see the forest through the airplanes, eh ?

As far as any 70 and 90-seat RJ's...............well, those will have no choice but to pay REAL peanuts to labor for their lack of revenue generation ability. BTW, the above hypotheticals involve the pay "band" for the A319. The 737Max @ 105-seats and smaller RJ's are noticably less. THAT is the future that is about to be unleashed by one major carrier with a perfectly timed BK as far as pilot labor cost adjustment is concerned. The other competitors will not be able to laugh that off and unless they can compete on an "even playing field", they very well might have no choice but to play the same card if profits drop off. It's already obvious they see they're going to have a REAL problem. Even SWA has fired that shot across the bow of its employees STRICTLY based on this new development.

See ! Pulling a rabbit out of the at ain't so hard. All it takes is a little inginuity and some time...........well, that and a lot of dopey pilots, of course.

The argument that.........."well, THIS TIME we're going to hold the line !", etc. or other such nonsense is proved absurd simply by looking at the past. It's a past whereby airline management (AKA the 1%ers) has run roughshod over pilots with virtually no resistance and considering the greater leverage that existed in the past as compared to now, makes any such claim laughable, to say the least. ALPA, especially has a distinct record of stepping aside to avoid excessive bruising when the charge of management rumbles toward them. The Midwest debacle and the TWA disaster just a couple of examples.

 

eaglefly,

Delta already has pay rates for the CRJ900. The 1st yr pay is currently $56 an hour.

 

You will never fly them. That's the point.

 

Can I borrow your crystal ball?

 

Well then, as stated above, you'll never see them. Especially if AA pays $40/hour for the A319. Your management would have to be certified idiots to put them under DAL's current pilot CBA at that rate. A new VERY low bar may be about to hit the profession like a tsunami and if it does, it inevitably it will wash your current pay rates out to sea.