Once pilots truly realize they possess skills of value the leverage will swing. Buy a new pair of shoes and face your excuses.

 

And then "Beastie Boys music playing"

I can't stand it I know you planned it
I'm gonna set it straight, this watergate
I can't stand rocking when I'm in here
Because your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear
So while you sit back and wonder why
I got this ****ing thorn in my side
Oh my, it's a mirage
I'm tellin' y'all it's CABOTAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We know what we're worth but what do we do about it? Quit? Then what? Problem is this industry does not have a level playing field and management holds all the cards. Can't strike, can't sick out, can't do very much. On top of it, when you do get something good then they come right back at you threats of bankruptcy or lost flying. Like I said...they hold all the cards. Just try to be at the right place at the right time to avoid not getting screwed too much when the music stops playing.

 

This thread is accurate. We deserve the consequences of our decisions. Most regional applicants make poor decisions. There are some regional airlines that do pay adequately. Not great, but adequate.

As a group, we're always trying to chase the quick upgrade, or some sort of shortcut. Using upgrade time as a metric to select a regional is completely idiotic. What are the odds that the current crop of companies will all exist in 5 or 6 years?

Money, time off, and the commute. These are the things that matter in your life every day.

 

Management loves this.

 

That's all? I had a few years at the regionals where I made what you are suggesting as Legacy Captain pay. You suggest 60K for Regional CA? I think the average regional Captain is making well north of 60K.

 

You want to retire after 20 years? I mean I guess I want that too but I don't expect that will happen minus hitting the lottery I don't play. Excluding your own investments, expecting a company to compensate you well enough to retire in your forties is not realistic.

Also trying to pair regional pay with mainline pay won't happen. Legacy guys aren't ever going to take a pay cut to help out the regionals. If you were in their shoes you wouldn't either.

It's great to see people on Facebook and other social media trying to get the word out about these awful TA's that are being presented to pilots. But they're still getting yes votes. Until that changes then compensation will actually decline. Something I never thought I would see.

 

Too many new guys and slightly "senior" FO's who think if they just accept this TA now they'll upgrade quicker.. Then they'll be making Cpt pay and sooner or later it'll be off to a legacy..

Then there are too many junior Cpt's who want to hold onto what they have for just a bit longer til they can high tail it to a Legacy....

Factor in senior Cpt's who get a bone or two thrown their way to keep them happy. Everyone knows they typically won't fall on a grenade for a first or second year FO..

Management plays regional guys like a fiddle...

Compare that to well paying legacy pilots....who typically aren't chasing upgrades.

 

Are you kidding? Where do you work?

Most of the FOs at SkyWest make $40K a year, in fact $50-60K is quite common.

$60K for a captain, -I've been one for 10 years and my lowest tax return was for low 80s. Most have been mid 90s.

$40K is where regional FOs should start. They should be at 50-60K a few years later.

There shouldn't be a captain out there making less than $80-90K their first year in the seat. After all that's 2nd year pay at the legacies.

 

What is a livable wage with those numbers? In 10 years they will be poverty level wages. Perhaps 20 years ago those numbers provided someone with ample income. Additionally 40 a year may be livable to one person, not livable to another and yet the next guy may be living high off the hog with no complaints. The market sets the wage and the market is the interaction between the pilot and the company management. You could write an entire book on this and people have. So until pilots in appreciable numbers decide that 22 an hour is not worth it to them the wage will stay suppressed.

A Company under the financial system put in place here will always be in a state of reacting. It is this reacting that causes the wage increase to lag far behind the rate of inflation. This reduces our standard of living every year. Primarily they react to devaluation of the currency and in the case of an airline that means reacting to higher fuel prices. A company will do what a company does and that is to maximize profits. So who should come in and fix the wage level to whats "fair" for the employee. The only organization that can do that is the government and this causes widespread unemployment and always has.

I personally would rather live in a society where there is very low unemployment, a stable currency worth its original value and low regulation. Maybe then we would have a "livable" wage and a higher standard of living / QOL.