If the abovementioned legacy carriers held on tight on their scope clauses, then SKW would not be "doing their flying".

 

yes and no. In my opinion that is. So long as they can be scope claused from flying anything with 100 or more seats in it they aren't a major. Revenue amount or not. Until they are allowed the freadom of choice between aircraft they aren't a major. And yes if they could I'm sure XJT or SKW would fly a 737 on a couple routes because they are much more efficient. They are stuck on regional jets so they are a regional.

 

It isn't the pilots faults regionals are flying mainline routes. Trans States operates STL-DEN, STL-CLT, STL-BWI, those sound like mainline routes to me.

SkyWest isn't the only one flying mainline routes, we just provide a good product for a low cost which is why we are awarded flying. I don't see why that is so hard for people on this forum to understand. Not every airline has to be the highest paid. Everyone on here always talks about pay, pay and more pay. There are other things at SkyWest that the pilots are happy about. We don't have to have the best contract, work rules, pay, etc. to be happy. Every airline is going to have something to offer each person which makes it better than the other. The majority of us are sorry that we were awarded flying from Comair and that planes were transferred from ASA. We don't want to gain at other's expense. The only one on here who brags about that is slappy.

Bringing ALPA in isn't going to change anything, getting more money isn't going to change anything. The majority of people don't think like Slappy, no one wants to take flying from other regionals, except Slappy. Why aren't you XJT guys bashing RAH pilots for the flying they were awarded? I assume they were awarded the flying because CAL felt they could as good as job for lower costs??? What a concept. I guess RAH is also bringing the industry down just like SkyWest because they provide a good product for less than XJT. Maybe we could all bash them for a while.

The reason regionals are flying mainline routes is because there is no reason to put a MD-80 on a route that routinely only carries 70 people. Not our fault the majors decided to give that flying to regionals. You must not commute to see that MDPhlyer.

 

Very Well Put.

 

Gentlemen, I agree with what you are saying. I know that it's not the pilot's fault, that it makes more sense financially to fly an RJ on a smaller route, and that scope clauses at the majors could prevent a lot of flying being farmed out. All valid points and very realistic. All I'm trying to illustrate is that it is good for our profession as a whole to continuously try to improve pay and QOL even if you are at the top of your 'genre' of airlines.

I, by no means, am bashing pilots from any carrier. I just believe that you should be continuously thinking of ways to use your own CBA, or work rules and pay, to set a bench mark that other pilot groups can bring to the table in their negotiations. We are all in this together and we should realize that our decisions as a pilot group affect not only ourselves, but other groups flying similar equipment and future pilots as well.

 

Define mainline route. Is it distance that makes it a mainline route? Is it the size of the cities on either end? In my opinion, mainline route is a route operated by a mainline aircraft, nothing more.

If only that were the case. The CHQ guys here in IAH and the CAL gate agents who have to deal with them do enough bashing on their own. Every time I'm down there on the hardstands all the gates with CHQ flights are a cluster of missing airplanes, missing crews, denied boardings and angry pax. Kinda funny and kinda sad at the same time. Plus, I'm sure CAL loves to see CHQ putting CAL pax on a plane painted in UAL colors. I'm sure the pax see it as "CAL couldn't get their act together so they had to have UAL come in and rescue us".

 

I just get sick of reading that SkyWest is the downfall of the industry. I am happy at SkyWest and I don't need to be the highest paid in the industry to be happy. Yes, our pilots who voted for the pay raise not only sold out the Bro pilots, but the industry as well. It would have been nice to vote it down and try to negotiate a better offer, but that obivously didn't happen. It is funny to read how people on here think that because XJT gets a raise or if Mesa gets a better contract, that that has any effect of what happens at other regionals. This isn't pre-9/11 where it is a race to the top, it is fight and struggle to get what we get. Our pay could be better at SkyWest, but management played the pilots like pawns and the pilots who voted yes took the bait. Sad to say, but it I was impressed at how management picked the perfect number to get just enough votes. I think it was voted 54% yes and 46% no. Management knows this pilot group too well.

I don't know what a mainline route is? Someone made a comment about regionals flying mainline routes and we should get paid for doing that. I was just making the point that SkyWest isn't the only one out there doing it. But since you ask, a mainline route in my opinion is one that requires an airplane with enough seating capacity to fulfill the passengers for that given segment. Is that 76 seats and above? I don't know, apparently not as we speak. American used to fly F100's with a 108 seating capacity I think, maybe 100 or so is the cutoff? Does anyone know what the E190 at USAirways will be flown at? Also, anyone noticed their regional level pay scale? I don't hear anyone complaining about that. And, why didn't ALPA raise the bar on that pay scale? RAH has a higher pay scale for the same airplane.

 

This is exactly the attitude that contributes to the "Race to the Bottom."
"Well, I don't want to lose my job, so I will take whatever I can get." "I'll just settle for the first thing that management puts on the table." And guess what, when things happen at other airlines that does effect what happens at other airlines. Comair's contract was leverage for XJET to demand better. Air Whiskys recent arbitration win should help other groups to do better. Better contracts at other regionals provide leverage for your pilot group to demand better, not just settle for the first thing that comes along, or to let management play the pilots like pawns. From what I understand SkyWest has a lot of flying and makes good money. Why would you not use that as leverage for more pay?

 

Everyone says regionals suck. So why don't you quit? The fact that the pilots were able to vote basically gives them the form of a union. You think ALPA could handle things any different when there is a majority vote?

 

The union does far more than allow you to vote my friend. They provide job protection. Who is gonna represent you when your doing a rug dance because the company wants to fire you for too many sick calls? Who is gonna back you up or give you guidance when you run an airplane off a runway? What do you do if you have an alcohol problem. Many union airlines form Employee Assistance Programs. If you turn yourself in before the company catches you, you are protected. There are many things a union does rather than just allow a pilot group to vote. And I think you misunderstood my original statement. I am very happy with my job. But if any pilot, not just Skywest pilots thinks that it is o.k. or acceptable to fly 70/90 seaters for what other regionals are getting paid to fly 50 seaters then they are contributing to the race to the bottom. It is sad the the Skywest pilots just accepted the first thing that came their way. In the midst of all the flying that Skywest is being awarded they should be using that as leverage for higher pay. I don't have a problem with Skywest's EMB-120 pay, or the ERJ pay, or even the CRJ200 pay. Its the 700/900 pay thats a problem, and the override is a joke. The same goes for Republic, their 70 seats payrates are a joke as well.