Quote:
Originally Posted by seenitall
I'm new to this forum but not to commercial aviation, 20 years with AA after 7 years in F18's. From reading this blog I'm guessing most of you are in your twenties. Not one word about how working for these companies is and will destroy our profession. Yes, working for them is a paying flying job, but at what cost? If you plan to permanently fly for them, your lifetime earnings will be about half of that of that of the better legacies. Four million versus eight million for a thirty year career. If you plan on using them as a stepping stone, your action may destroy the very job you were aspiring to!
I was about to get hired two years ago and found out what the pay was, a little more than half of the industry standard. I told them to go "pack sand".
The profession is collapsing, stop jumping on top! They'll be nothing left
Help us out here "seenitall" (which I doubt). Believe me I left my 20s astern a looooong time ago. First reading your post, I am trying to figure out the time line. The F18 didn't enter service until early 1983 and I doubt if they put a nugget in early 1983 in the StrikeFighter. And you say after 7 years you were with AA for twenty. So why were you looking for a job two years ago? Take early retirement from AA? My point is your post doesn't make sense to me given your posted "resume".
Ask what the pay is at Delta and AA and UAL now compared with early 2005. A B767 captain at DAL makes now about $20 less an hour than his copilot made in 2005. And if you are comparing life's earnings at VA compared with someone on the street, hey that's a no brainer. I don't see a lot of complaining about pay at supplementals, charters, etc. They fly the same equipment as legacies, but where is the "outrage".
I have said it a hundred times on these forums, but who would have thought a little startup flying cargo in Falcon 20s would be where it is today. Or the guys that took a chance flying 737s for a small outfit out of LUV would ever amount to anything. And when Delta sold 8 of its old DC9s to ValuJet, who would of thought......
So what VA is paying doesn't look too bad in comparison to what "industry standard" is today. Seems to me that industry standard is more what VA is paying and not the three or four successful carriers are paying. Don't blame the startups, but blame the legacy mismanagement who love nothing better than to allow startups to get a foothold so their employees can be made to take paycuts. Blame legacy mismanagement (with union acquiescence) for allowing huge regional carrier agreements to take (or be given) most all short haul flying away from the carrier. I remember flying a 727 between ATL and AUG. That's being done with ATRs and RJs now.
Years ago (many many) I was on a National Alpa Committe looking into an industry contract. What was finally decided was that it would be a terrible idea in that if we said what the bottom pay would be for a, say a B727 captain, then that's what management would say that pay is all that it is worth. Can't win for losing.
These contracts will work there way up eventually when economies turn around, airlines make money and pilots will be fed up with substandard pay. And sure enough, another startup will come along to try and undercut them. So instead of telling them to "pound sand" and not be employed, perhaps working within the industry would be the way to go, if one truly wants this career.
After all that, I'm still curious about your career timeline.