Between years 3-7 an AA FO makes more than a Spirit Captain anyway (granted that Spirit CA is crediting more, but that AA FO also has the choice to go to a widebody during that time). Again rates aren't the only thing, and as mentioned, Spirit is only now approaching negotiations. Hopefully this serves as a wakeup call to those getting a little too comfortable...

What's third year FO pay at American? Oh yes higher than our 3rd yr ca pay. Fast upgrade is officially a moot point.

Don't get me wrong - I wasn't trying to flex nuts or anything. Our work rules are definitely lacking, and it's entirely possible that our QOL is about to get substantially worse as the merger progresses. I just know that when negotiating - it's nice to have some good ammunition. That way if you point to our rates and some dude with his head up management's ass says, "Well, they only get 11 days off!" - you have something to come back with.

Believe me, the pilots at Spirit who are 'too comfortable' are a small minority. Most of us are acutely aware of where our contract stands in relation to our peers. Our pay rates, now near the bottom of A320 operators in the US, are the most visible deficiency in our contract. Our turn at bat is coming very soon and I'm optimistic that we as a pilot group will hit at least a triple. Things change fast in this industry. It was barely 18 months ago that US Airways A330 captains were making less per hour than our A320 captains at comparable longevity step. I'm glad the disaster that was LOA93 is history and we at Spirit can bargain off the new benchmark the APA has established (at least for pay rates).

Deadstick....where did you get those payrates for American, Virgin, and Jetblue? Are any of those pilot groups actually making those rates currently? When are those rates effective for each airline?

"Working" the rules costs you a lot of QOL as a commuter. I bet more than half of the group are commuters.

With just flying my line my effective rate isn't higher as a ratio to hours flown than most of my friends at other airlines or at my last shtbag regional

I stated that those are effective Jan 1, 2016.

Source:
AA: Ratified JCBA Group II effective Jan 1, 2016.
VA: New rates effective April 1, 2015. (MGMT's attempt to stifle the union drive?)
JB: Current APC rates which are old, compounded with a 3.5% increase as of Jan 1, 2015, and another 3.5% on Jan 1, 2016.

We all need to be looking forward.

Excellent point. As a commuter, I think I've only credited over 100 hours once in 18 months.

Great post

I'm not sure why people thing our work rules are so amazing. Maybe compared to AA (I can't verify that) but against UAL, DAL, jetblue, and southwest it's nothing to call home about. We beat out only Virgin and Allegiant. 4 days off yes is tops but really what else? Transition? That's like a guy in a trailer thinking he's going to be a part or the 1%. It's a ****ing unicorn. I actually get it most months at my seniority but most don't and I screw my whole life schedule up because I can't plan **** the first or last week of the month because that's how I make money. It's a joke. So someone please tell me about these amazing work rules we have.