SWA pilots average 18 days off. That's what I want. I also see how maximizing days off is failing to be a productive member of society. Last time I checked, the government gets a good chunk of my salary. The same can't be said for those who are too good to go flip burgers or work at a retail store but don't mind sucking off the unemployment teet.

 

Shiz;

do you have historic w-2 comparisons to prove this or are you repeating what you've been told?

 

You sure about that? DPA has over 3000 cards now. And from what I've seen and heard around campus, that doesn't even begin to touch the number of guys who are unhappy with ALPA. Some are just more willing than others to do something about it, and some have different ideas about what to do.

That's probably right.

So how did they get to an average of over $230K for a Captain? That's MORE than our MD-88/90 Captains were making with C2K! I'm not aware of the SWA pilots getting any big pay increases since then. How did they get there?

 

I would like some stats and proof to back up that the AVG SWA Capt makes over 230K. Maybe a few do but I bet they work extra to get it, or they are an LCA or something with an override.

But to answer your question. SWA has remained profitable and an even bigger
point is they didn't file Bankruptcy and void contracts with the Bankruptcy Judge,
The have never had an A plan (Which all the ALPA legacies had prior to the Bankruptcies of post 9/11) and only have a 401K match, albeit a decent match.

SWA just like FedEx trailed the legacies until the great devastation that followed 9-11. It was only after FedEx voted ALPA back (for the 2nd time) that we were able to actually negotiate a contract. Our 1st contract under the FPA was basically imposed after our In house Union imploded on itself. Not picking on the SWA pilots by any stretch. SWA is clearly a top choice for a Pilot Job. It is just that they, like FedEx, never really raised the bar, we just haven't let it slip. A profitable company with consistent performance is one Big reason. Having a Union is another.

Happy 4th Everybody. Be safe out there!

 

If you're making a W-2 argument, was Delta Express a "C" scale? I seemed to remember a lot of those very junior Captains really cleaning up with the efficiency of that operation and prudent use of our contract.

 

They patterned off the rates that were established at UAL & DAL in 2000-2001.

They were able to avoid sliding backwards because their airline didn't go into bankrputcy.

It's a happy circumstance for all of us that SWA has been able to hold on. We'll have a nice reference point.

 

"Prudent" is an interesting choice of words for how Express made bank. Are you somehow trying to imply that SWA has an organized sickout/greenslip gig going? Because I'm not buying that.

 

Post of the month !

 

Are you implying the Delta Express had an organized sickout campaign going on? Because the data doesn't support that. Yes, they used greenslips, just like SWA uses overtime to get to their "average" pay.

I note that you didn't answer the question. Is it W-2 or wage rates? B-scale or not?

 

You sure about that? I don't remember them getting any huge pay increases back then. I always bought into the conventional wisdom that they were quite a bit behind us (prior to 9/11) in pay. But then again, the only thing I ever saw was the pay rates. That obviously doesn't tell the whole story with SWA and is actually quite misleading because of their TFP thing. I'm beginning to wonder if they were really all that far behind us back then.

Of course, that's really not all that important now. What IS important is that their average Captain makes over $230K/year and their average First Officer makes over $140K/year. When you compare a Delta MD-88/90 Captain averaging 75 hours per month on our current pay rates, you get an $83,000 per year deficit compared to an SWA Captain doing essentially the same kind of flying. For those of you in Rio Linda/Herndon... that's HUGE!