Pilots at United claim that they are shouldering most of the labor pay cuts. Lets look at that.
A British Airways 777 captain makes about 106,000 pounds, after a 17% pay raise a few months back, or about $166,000US. That is way less then a UA captain after their 29% pay cut. They max out at 35 days vacation and they dont get paid for trips that fall within those days. They fly way more then a UA pilot per month. A BA two person cockpit works their routes from LHR all the way to ORD and all over the East Coast. The same goes for all european carriers. US carriers do need a third pilots after 8 hrs flight time, but a relief pilot to fly Boston, JFK or EWR to London? That third pilot alone costs way more then $2million per year per route! And I am not counting how much it costs on simulator time, hotels, per diem, first class seat if it can be sold, etc. How do I get to that figure? Do the math and count how many hours a day to go back and forth to London from JFK and then how many pilots UA needs to fly Rlf on that route, then pile up benefits and pension on top of salary. It does not stop there. Why block two B-class seats on the ORD-PEK flight with all that revenue loss? At any other airline a pilot will eat in the cockpit.
Why do UA pilots in Amsterdam have to go downtown? UA F/A''s stay at The Hague at a perfectly good hotel, good enough for US Airways and American Airlines pilots and F/A''s. Why the extra cost for an extra bus, two round trips a day, (IAD and ORD pilots), and more money for a more expensive hotel room? That scene repeats itsef all over the system. The truth is, many UA pilots feel that they should be the only ones getting paid for their work and that everyone else in the property is over paid.
Not only here UA faces competition. No one is going to pay United twice as much, to go overseas, or to fly over here, as they will pay a foreign carrier for a first, b-class or economy seat or a cubic foot of cargo space because our pilots make twice as much as european pilots. Everyone else, including, yes, management make about the same as our people, except for our pilots.
Why to UA pilots, or any other US pilot, feels that he/she should be entitled to make more money then someone in europe? Life there is more expensive. Have anyone noticed the price of fuel in England or Germany? How much a house costs?
If we are to survive our pilots need to come down to sea level and accept that times have changed and to run a decent airline and make a profit you need good people in every department making a decent living. By the way, BA and Lufthansa have been making a profit, small but a profit, and their jobs are secure, at least for now. And one more thing, in the summer of 2000 I did my best to keep customers, that misguided people due to greed, were hell bend on sending away to other airlines.
A British Airways 777 captain makes about 106,000 pounds, after a 17% pay raise a few months back, or about $166,000US. That is way less then a UA captain after their 29% pay cut. They max out at 35 days vacation and they dont get paid for trips that fall within those days. They fly way more then a UA pilot per month. A BA two person cockpit works their routes from LHR all the way to ORD and all over the East Coast. The same goes for all european carriers. US carriers do need a third pilots after 8 hrs flight time, but a relief pilot to fly Boston, JFK or EWR to London? That third pilot alone costs way more then $2million per year per route! And I am not counting how much it costs on simulator time, hotels, per diem, first class seat if it can be sold, etc. How do I get to that figure? Do the math and count how many hours a day to go back and forth to London from JFK and then how many pilots UA needs to fly Rlf on that route, then pile up benefits and pension on top of salary. It does not stop there. Why block two B-class seats on the ORD-PEK flight with all that revenue loss? At any other airline a pilot will eat in the cockpit.
Why do UA pilots in Amsterdam have to go downtown? UA F/A''s stay at The Hague at a perfectly good hotel, good enough for US Airways and American Airlines pilots and F/A''s. Why the extra cost for an extra bus, two round trips a day, (IAD and ORD pilots), and more money for a more expensive hotel room? That scene repeats itsef all over the system. The truth is, many UA pilots feel that they should be the only ones getting paid for their work and that everyone else in the property is over paid.
Not only here UA faces competition. No one is going to pay United twice as much, to go overseas, or to fly over here, as they will pay a foreign carrier for a first, b-class or economy seat or a cubic foot of cargo space because our pilots make twice as much as european pilots. Everyone else, including, yes, management make about the same as our people, except for our pilots.
Why to UA pilots, or any other US pilot, feels that he/she should be entitled to make more money then someone in europe? Life there is more expensive. Have anyone noticed the price of fuel in England or Germany? How much a house costs?
If we are to survive our pilots need to come down to sea level and accept that times have changed and to run a decent airline and make a profit you need good people in every department making a decent living. By the way, BA and Lufthansa have been making a profit, small but a profit, and their jobs are secure, at least for now. And one more thing, in the summer of 2000 I did my best to keep customers, that misguided people due to greed, were hell bend on sending away to other airlines.
49 AM luv2fly wrote: 
