DCFlyer said:
I guess someone appointed you God - My only qualm is that US Airways is messing up the Star Alliance. I asked one question, and nobody will respond.
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I'll respond, but I expect you to then provide us with YOUR qualifications, what you make, and what you "deserve"
First, a little perspective. One must consider the cost of housing, ect in the major cities that airlines hub in. A 2800 SF home in OAK (not even SF) on a .2 acre lot will set you back a little north of $1,000,000. Of course we can "commute", but if you want that figured in, then you must consider the cost of a crash pad, and factor additional hours "at work".
I was an Airline Pilot at a major.
Qualifications (I'm "typical"): Graduated from one of the top 5 Universities in the nation. SAT/ACT scores in top 1%, GRE's, top 4%. BS, MBA, currently working on PhD. Over 5000 flight hours (3500 military, 350 combat). Flight Instructor in supersonic trainer. Trained US and allied pilots. Worldwide experience, from 13k ft runways in the U.S. to 3500 ft dirt "runways" in place you haven't heard of.
Salary I feel I'm worth? Check the UAL 2000 rates. not a penny less.
Mechanics? They deserve AT LEAST 100K. I remember some tool on this board who used to attack the lowly airline employees and then brag about his 6 figure job fixing "million dollar equipment". These guys fix $100 MILLION EQUIPMENT. If they "screw up", PEOPLE DIE. They must have the professionalism to do what's right regardless of pressure from anyone to "cut corners". they have to get to the parking lot AT LEAST 30 minutes before the shift, and don't get back to the lot until at least 30 AFTER the shift (add an hour to the old 8 hour day). They must be licensed, and are subject to prison for an on the job mistake. Oh did I mention that people DIE when they screw up... And they must also pony up the funds to live in some of the highest cost cities in the U.S.
Only fly 30 hours a month? GMAFB. That ridiculous "average" includes things like guys on long term sick leave (can't fly pregnant or on crutches), guys who are doing annual training, upgrade training (I didn't park all the 727's...), and it doesn't count the augmented crew member's flight time, or "deadhead" time. If you want pilots and F/A's to fly more, than you must also expect more cancellations, and less ability to recover. If on only one day a month, WX is such at your hub that you need 25% more crewmembers to "fix" the situation, then in your world of maxed out crews, they all cancel. Operational integrity requires more surplus factors of production. A UAL narrow body F/O can be scheduled away from home for 380 hours a month, and only be given 10 days off, which can be moved at the company's whim. (more time away and less days off than SWA, Einstein
🙄 ). A narrowbody F/O currently makes between $25,000 and $45,000 less per year than an equally experienced USAF or Navy pilot.
Union forcing the company to put an unneeded guy in first class? You're showing your ignorance. The third pilot is REQUIRED when the flight exceeds 8 hours SCHEDULED duration. The company plans the flight at the bottom of the NATs at max Mach to keep the SCHEDULED time below 8 hours (slightly). The flights are night flights (depart in the evening, land after sunrise). Is it your contention (based on your apparent lack of any concept of aviation beyond the tray table in front of you) that two pilots, after flying 7 hours and 55 minutes, outside of the normal circadian rhythm, are good to go when dropping into one of the busiest airfields on the planet with controllers and other airplanes manned by folks speaking another language, with some of the worst icing conditions I've ever seen, will be on their "A Game"? The extra pilot is a SAFETY ISSUE, but if they can give you a better set of earmuffs in your goody bag instead, then "screw em", right? but since you feel the fed's will "protect you", maybe you need to review the CLT Beech Accident, or the Valudeath crash. Yup, the Fed's were all over those safety issues.... And since you are so big on minimum levels of safety, you need to understand that a 23 YO 1500 hour high school grad for a Capt, with a 350 hour booger eater as the F/O is a "legal" crew on a 747-400.
CSR's? As with the mechanics, they must arrive at work long before the start of the shift, and doesn't leave the lot until long after the shift. I'll say this, they couldn't pay me enough to put up with some of the condescending BS some folks seem to exude on this board.
Why are employees working for the wages being paid today? To some degree, they're stuck. Most would not have chosen this career knowing what today's wages would be. The company is deriving a certain value from an employee's seniority, and deducting it out of that employees check.
How can comair, ASA, ect get away with lower wages, and still get "quality" employees who don't kill people? Same way a hospital gets residents to work for $30K, they trade current wages for the prospect of higher wages in the future. Take away those prospects, and the future isn't too bright. If you pay peanuts, only monkey's will come to work. I'm not condoning "sick outs", I'm just pointing out that good employees aren't cheap. You roll into a time of year when people DO get sick more often (cold dreary Philly....), then you take away the economic incentive to "suck it up" and show up despite being "under the weather", then scratch your head when the house of cards falls....
Why are union contracts so long? Because we like ink? GMAFB. They are long because the company looked at the LAST contract and found a loophole to screw a guy. so then the next contract comes out, and the union MUST close the "loophole" because the company doesn't have the class to treat it's employees well. Example. ALPA "allowed" the company to schedule guys away for more hours a month, so that they could utilize a guy or two who may have hit the max TAFB for a few more flight hours. What did the company do? They started scheduling almost EVERY NB pilot over 300 TAFB, with many lines maxed out. these lines now include 5 day trips with under 20 hours of flying, and layovers of 36 hours DOMESTIC. It may sound "glamorous", but you can only "explore Des Moines" so many times.....
