How does Compass turn a 12 month training contract into 15?
Well, they don't start the timing until after you finish IOE.
On the first day of employment they bring you in for a one day orientation. You are responsible for getting to MSP on your own. They will not provide a ticket on their airline for you (that is your base they say). After the single day of orientation you are sent home with a CD about the airpland so that you can study at home, unpaid. This is for a "minimum" of 30 days. After the minimum of 30 days unpaid self training, you come back for a week of indoc training. Since it is your base, you are responsible for your own hotel. Sometime after that, you head off for the simulator training. After sim training you begin IOE. I would think that comes to about 3 months. Then the "12 month training contract" begins.
Even after you get back from your "minimum of 30 days" of unpaid home study, you are only paid for certain things, from what I understand.
But, before you know it, you begin earning that $23.59/flight hour. Now lets see, if you are on a 4 day trip begining at 6 am and getting back at 6pm on the 4th day that would be 84 hours. If you get 5 flight hours per day that would be 20 hours of credit. That amounts to $471.80. If you add in 1.50 per hour of per diem that comes to $597.80. Divide that by the 84 hours you are at work and you get an hourly rate of $7.12.
On the outer hand I should not really be counting per diem as pay because you must pay more to eat on the road than it would cost at home.
But, just remember that carrot that we have all learned to chase as pilots in this system that we helped to create. Should we consider alternatives to this system? Maybe some structural changes?
Just my perspective. Feel free to make corrections or to add other viewpoints. I'm not claiming to possess any answers, just questions.