An idea to begin to turn the tide on pilot pay

[CaptainMark]

Many would see how much more we make than they do and it would foster ill will towards us.

How much we make?..trashmen make more than regional pilots and most majors nowadays..you gotta be kidding me..!

 

[Delville]

I think we would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we chose to put fear in the traveler. We would also inspire anger in some who saw our attempt to manipulate them by "playing on the public's fears". Can you imagine management's response ads? Which would the public like more, the soothing management ads or our ominous predictions of gloom and doom?

Most air travel advertisement focuses on the comfort and/or ease of air travel. I think talking about the negatives would get some to travel by car.

Talking to the public about our salaries??? That would not turn out well. Many would see how much more we make than they do and it would foster ill will towards us. Besides that they would say, "go right ahead get a different job" if we highlighted those going to other careers for more money.

That's why you would not have pilots creating the advertisements.

We would hire a well-known, highly-respected advertising agency with proven experience in this kind of advertising. If pilots tried to design the advertisements and/or dominate the creative process, I'm sure the campaign would be an embarassment and I'm sure we would shoot ourselves in the foot.

Like you, I'm not an advertising professional, but I have to ask why, in your mind, would the ad's have to focus on "doom and gloom"? Why would they have to talk about our salaries?

I'm quite certain advertising professionals would be able to craft a very smart campaign using subtlety or whatever other methods they thought were best to get our point across.

No one , I repeat no one in the flying public, (in my view) could give a fart about how much money we're making right now. Airline tickets are bought like a commodity, just like when I buy the lowest priced beer. that said, no purpose would be served by an ad campaign, other than to hope to invoke pity.

I've said this several times already on this thread, and I'll say it again; you're right! No one at all cares how much money we make and the impact that it has on our lives. No one cares. No one cares. No one cares! They do, however, care very much about themselves. If they have a belief that their safety might be effected by the quality of the pilots up front, then they may be willing to pay more for safety.

I agree we would get nowhere with pity. Like I said above, though, let the advertising professionals figure out the best specific tack to take.

The fact is pay would never have reached the levels it did without regulation.

Absolutely! This is what I said earlier. Our seniority system is designed for the era of regulation. It is outdated and ill-equipped to handle today's deregulated airline industry.

 

[AOA]

An interesting topic for sure but I think "Jim Smyth" hit the nail on the head in one of the very first posts.

The reason why we are having the problems we do in our industry is quite simply put.....the seniority system. You see when you work for one airline and have spent some time working your way through the ranks and gaining all this valuable experience if something goes wrong at YOUR airline you are less motivated to move on early because YOU know that the pay at that next airline will be less and you will have to start the process ALL over again.

Now imagine a situation where we actually valued our collective experience and knowledge. A situation where you wouldn't be "inserted" at first year pay..... I love to use the example of let's say a lawyer with 5 years of criminal law. Let's say that this person has spent alot of time in his field and has become an expert!! Now if he decides to leave his firm whether by personal choice or by closure of the firm you and I both know that this person WILL NOT go to another firm for first year pay........ The new firm will look over his resume (logbook etc) and offer a competitive salary to retain his/her services.


The point of this all is quite simply put.. We need to look at our industry collectively, we need to look out for each other. Taking this course of action will allow us to take back our jobs and set the course for the future....

Thanks
AOA

 

[D'Angelo]

The public doesnt care what we make and they never will. There are plenty of unsung heros out there that don't make enough money but should. Teachers are just one of many examples. The fact is life isnt fair. Some people are overpaid and some people are underpaid.

 

[Green]

We as airline pilots need to stop waiting for someone else to come in and negotiate for us and "fix our pay." Nobody cares how much we make or whether we are underpaid.

If public opinion mattered then a##holes in management would not be walking away with multi million dollar bonuses after raping employees. You do not get paid what you deserve you get paid what you negotiate. We negotiated some huge concessions and, surprise, our pay is much less than it used to be.

This is not rocket science. The pay raises of 2000 were achieved through a significant amount of work, dedication, and a huge amount of determination. Nobody is going to hand us all that money back, certainly not the travelling public. We will have to fight hard for it.

 

[Delville]

The reason why we are having the problems we do in our industry is quite simply put.....the seniority system.

Agreed 100%. However, I think it would help to conduct a little public education with a smart advertising campaign.

The public doesnt care what we make and they never will. There are plenty of unsung heros out there that don't make enough money but should. Teachers are just one of many examples. The fact is life isnt fair. Some people are overpaid and some people are underpaid.

Ooooo! Do you feel that buzz? I do believe we all just got Truthocuted by D'Angelo!

No one, especially me, is asserting that the public cares what we make. They do, however, care about their own safety. If higher quality pilots equals better safety in the public's mind, then they may express a preference for higher paid pilots via their consumer buying habits if we can establish a psychological link between the quality of pilot and a pilot's compensation level.