Branson offers Sully a Job!

[TDK90]

He's 58 yrs old with kids and the opportunity to make twice what a British 747 captain makes. I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a smack what other people think about him.

On that note, does anyone have a Virgin Atlantic (not Virgin American) payscale..

http://www.pilotjobsnetwork.com/factfile.php?id=he3zcpvztkk5578e2ek9jvn4qjhwv77zbykhb41scam57j9xpgw

These payscales are about a year out of date and are in GBP Pounds. So doing the conversion with the terribly performing GB currency, the basic salary is about 150K $, plus flight (sector) pay which can add a fair amount. Pension contribution is 15% of your gross. 35 days plus vacation. Don't forget the approximately 37% tax deduction though!!

Branson has his detractors but the line is out the door to work at Virgin (Atlantic) back in the UK, it's very common to leave the left seat of a decent A320/757 gig to go there...

 

[Freight Dog]

I'm sure I'm gonna get flamed for this, but I cannot stand the mental state of American pilots and this whole "seniority rules over everything" bullsh*t.

Here's what I'm talking about.... if Sully passed out or got incapacitated, and FO Skiles' superior airmanship led to saving lives of all the passengers onboard, due to our lame ass seniority rules, he'd still be an FO.

"Sorry Mr. Skiles, but despite of your showing of superior airmanship skills and the fact that you singlehandedly saved over a hundred lives, we can't make you a captain because of our pilot union rules."

F**k that! As long as we're all acting as union thugs, and our entire worth is based on ONE AND ONLY thing - our date of hire, we're not professional employees - we're monkeys.

I say GO FOR IT, Sully! You truly earned to be on top of the heap! Don't forget your FO and your crew in the process...

 

[Erlanger]

I'm sure I'm gonna get flamed for this, but I cannot stand the mental state of American pilots and this whole "seniority rules over everything" bullsh*t.

Here's what I'm talking about.... if Sully passed out or got incapacitated, and FO Skiles' superior airmanship led to saving lives of all the passengers onboard, due to our lame ass seniority rules, he'd still be an FO.

"Sorry Mr. Skiles, but despite of your showing of superior airmanship skills and the fact that you singlehandedly saved over a hundred lives, we can't make you a captain because of our pilot union rules."

F**k that! As long as we're all acting as union thugs, and our entire worth is based on ONE AND ONLY thing - our date of hire, we're not professional employees - we're monkeys.

I say GO FOR IT, Sully! You truly earned to be on top of the heap! Don't forget your FO and your crew in the process...

Surely you have to be kidding. Union or no union, senority list or no senority list; so you're saying then if a police officer or fireman did something extroardinary, you're saying that maybe they should then be made Chief of Police or the Chief of the Fire Dept? What should we promote the surviving police officers and firefighters that went into the WTC on 9/11 to then?

 

[Freight Dog]

Surely you have to be kidding. Union or no union, senority list or no senority list; so you're saying then if a police officer or fireman did something extroardinary, you're saying that maybe they should then be made Chief of Police or the Chief of the Fire Dept? What should we promote the surviving police officers and firefighters that went into the WTC on 9/11 to then?

No, actually I'm not kidding. In general, superior performance should be rewarded. There is absolutely NO venue for this in a union shop. The union serves a certain purpose, but in this area, it falls completely short. Somewhere in the middle is the right answer...

If FO Skiles exhibited superior airmanship in something like this, he wouldn't be able to be promoted to captain simply because of his date of hire - THAT'S IT - DATE OF HIRE! That's ALL that matters, and that's what's wrong.

 

[WSurf]

No, actually I'm not kidding. In general, superior performance should be rewarded. There is absolutely NO venue for this in a union shop. The union serves a certain purpose, but in this area, it falls completely short. Somewhere in the middle is the right answer...

If FO Skiles exhibited superior airmanship in something like this, he wouldn't be able to be promoted to captain simply because of his date of hire - THAT'S IT - DATE OF HIRE! That's ALL that matters, and that's what's wrong.

I can agree with that 'Frieght'. We all know a handful of butt holes that shoulda been fired only to have the Union save there jobs. Then those same buttholes upgrade and make every FO's life a living hell.

Doesn't Cathy Pacific use Performance and Merits to decide who upgrades and who doesn't?

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Doesn't Cathy Pacific use Performance and Merits to decide who upgrades and who doesn't?

More like who is the drinking buddy of the handful of training captains that run that department indiscriminately.

Performance and merits are up to a certain point subject to interpretation

 

[Dan Roman]

More like who is the drinking buddy of the handful of training captains that run that department indiscriminately.

Performance and merits are up to a certain point subject to interpretation

Well said, our profession doesn't have the same level of "office politics" many others do. Being drinking buddies with someone won't get you an early upgrade. Can you imagine the backstabbing and screwing people over that would happen if upgrading depended on "merit".
In addition, in Freightdogs example, he is saying that Skiles should be upgraded ahead of pilots that were not faced with the same one and a million situation, even though they are just as capable of doing the same thing.

 

[Cpt. Underpants]

Dumb Pilot (hmmm)

More like who is the drinking buddy of the handful of training captains that run that department indiscriminately

I was thinking "let it go...let it go" but silence woud be an acceptance of that statement, and I reject it utterly. You aren't even a CX employee, yet you feel qualified to make a statement condemning a very good cadre of trainers whose purpose is teaching and maintenance of standards?

My colleagues and I work extremely hard and I put in a lot of time making our instruction the best we can. I research the background, experience, previous training reports of students and (if at all possible) have a meeting before the flight to clarify expectations and objectives...and I'm not the exception.

You have no idea, mate.

 

[GogglesPisano]

You aren't even a CX employee, yet you feel qualified to make a statement condemning a very good cadre of trainers whose purpose is teaching and maintenance of standards?.

How did you get the idea Dumb Pilot was talking about CX? I thought he was talking about the 2 previous airlines I worked for -- both with "good ol' boy" training departments.

The idea of upgrading on "merit" in this profession is myopic at best. We all think we're hotshots -- but we're only as "hot" as the next fickle checkairman thinks we are.

Ass-kissing, bending rules with your certificate to get the "mission accomplished," never calling in sick, never turning down an inverse assignment ... all required to upgrade in this non-union "merit-based" fantasyland.

Seniority = safety.

 

[av8trinabarrel]

True, but as an senior ex-PSA pilot, Sulley and his fellow senoir PSA pilots recieved about $180,000 placed into a retirement account when USAir bought PSA. Junior pilots got something less.

When USAIR bought PSA in 88, they gave the pilots a 15% stake in the company instead of a pay raise. My dad was a captain in 88 with PSA and recieved a check much smaller than $180,000. Sully had 8 years senority when the merger went through. Not exactly senior!