It's Time for a Minimum Wage for Airline Pilots

[Rez O. Lewshun]

The wrinkle that no one wants to discuss is people being forced to start over at multiple regionals. I understand supply and demand and I understand paying my dues. However if we want to keep talented and experienced individuals in this industry we need to figure out a way to fix this.

I've worked for two regionals.. two full years of first year turboprop FO pay. I've gotten my chance to upgrade, been a captain for several years made the sacrifices and gotten my time and proven myself. Now I find myself about to be furloughed yet again and due to the economy my only option is to go back to the right seat of a regional on first year pay yet again if I want to keep flying.

OR I leave aviation and go to another field where I can apply myself and work hard and actually reap some benefits from that. As I read all the articles and watch the Frontline documentary I keep thinking coming back to the same fact. The training and preparation at regionals isn't the whole problem.. it's keeping talent in the cockpit that is probably the single biggest problem.

If there was a minimum wage for "experienced" FO's I would probably try another regional. If I had a guarantee of 40K a year I would suck up reserve again and commuting again. But all that pain for 18 to 19K a year?? I find myself leaning towards leaving aviation. I know I'm not alone in this, many experienced and talented pilots are tired of starting over at the regional level.

I've read this whole thread and flame me if you like, but I did know what I was getting into and I was and remain willing to pay my dues. However not in my wildest dreams did I think I would have to start over at the regionals 3 times in 4 years. Without some sort of minimum wage we will continue to drive many good pilots out of the industry and replace them with 250 hour pilots. If the US wants to be serious about safety this simply has to stop.

my $.02

cale

your .02 is worth much more.....

I know a guy that was in the biz for 10 years. Flew for 5 different carriers. Furloughed three times. That is first year pay for half of his "career".

Keep in mind that first year pay is a CEO/COO's wet dream. The more often employees can be on first year pay, the better......

Consider a system where pilots were considered national assets as where airlines.... the Captains of Industry would never stand for it... because they couldn't keep recycling the labor cost back to first year pay....

The other problem is... prior to the colgan crash we've had one off the best safety years on record. And it was done after one of the worst decades in the biz. With pay slashed 40% and pensions gutted professional pilots flew quite safely. What does that tell the bean counters....

 

[inthegoo]

with pay slashed 40% and pensions gutted professional pilots flew quite safely. What does that tell the bean counters....

All right everyone:

FLY DANGEROUS!

Now it's the 410 club for me on every leg, especially in the 200 (ISA + 15 no prob), and when the shaker comes on, PULL HARDER!

 

[RedDogC130]

Would it be appropriate for SWA pilots to invest in the regionals?

Not if that investment means another pilot group is flying my (swa) passengers...and my pilot group has to be furloughed to make it happen..if SWA sees the value of a smaller aircraft into smaller markets then it should be SWA pilots doing the flying....the Legacies dropped the ball on that one.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Not if that investment means another pilot group is flying my (swa) passengers...and my pilot group has to be furloughed to make it happen..if SWA sees the value of a smaller aircraft into smaller markets then it should be SWA pilots doing the flying....the Legacies dropped the ball on that one.

I'll rephrase.... should the SWA pilots and/or SWAPA be investing in the quality of professionalism at the regionals? After all most SWA applicants and future FOs are going to come from the regionals. One would think Gary Kelly would be interested too....

SWA has or does depend on other airlines and military to train their pilots, including the pilots themselves with the type. What SWA really looks for is whether or not an applicants mother did a good job.

If the legacy or Brand carriers start flying regional jets and taking lower time guys as new hires, (and doing more fundamental training, themselves) that might leave SWA in the lurch......

Crazy talk says in one or two decades SWA, (DAL, UAL and AMR) has to do ab initio training including the MPL. While this will increase SWA's costs it will also allow them to control training, SOPs, etc... it might also pragmatically no longer make SWA an attractive career move for the MIL guys, as all new hire SWA pilots will have to go to ab initio school. (designed for pilots with a private or CPL rating right out of college)

Crazy talk also says SWA has B787 in FRA. But that is just craaaaaazy.

 

[WayBack]

The other problem is... With pay slashed 40% and pensions gutted professional pilots flew quite safely. What does that tell the bean counters....

That no matter what BS they feed the pilots, they will continue to take pay cuts and keep flying those airplane. But if there was a union out there who wasn't afraid to strike......nah, that's just silly talk. Everyone knows the unions are in bed with management.

 

[RedDogC130]

You can't consider ALPA a union.... how can a union represent the pilots of 1 airline yet the other airline they represent wants to steal thier flying...ie legacy vs. regional.... It is a backwards system with each hand punching the face trying to win....each airline should have their own seperate in-house union to represent those pilots and not have to worry about the master union and the other companies they represent....how does that make sense....nobody to this day has been able to justify this to me...anyone care to try?

 

[WayBack]

You can't consider ALPA a union.... how can a union represent the pilots of 1 airline yet the other airline they represent wants to steal thier flying...ie legacy vs. regional.... It is a backwards system with each hand punching the face trying to win....each airline should have their own seperate in-house union to represent those pilots and not have to worry about the master union and the other companies they represent....how does that make sense....nobody to this day has been able to justify this to me...anyone care to try?

Wait, this means someone else gets it! Rez and PFT128 will be the first to tell you, you're stupid and don't understand. Then they will give some BS answer about that's how the RLA/ALPA operates, you know, a real union.....that's been dead for 50yrs.
But lately, it seems like ALPA's sole purpose for existence is for safety only, not preservation of airlines or pilot pay. Even though in ALPA's Bible, Fate is the Hunter, there is a quote stating ALPA's number one prerogative is Pilot Pay......but these same clowns will try and convince you that you're reading too far into it, or you misunderstood what he really meant.

 

[relief tube]

Lame and unAmerican concept.

Let the market forces rule, tethered by the mild socialism of collective bargaining.

thanks for talking, Rush

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

You can't consider ALPA a union.... how can a union represent the pilots of 1 airline yet the other airline they represent wants to steal thier flying...ie legacy vs. regional.... It is a backwards system with each hand punching the face trying to win....each airline should have their own seperate in-house union to represent those pilots and not have to worry about the master union and the other companies they represent....how does that make sense....nobody to this day has been able to justify this to me...anyone care to try?

Would the 50 United States work without the Fed?

Each pilot group is their own autonomous unit. They govern themselves and use their own policy manual. However, when it comes to national issues, there is a representation structure there as well.

Two things for a LUV pilot to consider. SWAPA's CapHill presence is weak. This is where all of the laws and policy are agreed upon that determine your career. If you don't have a seat at the table how can you even begin to participate in the rules that control your career? CAPA is a great idea but they lack long term established relationships and "street cred". Putting out a 'press release' is easy.

The regionals and the legacy pilots are better off together than not.... First.. money talks, BS walks... how much would the dues rate have to be at the regionals for effectiveness. To be sure, regional pilots will complain if the dues rate is >1.95%, all while they will complain that their regional in house union is ineffective. No money... no staff, nothing gets done. I am guess dues would have to be close to 10% at a regional in order for them to be effective.

 

[WayBack]

Two things for a LUV pilot to consider. SWAPA's CapHill presence is weak. This is where all of the laws and policy are agreed upon that determine your career. If you don't have a seat at the table how can you even begin to participate in the rules that control your career? CAPA is a great idea but they lack long term established relationships and "street cred". Putting out a 'press release' is easy.

Ok, and ALPA still has a seat and it's weak. What actually gets done on "CapHill"? Ah, just what I thought, nothing! Pilots are still working the same BS FAR's that they have been for the last 75yrs. But hey, you have a seat at the head table. Good for you.
What's ALPA's "street cred"? You'd be amazed how many pilots see ALPA for the joke that it is.

I am guess dues would have to be close to 10% at a regional in order for them to be effective.

In-house our ALPA, both are ineffective.