Chronic Jetlag
I'm great at sleep'n in
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2003
- Posts
- 202
Hey Hutcha:
Yes, we're pilots and not everyone is going to be happy. But if there is one thing that pilots know and respect is seniority. I think all those who bid the E190 should be given the option to upgrade before pilots who are junior. Should 200 people bid it then the bottom 80 should be placed in a pool and be given the option to upgrade after the initial 120 are trained (should they choose). This would only delay the new E190 FOs upgrade by a few month. The problem is the pay on the E190 is too low. 2nd year E190 captain pay is only $72/hour and the E190 FO pay is only $37/hour. For a 100 seat plane (like a F100 or DC9) it's really low. Unfortunately this is what the market will bear in a free market economy. We get paid what we're worth only if we have the muscle to command it. This has already been brought up in our "pocket sessions." (pilot townhall style meetings). What the company will do about this particular issue will speak volumes about future actions of management.
As a JB pilot and a former ALPA member I'm a realist. I don't blindly "drink the blue Kool-Ade" I want the company to succeed and prosper but I also believe in paying labor a descent/competitive wage. And I'm still not too jaded or disallusioned to think that we can still accomplish both. What pilots hold sacred and so dear is
SENIORTY; it must not be violated.
Yes, we're pilots and not everyone is going to be happy. But if there is one thing that pilots know and respect is seniority. I think all those who bid the E190 should be given the option to upgrade before pilots who are junior. Should 200 people bid it then the bottom 80 should be placed in a pool and be given the option to upgrade after the initial 120 are trained (should they choose). This would only delay the new E190 FOs upgrade by a few month. The problem is the pay on the E190 is too low. 2nd year E190 captain pay is only $72/hour and the E190 FO pay is only $37/hour. For a 100 seat plane (like a F100 or DC9) it's really low. Unfortunately this is what the market will bear in a free market economy. We get paid what we're worth only if we have the muscle to command it. This has already been brought up in our "pocket sessions." (pilot townhall style meetings). What the company will do about this particular issue will speak volumes about future actions of management.
As a JB pilot and a former ALPA member I'm a realist. I don't blindly "drink the blue Kool-Ade" I want the company to succeed and prosper but I also believe in paying labor a descent/competitive wage. And I'm still not too jaded or disallusioned to think that we can still accomplish both. What pilots hold sacred and so dear is
SENIORTY; it must not be violated.