Good post,
anewunion.
Pilot Pay is such a small part of CASM, especially at AAI, less than 5% of the total operating cost of the aircraft.
Because of the razor-thin margins, though, a change in pilot costs will affect the amount of profit . . . . for example, if every AirTran pilot got a $20,000. raise, after bennies and taxes, it would equal around $45 Million, which isn't going to "make or break" the Company, but it does take their profit down from $170M to $125M which means lower earnings, lower yield, higher P/E and smaller bonuses!