Lowering the bar rant on.

[siucavflight]

So last week sitting in a bar on an overnight in RDU I started talking to the guy next to me. Turns out that he is an MD-80 CA at AA. Told him I am a first year FO at Eagle. He asked me if I minded sharing with him what I made. Told him, and he then went into a speech about how me, and my generation are lowering the bar for everyone in the industry, and we should not accecpt jobs for this low of pay.
I sat there and listened to it, and decided that I would tell him how I really felt. I told him that I was still in school when 9-11 happened, I was still trying to find a job as a flight instructor when the airlines were going bankrupt and they were all taking pay cuts. I told him that if they all had a spine they would not have taken the pay cuts that their employeers forced on them. I am simply stuck working in an environment that is horrible because he and his pilot group were not strong enough to stand up for this profession that I choose to be a part of. I have no choice but to be working at a regional getting underpaid because he and his fellow "old school" pilots did not have the balls to defend this industry.
He did not buy my beer.

 

[wannabe22]

That chick in your avatar is hot. Sorry, continue....


WB 22

(where do you find all these hot pictures.)

 

[siucavflight]

They are all flight attendents at Eagle!

 

[BoilerUP]

Shoulda asked him if he was hired into the B-scale at American...

Besides, the bar at the Millennium is no place for labor strife!

 

[siucavflight]

Shoulda asked him if he was hired into the B-scale at American...

Besides, the bar at the Millennium is no place for labor strife!

Yes, you know of the place.

Just cant figure out how guys like this expect me to get started.

 

[BoilerUP]

Don't worry about it dude.

F'em.

Had a mainline East guy tell me and my CA, to our faces, we made too much money at the regionals and that was the reason he got boned on his pay & retirement.

As Ron White said, you can't fix stupid...

 

[siucavflight]

Don't worry about it dude.

F'em.

Had a mainline East guy tell me and my CA, to our faces, we made too much money at the regionals and that was the reason he got boned on his pay & retirement.

As Ron White said, you can't fix stupid...

Sometimes you just cant win.

Oh and wannabe, check out sportsbybrooks.com

 

[OzBushWhacker]

I've had this too... Mine was a crusty old Delta pilot telling me how i am letting down the industry by accepting sheite wages. Was jumpseating at the time and told him politely where he could stick his lanyard.

I'm 135 freight trash and don't mind getting frisky....

 

[hoover]

The ironic part is that you probably make more money as a regional pilot than he did, if he went that way. Regional wages have done nothing but go up over the years. Used to be that a regional FO made 14K a year and a Capgain made 25K. Now regional pilots make twice that and a lot more. Senior CAs can make 100K+.

If you ask me this whole business can be blamed on two events: 1) The American B-Scale, and 2) Delta letting Comair fly RJ's back in the early '90s

 

[skiandsurf]

If you ask me this whole business can be blamed on two events: 1) The American B-Scale, and 2) Delta letting Comair fly RJ's back in the early '90s

3. SWA, for letting the trailer trash pay $29 to fly.

 

[wannabe22]

They are all flight attendents at Eagle!

That's funny. What kind of trips are you getting? I haven't flown with anyone close to looking like that.


WB 22

 

[38tango]

a little late to be passing the blame around isn't it?

 

[JohnnyP]

......

The ironic part is that you probably make more money as a regional pilot than he did, if he went that way. Regional wages have done nothing but go up over the years. Used to be that a regional FO made 14K a year and a Capgain made 25K. Now regional pilots make twice that and a lot more. Senior CAs can make 100K+.

So you seriously think that because the actual dollar amount is higher, that they are making more money?....You might want to re-think that.

 

[Whataburger]

3. SWA, for letting the trailer trash pay $29 to fly.

...successfully. Without hanging the operational losses on its employees.

 

[Flyer1015]

until the fuel hedges wear thin...

 

[Draginass]

Should have asked him if he was a 69 percenter or a 31 percenter. If a 69 percenter, tell him to . . . . . (insert insult of your choice) . . . .

Also, the guys at AE that voted for that last contract ought to be . . . . (insert insult of your choice). . .

You logic for blaming the APA for that abortion of a contract that AE ALPA signed is pretty thin. That finger needs to be pointed at the guys who voted for it.

 

[siucavflight]

Should have asked him if he was a 69 percenter or a 31 percenter. If a 69 percenter, tell him to . . . . . (insert insult of your choice) . . . .

Also, the guys at AE that voted for that last contract ought to be . . . . (insert insult of your choice). . .

You logic for blaming the APA for that abortion of a contract that AE ALPA signed is pretty thin. That finger needs to be pointed at the guys who voted for it.

Exactly, saying that many are to blame for what is happening now, us newbies just have to deal with with the older generation pilots have left us to deal with.
And our 16 year contract has actually not turned out too bad for us really, while everyone else was taking pay cuts we didnt, and as a result get paid more then almost every other regional.
I was not blaming the APA, rather the older pilots in general.

 

[skiandsurf]

...successfully. Without hanging the operational losses on its employees.

Just the rest of the industry.


Lets see, by SWA lowering the ticket prices, this has made all other airlines try to compete. This means cutting wages and reducing staffing. Load factors that used to be "happy" at 70% are now "not-happy" at 98%. Full planes means full airports. Full planes means more planes. This means more congestion. This means more delays. Used to get a sh!tty meal, now its just a bag of peanuts.

Flying is supposed to be a "luxury" , not a right. You can actually spend more money on a taxi ride to the airport than the actual airfare. Thanks to SWA, we all suffer.

I can only hope that Skybus lowers the bar even lower, as to put a hurt to SWA. (I can hear it now, "Our trailer park is poorer than yours"). The Skybus CEO has already said that $10 fares is too much.

 

[pipejockey]

The ironic part is that you probably make more money as a regional pilot than he did, if he went that way. Regional wages have done nothing but go up over the years. Used to be that a regional FO made 14K a year and a Capgain made 25K. Now regional pilots make twice that and a lot more. Senior CAs can make 100K+.

If you ask me this whole business can be blamed on two events: 1) The American B-Scale, and 2) Delta letting Comair fly RJ's back in the early '90s

Not trying to be mean hoover, but you are way off base! When regional FO's were making 14K it was 10-20 years ago. What were they flying then? 19-35 seat turboprops, not 50 to 90 seat barbie jets like today. Do a search for an a calculator that adjusts for inflation and you will see that regional pilots today are earning less taking inflation and the size and range of the jets they are flying today into effect.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

Not trying to be mean hoover, but you are way off base! When regional FO's were making 14K it was 10-20 years ago. What were they flying then? 19-35 seat turboprops, not 50 to 90 seat barbie jets like today. Do a search for an a calculator that adjusts for inflation and you will see that regional pilots today are earning less taking inflation and the size and range of the jets they are flying today into effect.

Exactly! Made 20K over 21 years ago in a 19 seat turboprop for the first year.