No ALPA for Chicago Express

[DoinTime]

It states that the average Chicago Express pilot earns $45,000 per year. I was suprised to see that, as I didn't think they earned that much. Oh well, I wish them the best.

I would bet that $45,000 is their "total compensation." This includes benefits such as medical, dental, life/loss of license insurance, sick time, vacation, contractual benefits, and everything else under the sun that the company thinks costs them money. My brother works for an outfit that labels compensation this way and its a pretty fair bet that if you subtract $15,000 from the number they give you'll get an accurate annual salary.

 

[Typhoon1244]

I agree. For an "average," $45K sounds awful high.

Last I heard, Chicago's pilots were still making only scheduled block pay. On a busy winter day, it may take them 2:45 to get from Indy to Midway...but they only get paid for the 1:10 it was scheduled for. (I've never actually flown a Saab from IND to MDW, so I'm making up numbers...but you get my point.) That sucks...but nobody used to care about stuff like that because they saw C.E. as a very small stepping stone. "Oh well, I'll be at (ATA, USAir, etc.) in two or three years."

Then comes September 11th, and guys realize they could be stuck at Chicago for severn or eight years...suddenly they're interested in listening to what ALPA has to say.

And Scott Hall (D.O., I think) and his fellow managers brought out ever big gun and dirty trick they could find to fight it. (I heard that CCAir's MEC is suing Chicago Express for using some of its internal documents as evidence of the "evils" of ALPA.) ALPA's inept handling of the regional vs. mainline issue didn't help any either. Heck, the very existence of the RJDC gave C.E.'s management plenty of ammo.

Like it or not, accurate or not, ALPA is perceived by outsiders as being hostile to "express" pilots. If something doesn't change, outfits like Chicago Express and Skywest will remain the way they are.

 

[flyerc90]

I would like to know why everyone thinks that things are sooooooo bad at Chicago Express. The relationship between the pilots and management is great, and management is not out to "get anyone," of course there are those that dont get along with mgmt and that is where all the bad rumors start.

Let us be reminded that since 9/11, there were:
1) NO furloughs
2) in fact, the pilot group doubled in size
2) The fleet nearly doubled
3) More cities added

 

[C/L Max]

Flyerc90,

Nobody who flies for CEX said things are bad. What the ALPA organizing pilots were looking for was legal protection for what benefits we already have.

After September 11, the company 401K retirement plan was suspended. Granted, it was only temporary, but that action still left a bad taste in the mouths of those pilots who've seen life at other airlines and have families to provide for. The fear became "what'll get cut next?"

C8 currently has in place a Flight Operations Advisory Committee that acts in some ways like a union negotiating committee. The FOAC and the Management have produced a Policy and Procedures manual that acts somewhat like a contract. A pretty good contract, in fact. The problem is that the FOAC has absolutely no power to stop the Management from changing or throwing out the P&P Manual. "Paper tiger," "lame duck," "empty suit." Pick your title.

Also, please try to remember that a lack of furloughs doesn't automatically mean things are great at an airline. Neither does doubling the size of a pilot group, doubling the size of a fleet, or adding more cities. More pilots means higher labor costs, training costs, and (frankly) more bodies to police. More airplanes in a short period of time usually brings associated headaches for maintenence and the pilots, especially when the new Saabs aren't carbon copies of the first nine Saabs. And more cities in a small geographic area might mean opening one city at the expense of another (Moline used to be full all the time, until ATA opened Cedar Rapids within easy driving distance of MLI's customers; MLI now has the second lowest load factors of any C8 city).

As far as some of the other posts in this thread, I don't know where the Indy newspaper guy got $45K for an average salary. As a Saab Captain on 4th year pay, I make about $39K. First year F/Os bring home about $18K before taxes. These numbers don't include per diem, which is based on $30 per overnight, $25 per standup overnight.

Typhoon1244, it sounds like you know that guy at C8 pretty well! Be sure to tell him good luck. From what I've heard, the Boss at C8 has already made it clear that he will accept no bickering or "black balling" by any of his pilots and management team. I think the guys who were part of the Organizing Committee are safe. For now...