scubabri said:
I'm looking at the first, second, third year pay at the regionals. What is driving guys to put up with this? I mean, sheesh, sitting on reserve for 2-3 years, upgrades in 5 years?
Maybe my expectations are a little higher, but I don't get it. Every time I think about going to a regional, it makes my stomach turn, maybe it's because I'm older and I couldn't put up with it for that long.
Is there something I'm missing?
sb
What's driving this? People will do anything to call themselves an airline pilot, including working for LESS than Wal-Mart wages. Yep, give them a jet and 30 years of substandard wages and some people will do anything, especially if they can announce in the bar that they are pilots. i.e., a Comair pilot who says he flies for Delta. (not all, but a lot)
Look at Comair. Everyone is so giddy about them being a major right now. Big deal, the W2's are still reflecting wages that are lower than the guy driving the Wonder Bread truck. Those guys/gals are professionals, they should be and they should be paid as such, but they aren't.
Sure, some will make close to 90K in a year, but it's going to take them at least a decade of surviving on food stamps to finally get there. And when you add up how much it costs one to get to that point (time, money, effort) most are lucky to even break even.
Ever wonder about this: the worse this industry gets, the more the enrollment at schools like ERAU. This is the only industry that DOES NOT lose people as the wages go down. How many doctors would still put themselves through medical school and residency if the promise at the end was to make less than 40K/yr and be gone most of the month? Oh yeah, and after spending (borrowing) a lot of money to go to school. Answer: not a whole lot!
Years ago, this was a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Now, it's a career for a lot of folks out there. The unions need to step forward and bring wages back up to professional levels. Quit settling for 90K as a 20-year Captain and demand it as a 4th year FO. Are people willing to wh*re themselves out to do it lower? Well, ever hear of a scab list? Do it!
This industry has lost a lot of respect, and nobody is doing anything to get it back.
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. At least in your example. Any way you look at it, flying overtime hurts somebody. The only time that it is acceptable is when an airline is growing so fast they can't keep up with the training requirements and they need some help for a defined period of time.
