Skywest TA??? Pay??

[FlyDeltasJets]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

Why does everyone seem to accept that mesa and other regional carriers who agree to fly for less than industry standard put undue pressure on the profession and the contracts of their competition, but when I point out the same effect at aai, luv, or jetblue, my comments are dismissed as the rantings of an "arrogant a-hole Delta pilot."

I fail to see the difference.

And yes, the race to the bottom is most certainly underway.

 

[General Lee]

EMBDRVR,

Skywest flies for more than one airline. Yes, they will not fly anything over 50 seats for the Delta side (ASA and Comair get the 57 alotted 70 seaters), but for United they can get anything United approves---and I think they want Skywest to get bigger planes.


Flyingsig,

My friend says they have an in-house union-----with a pilot appointed by managemnet (who gets paid 105 hours a month to fill the position) as their leader.

This will all get interesting soon.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[pa34driver]

From what I heard, they could either get the same rate, or take a pay cut from the 50 seaters. Knowing that they will have well over 100 50 seaters, I am sure this will be a better deal for the next 18 months.

 

[JBcrjca]

Why is everyone suddenly comparing SkyWest to Mesa and Chautauqua? This is just a TA guys, it hasn't been set in stone yet. I agree that flying 70-90 seaters for 50 seat rates is rediculous, and I plan on giving it a big thumbs down. As bladeusa says, the race to the bottom has started...but SkyWest didn't start the race. It started when the industry took a huge dump in late 2001.

Mesa took it in the shorts for one big reason...scoping out Freedom Air. I can kinda see how their hands were tied, because that J.O. is a sneaky ba$tard. I'm not sure exactly what's going on at CHQ, but I suspect it's more whipsawing them against Shuttle America/Republic. Didn't Air Wisconsin and ACA just vote on some pay concessions? Let's face it, pay is going to be reduced slightly whether we like it or not. The major partners like UAL are aggressively trying to cut costs, and will award feeder contracts to the lowest bidders. If Mesa and CHQ have the lower costs due to lower wages, then it's safe to assume that they'll get the feeder contracts. So where does that leave Air Wisc., ACA, SkyWest, etc.? Everyone is going to feel the pinch eventually.

There needs to be some extra pay for flying the extra seats. How much extra? I don't know, but you'd think that SkyWest could use CMR, ASA, Horizon, or Eagle 70/90 seat rates as a benchmark at least. The silliest part is that SkyWest doesn't even have any larger jets on order. Just dangling a carrot I guess. But one other thing to think about....I could be misinformed, but doesn't America West have one pay scale for the 737/A320/757? Doesn't UPS have one pay scale for the entire fleet from the 727 up to the 747? I haven't seen anyone mention that when bashing SkyWest yet...so if this TA does pass for some reason, it won't be setting a precedent or 'lowering the bar', as people love to say.

General Lee - your friend isn't quite correct. It's not an in-house union, but an association (SAPA) not recognized by the NMB. There has been talk recently about getting the association certified however. But for now the company does try their best (usually) to keep everyone relatively happy. Also, the president of the association isn't appointed by the company. He was a line pilot who volunteered for the position, and he does get 105 hrs pay every month to work for SAPA. If the pilot group gets upset with his performance, there could be a vote to remove him and find a replacement. Sorry, just trying to set the record straight.

 

[FlyDeltasJets]

EMBDRVR,

Skywest flies for more than one airline. Yes, they will not fly anything over 50 seats for the Delta side (ASA and Comair get the 57 alotted 70 seaters), but for United they can get anything United approves---and I think they want Skywest to get bigger planes.

General,

You are incorrect on this one. According to our contract, no carrier can fly anything larger than 70 seats for any airline without our permission. If Skywest were to fly anything over 70 seats for anyone, they would lose their Delta contract.

Of course, our mec would probably roll over again.

 

[embdrvr]

It seems a bit strange that the Delta MEC could control what SkyWest could fly for United although the scope is understandable when applied to DCI flying. Do you think the MEC would roll over and play dead if SKyWest was going to fly 90 seaters for UAL?

 

[Jeepman]

SkyWeest IS NOT racing to the bottom! You guys must have missed the part where it said 18 MONTHS!! Not seven years like Air Whiskey or MESA. Again, if we were to get the 70 seaters we would almost be ready to renegotiate a new contract by the time we got the planes. By then UAL would be out of bankruptcy and we would be in a much better stand to raise the bar. If we don't approve the TA then MESA would most likely get the contract and we would probably furlough pilots.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

The SkyWest TA is...

1) Nobody's business but the pilots at SkyWest, certainly not the likes of General Lee (dude, don't you have anything else to do with your time than haunt the Regionals Board? Highest pay to the last day man, whatever) or anyone else who is not a SkyWest pilot.

2) The precedent for different sizes of aircraft being paid the same exists elsewhere, we wouldn't be inventing that wheel: the previously mentioned examples as well as UAL who pays the 737/A319/A320 the same, the 757/767 the same and the 777/747 the same.

3) The concept that SkyWest would be leading the industry to the bottom is crap. The TA doesn't ask for a pay CUT (unlike several recent regional TAs) and it's only 18 months (vs 7-15 years seen elsewhere). In case you haven't noticed, the economy still sucks, but our pilot group has a history or working with management proactively toward the betterment of the airline and thereby improving our own job security, future pay potential and quality of life.

Everyone just take a chill and let the good pilot folks at SkyWest make up their own minds without your bellyaching and whining.

MLC

 

[j41driver]

Didn't Air Wisconsin and ACA just vote on some pay concessions?

ACA has a TA but it hasn't been "officially" introduced to the pilots and is still subject to ratification, which, if CVG is any indicator most likely will not happen.

 

[g159av8tor]

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