Support for other pilots and Simple Math

[GhettoBeechjet]

No matter how much you dislike a pilot group wishing ill on them affects the whole industry. Industry management would like us to believe that the wage rate of the top earner any given time is unsustainable. If we buy into this we are doomed as a profession to continue the race to the bottom in. Consider this simple math. What if tickets were raised by $2/flight hour? Even on a Transcon the total fair increase would be less than $15. Given everyones record load factors how many people would a $2-$15 fair increase price out of the market? With a load of 100 people that would finance an unheard of raise of $60/hour/per pilot assuming a very high 60/40 pay benefit split.

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

We have come through this latest round of economic and industry drama. We now have record load factors and industry profitablity even at $100 oil. During the whole process managment wanted us to believe that high labor costs were putting them into bankruptcy. Mostly this was a lie. Over leveraging, poor planning, underfunded pension plans, and huge bonus awards to transient management were much more to blame than labor. We could have all worked for free and the outcome most likely wouldn't have changed. My point is no matter how you feel about USAPA or SWAPA or ALPA the mindset of "I took it in the ass so they should too" is very counter productive to all of us. Also to those on top remember that you are one bad CEO away from the ill fate of others.

 

[BrickTop]

AND FU###ING DELTA is planning to cut ANOTHER 2-3% next year. I would love to Punch Anderson in the teeth. Airports are SLAMMED, planes are stuffed like a college dorm room closet and these dipsh!ts continue to cut capacity when there is a MARKET DEMAND for more capacity. Again more evidence that the hiring boom hopefuls should seek a reality pill. Corporate profitability is the ONLY motivator of Staffing, operational and shrinking measures.

 

[kf4amu]

You guys realize that passengers will change airlines to save that 2 dollars per hour right?

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

You guys realize that passengers will change airlines to save that 2 dollars per hour right?

Mangement would love us to believe that they all would. Some will but:

1. Almost every attempt at a fair increase in the past two years has been matched by every other carrier

2. They will only switch in a head to head schedule. If they want to leave at noon most pax won't fly at 6AM to save $10 or less.

 

[shon7]

What if tickets were raised by $2/flight hour? Even on a Transcon the total fair increase would be less than $15. Given everyones record load factors how many people would a $2-$15 fair increase price out of the market? With a load of 100 people that would finance an unheard of raise of $60/hour/per pilot assuming a very high 60/40 pay benefit split.

Firstly your reasoning is over simplistic. But even if we take it at face value - what makes you think the profits from a ticket price increase will be distributed to the pilots. They will go to the shareholders or be kept within the company to strengthen the balance sheet - both of which will make the stock more attractive.

Airlines are earning millions from baggage fees. Have you seen any of that in your paycheck?

 

[airplane wizard]

The soccer mom with 20 kids in her minivan would switch airlines to save $.02

 

[gator_hater]

AND FU###ING DELTA is planning to cut ANOTHER 2-3% next year. I would love to Punch Anderson in the teeth. Airports are SLAMMED, planes are stuffed like a college dorm room closet and these dipsh!ts continue to cut capacity when there is a MARKET DEMAND for more capacity. Again more evidence that the hiring boom hopefuls should seek a reality pill. Corporate profitability is the ONLY motivator of Staffing, operational and shrinking measures.

Airlines are not in the business of moving everyone where and when they want to go. If they were you would see hourly 747s from ATL->MLB to accommodate pax and commuters. Instead airlines are in the business of making money ( like all businesses) and therefore need to move the right number of people for the right price. Companies should care less about "market demand" and more about revenue generation and cost alignment. Read The Wal-Mart Effect for a laundry list of companies that chased marke share only to get kicked in the nuts. If that means cutting capacity to adjust the supply and demand curves and raise revenue so be it. Accept it or go get an MBA and make those decisions yourself.

 

[Data]

No matter how much you dislike a pilot group wishing ill on them affects the whole industry. Industry management would like us to believe that the wage rate of the top earner any given time is unsustainable. If we buy into this we are doomed as a profession to continue the race to the bottom in. Consider this simple math. What if tickets were raised by $2/flight hour? Even on a Transcon the total fair increase would be less than $15. Given everyones record load factors how many people would a $2-$15 fair increase price out of the market? With a load of 100 people that would finance an unheard of raise of $60/hour/per pilot assuming a very high 60/40 pay benefit split.

Using your same 'logic' why not increase gas prices $0.10 so that the clerk can make $55,000 a year? Why not raise milk prices so that the Publix bag guy can bring down $70,000? What about other airline employees that work hard that 'deserve' $80,000 a year? Pilots are a part of the puzzle, they earn what they can negotiate, it's that simple.

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

Everyone is missing the point here. My point is that in the big picture pilot pay is a very small percentage of an airlines operating cost. Mangement trys to convince us that our salarys are the problem but that isn't the case and I laid out the overly simple math to prove it. The larger point is that when any of us say or believe that the top earners salary is "unsustainable" or cheer another unionized pilot groups loss we are hurting the profession. In the end they will pay us what we think we are worth and can negoitiate. With capacity, demand, and prices at their current levels we as a profession have the ability to recapture some of the staggering losses we have suffered in the last decade. We need to support each other in that effort no matter what our union pin reads or what the paint job on our plane says. They can in fact afford to pay us more and lowering our expectations doesn't help our cause.