The Skybus Innaugural flight yesterday....

[Skaz]

goodgig if I said its not flame bait, its not. I do have some integrity and ethical values. I'm asking because I want to understand the rationale behind the posts of other pilots. I have been in the far east for months, have become dissillusioned with my present employment and am looking to further my career. Getting paid $65K flying an Airbus is an advancement for me. Apparently you have a better job, congratulations. If I can get a position with another company such as Net Jets, Continental or similar, then I'll grab it with both hands. If not, then I'll take the best I can get for now. Thank you for your informative and eloquent response.

skiandsurf I understand what you say, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. So for a position as A319 Cpt, having the responsibilities and experience etc, the position should pay $100K. But who decides this figure, the pilots, or the airline management? You might think you are worth $x, but if managment offers less than that, and you have no other option for employment, what do you do? Starve, go work at Gamestop or Burger King and get 18K as manager? Or do you take a flying position that helps you build hours and experience, mybe even get a type till you can advance to a better company?

It is all good and well for anybody to say you shouldnt take Job X, but lets be realistic.

 

[temcgrew]

Ok guys, DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT FLAME BAIT....really

I have been out of the country for a few months,
Thanks in advance

Maybe you've been under a rock. Maybe you are still there if you don't understand the animosity.

 

[Skaz]

oh f@k you, I asked for a decent answer, if you can't manage that, then dont respond. Be pissed at management, not other pilots trying to make a living.

so what are you flying and what do you get paid?
just for argument's sake, lets say a G III and you get 55K as Capt. The owner of the company dies in a car crash, his widow sells all the company's assets and you are out of a job. You go work in retail or manage a hair salon for 30K, unhappy and dissillusioned, you post your resume online. You get a call from Company XYZ offering you 65K as Capt to fly a BBJ.

Are you going to take it? Of course you are! Or would you have me believe that, out of solidarity with your fellow aviators and your strong values, you would refuse the position, because you dont live under a rock and you dont want to bring the whole industry crashing down.

every single one of you finger-pointing-mudslinging-b1tches will look after Number 1 first and scr3w everybody else. To deny it is a blatant lie.

 

[RedDogC130]

Finally the truth comes out. I wish others would wake up. If you say you would not fly for peanuts...how many came from the regional route or are still there...

 

[CA1900]

Finally the truth comes out. I wish others would wake up. If you say you would not fly for peanuts...how many came from the regional route or are still there...

I did. Flying a 1900, my salary was about $2000 per year per seat. Compare that to about $1500 per seat, making $200K to fly a 137-seat 737. Way to lower the bar, SWA.

 

[vixin]

Id say you were an idiot for flyimg a GIII for only 55g as a CA. No I would not take a BBJ job for 65g, that is pathetic. You need to get paid for the experience you have. There are other jobs out there. Heck I flew a kingair for 68g. Its a loser that will take those low paying jobs that keep them around. Nodody takes the job, pay will increase. Why the morons at Skytrash cant figure that out is another question. I guess they liked to be used and abused idiots.

 

[temcgrew]

I know we all can't work for the companies that pay well, that is just a fact of life. But to make less than a Burger King manager to fly an airbus is terrible.

 

[temcgrew]

You go work in retail or manage a hair salon for 30K, unhappy and dissillusioned, you post your resume online. You get a call from Company XYZ offering you 65K as Capt to fly a BBJ.

If you were working in a hair salon maybe you should be looking in the flight attendant section.

65K as the lead F/A position might be worth it!

 

[PimpJuice]

It comes down to pay and benifits. An Airbus captain should be making at least $100,000. Skybus is only paying captains $65,000.

Most of us are trying to keep the flying jobs, good paying jobs. While others are happy to lower the bar.

Wrong!! Airbus captains should be making what the market and economics dictate! Why should they be making at least 100k? Because at one time legacy carriers paid captains well into the several 6 figures? There is a long line of pilots willing to fly for 65k as a captain. Guess what, that means an airbus captain should be making 65k!! You can't just throw out a number like 100k. Like I said earlier in the thread, this job is a trade skill and today's salaries reflect that. New start up airlines as well as legacies that have gone through Ch 11 realize this. I think SWA will soon follow (to an extent). With rising fuel prices and consumer demand for lower fares, carriers can't find any other ways to increase operating margins. Of course they are going to go after labor.

 

[PimpJuice]

Id say you were an idiot for flyimg a GIII for only 55g as a CA. No I would not take a BBJ job for 65g, that is pathetic. You need to get paid for the experience you have. There are other jobs out there. Heck I flew a kingair for 68g. Its a loser that will take those low paying jobs that keep them around. Nodody takes the job, pay will increase. Why the morons at Skytrash cant figure that out is another question. I guess they liked to be used and abused idiots.

I think that's a pretty outrageous statement. Tell that to someone with a family to feed and a mortgage.


....back to my schwetty balls.

 

[temcgrew]

Wrong!! Airbus captains should be making what the market and economics dictate! Why should they be making at least 100k? Because at one time legacy carriers paid captains well into the several 6 figures? There is a long line of pilots willing to fly for 65k as a captain. Guess what, that means an airbus captain should be making 65k!! You can't just throw out a number like 100k. Like I said earlier in the thread, this job is a trade skill and today's salaries reflect that. New start up airlines as well as legacies that have gone through Ch 11 realize this. I think SWA will soon follow (to an extent). With rising fuel prices and consumer demand for lower fares, carriers can't find any other ways to increase operating margins. Of course they are going to go after labor.

The market should dictate what the past has proven to be a proper income for a trained proffesional. What other proffesion has fluctuations in pay like we do? Oh, I forgot, other buisnesses raise the price of the product instead of offering a $10 root canal, apendectamy, or legal representation. For that matter, there is a high school kid in my neighborhood that could make $65k if she taught piano full time!! Don't try to defend a pitiful startup. Who will be the next startup to make that pay look good?

 

[Dizel8]

Round Trip Depart: Columbus, OH toSeattle/Vancouver (Bellingham, WA)Wed, Jul. 11, 2007: Flight 270Leaves - 7:00 AMArrives - 8:42 AM Return: Seattle/Vancouver (Bellingham, WA) toColumbus, OHWed, Jul. 18, 2007: Flight 271Leaves - 9:07 AMArrives - 4:17 PM
Prices

Passenger 1$455.00Taxes & Fees* $20.80
Total price of this trip: $475.80Amount Due: $475.80*Government taxes and other fees we're required to collect.

So guess the fares are high enough, maybe the pilots should ask for a raise!

 

[Flybet3]

If I did start an airline I wouldn't hire former Shame-Train pilots THAT is for sure !!

What about all the *********that fly a G4 for 70K a year, or fly a lear for 36K a year? Who's going to reject them for lowering the bar?

 

[chperplt]

Flybet3.... Got it all figured out do ya. Watch the name calling.

 

[Flybet3]

Flybet3.... Got it all figured out do ya. Watch the name calling.

yes master....****

 

[chperplt]

yes master....*****

Once again she opens her mouth to let everyone know what a stellar person she is.

 

[Shrek]

yes master....****

Shame-Train wannabe or even worse..........crew member.

 

[CA1900]

So, back on topic:

Do you think the flight attendants pool their commissions, or do they get into a big hair-pulling match trying to get to your seat first?

Could be fun to watch...

 

[AA717driver]

Ok. I took a GV job that paid $85k. I was losing my CA job (and FO job, too) at TWA. I guess I should have gone bankrupt and lost my house, car and pulled my kid out of her school just so you guys can sleep well at night.

The idea is to get Skybus people up to where they should be--making as much money as they can. If you continue to sling $h!t at them, they will circle the wagons and NEVER unionize or push for better pay like JB did.

The goal we should be pursuing is to eliminate opportunities for management to take advantage of desperate pilots. You will never prevent startups from hiring people to fly big airplanes for low pay. But you can keep it from being permanent.

I venture to say that most of the $65k CA's didn't get into aviation yesterday. They got F'ed by ALPA, by mangement, by the bankruptcy courts, etc. They have most likely paid their dues and have nothing to show for it. The pilot group (as a whole) abandonned them, so they have no reason to give a crap what we think.

Talk to them on the jumpseat. Let them know it's THEIR management we have a problem with and that we're willing to help them get organized and bring them up to where they should be. TC

 

[HA25]

What about all the *********that fly a G4 for 70K a year, or fly a lear for 36K a year? Who's going to reject them for lowering the bar?

you have got to be the biggest idiot on FI.com..

as for Skybus.. I hate Skybus, what more is there to say, but I admit the video was nice, and bifocals don't bother me one bit!