Truer words never spoken...................from V70T5

[Doug Parker]

(From the cheap Pilot thread)

Now we diverge a bit on this one..

Last time I checked, there weren't many F/A's that had a requirement for a university education and years of technical training with $100,000 ERAU student loans, or 9-12 years of military training or service to land their job. No, actually most of them were working at some other job (maybe the makeup counter at Macy's, or the local IHOP) and with in literally 3-5 weeks were trained up and on the line doing their job.. In the end the F/A position was never intended to be a career one, but just a temporary job for a young single woman... It evolved into this "profession" with the over unionization of the airlines where non-skilled workers began to equate themselves to pilots and mechanics with years of training and experience.

So you should be more upset with the fact that many Regional FO's take home less than an FA.. that's what should get your blood boiling.




And it does upset me that 737wannabepylut makes less than the FA on his RJ................


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[Green]

We have nobody to blame but ourselves for the pathetic state of regional pilot pay. Instead of getting pissed off that fa's make more than rj fo's we should collectively stand up and demand what we're worth. You can't fault Fa's for negotiating a liveable wage. I bet Starbucks baristas make more than rj fo's. The airlines CAN afford to pay decent wages.

 

[HelloNewman]

it is hilarious to see pilots whine about their student debt load. They are the ones that went into debt now they must live with it. If they don't make enough to pay their loans off then they are idiots for going into such debt in the first place! LOL

 

[Draginass]

If you show up for work for $25k a year, that's what you're worth and I don't care how much money you spent or went in debt for.

 

[capt. megadeth]

it is hilarious to see pilots whine about their student debt load. They are the ones that went into debt now they must live with it. If they don't make enough to pay their loans off then they are idiots for going into such debt in the first place! LOL

What kills me is that these stupid pilot factories are making money! Why? Because people keep going to them. I got my ratings at a local FBO and it didn't cost anywhere near $80-$100K like some of these places do. I don't ever remember being swayed by some "Be in an RJ in 6 months" crap.....heck, I was happy to fly a friggin Jetstream for God's sake.

 

[Benhuntn]

When I left the Air Force after 28 yrs of training I owed $200,000 for my house, $45,000 for my Caddy, $30,000 for my Volvo, $24,000 for my Tahoe and then there was my golf membership for $1200 and my Bass boat (dual GPS) $40,000. So I think if you went to a puppy mill pilot school and came out trained and only owe 100,000 you did great and stop whinning. I need age 75 to have any hope of dying "Even Steven"

 

[Princedietrich]

Same here, the total damage for my training was in the neighborhood of $55k, but that included the ratings and certs AND a bachelor degree. I'd have been happy to fly anything with more than one engine, and honestly the first revenue generating plane I ever flew was a freighter Baron. Well, the Cessnas and Pipers I intructed in would have been the first if you want to get technical. I don't count the jurassic jet because I wasn't driving, I was Scotty.

Only time I've ever been in an RJ was in the back, preferably in an A seat.

The problem as I see it is this. For every one of us that is smart enough to realize that what these bastidges are paying isn't enough to live on, there are 5 more out there going through the puppymills who will take that job just to get into a shiny jet and wear the three stripes. And the management of these airlines know this, so they keep the standards low because they know someone will come along to do it sooner or later.

Mark my words, it'll likely get much worse before it gets better. But I have a feeling that when the pendulum swings the other way, it's going to be pretty damn entertaining. Those bloodsucker airline managers and CEOs are going to crash and burn (no pun intended) so dramatically, it'll be freakin great.

 

[PlanetK]

surely you're not po'd at the rampers and f/a's for trying to make a decent living. it's wrong the pilots don't make more, but it's no fault of the others who are trying to get by in this industry. the management mentality that views rampers as 'only' ramp rats, f/a's as 'only' vending machines, will inevitably extend to pilots as 'only' button pushing monkeys. that corrosive mentality doesn't stop until you get to THEIR jobs. direct your anger towards the real enemy, not your coworkers.

now where's my coffee

PlanetK

 

[Secret Squirrel]

The FA's at my regional make more than FO's the first year but not even close after that. My hourly pay doubled every year I was at my regional. I am on 4th year pay at my regional (worked three years) and I am on track to make $85k with a descent QOL. First year sucks but it catches up. I have buddies who have been at Big 5 CPA firms that work 80 hours a week and don't make that money. CAL pays only marginally better first year than my regional. What is your point? It is not just regionals that penalize first year employees. The pay system is the result of a seniority based pay system. Instead of a good pay rate across your career they start you at poverty and end you in the stratosphere. I think our pay system is to blame for a lot of the problems in this industry. It locks people into a career with one airline making them afraid to start over giving management leverage by threatening to close doors and making pilots start over at horrible first year wages. We created our own bad system. Senior pilots screwing the junior guy to get theirs. ALPA should rename themselves this SPSJG.

 

[Doug Parker]

You guys are focusing on the WRONG sentence !!!

Aaaaaaaargh !!! You guys are focusing on the wrong sentence !!!!!

It's this one..................


In the end the F/A position was never intended to be a career one, but just a temporary job for a young single woman... It evolved into this "profession" with the over unionization of the airlines where non-skilled workers began to equate themselves to pilots and mechanics with years of training and experience.


The 737pylut comment was just an afterthought !!



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