Got it. Its JB rates. And to think for a moment I though that billion dollar swing had to do with fuel prices almost trippling, the dot com 90's going "poof", the last minute business traveller willing to pay anything anytime out of his unlimited travel expense account going away and a recession, a war and a new security paradigm burden the likes of which our nation had never seen. I now see it is primarily our fault. It is we who set the pay ceiling, and you who set the floor.
Not just JB rates, as I have posted REPEATEDLY. I’m talking JB and UA because I’m UA and you’re JB.
Fuel has nothing to do with pilot rates. We all pay for fuel so it’s a constant among all airlines. It would be ridiculous for any airline’s management to say, “our fuel costs are high so therefore your pay has to come down.” I don’t think anyone has, either. All the things you mentioned did not make UA, for example, have to pay its Airbus pilots JB pay rates. If everyone is paying the same for their pilots, it doesn’t matter if oil goes to 100 bucks a barrel or the economy slips into recession. It may affect the AMOUNT of flying that we all do, but it should not affect pay rates if everyone is paid the same. What does affect narrowbody pay rates, however, is when we have many competitors paying rates that are significantly below industry norm and using those rates to subsidize their company’s bottom line. That’s what happened in the early 2000’s when the economy took a dump, and that’s what I fear will happen when Skybus, Virgin, and the inevitable copy cats come along and reach critical mass themselves.
Not just JB rates, as I have posted REPEATEDLY. I’m talking JB and UA because I’m UA and you’re JB.
Fuel has nothing to do with pilot rates. We all pay for fuel so it’s a constant among all airlines. It would be ridiculous for any airline’s management to say, “our fuel costs are high so therefore your pay has to come down.” I don’t think anyone has, either. All the things you mentioned did not make UA, for example, have to pay its Airbus pilots JB pay rates. If everyone is paying the same for their pilots, it doesn’t matter if oil goes to 100 bucks a barrel or the economy slips into recession. It may affect the AMOUNT of flying that we all do, but it should not affect pay rates if everyone is paid the same. What does affect narrowbody pay rates, however, is when we have many competitors paying rates that are significantly below industry norm and using those rates to subsidize their company’s bottom line. That’s what happened in the early 2000’s when the economy took a dump, and that’s what I fear will happen when Skybus, Virgin, and the inevitable copy cats come along and reach critical mass themselves.
Last edited: