Virgin America question

[clickclickboom]

If I read another post from a regional pilot nutting in his shorts about how starting pay is double his regional I will honestly puke.. You tards do realize that you were qualifying for food stamps right? Grow a freaking brain and realize that ALL regional pay scales and for that matter all major pay scales are highway robbery..

Jetblue was the first scumbag outfit to make it and as such the pilots are trying to get fair compensation and break this so called culture that management talks about but doesnt exist.

I made about 110k in the right seat of the bus year 5 and worked my a-ss off.. Compare that to what a usair or ual 5 year fo would have been making a decade ago.. Yes 50-100k less ten years later.


I dont blame management. If i ran an airline and guys were willing to pay for a job and work for welfare wages I would be laughing all the way to the bank as well.

 

[mvedepo]

Jetblue was the first scumbag outfit to make it...

Ummmm......Don't YOU work for JetBlue? :laugh:

 

[clickclickboom]

Ummmm yes but you already knew that....

Jetblue started the trend a decade ago paying $80 an hour for capts and dragged all the majors down in their concessionary contracts after 2001.. Jetblue was standard causing airline managers to salivate thinking of multi million dollar bonuses for pushing their employees lower than they had been in 20 years and using that new startup airline as the benchmark..

Virgin America has happily continued that trend.

to give you credit I will say that the smartest thing that JB could do is buy VA and integrate the operation ( with date of hire integration of course..) and avoid the years of bleeding ahead as va yield trashing what little profits there are out there..

Stranger things have happened

 

[LaGarbage Man]

A 16-hour flightmare

By JEREMY OLSHAN
Last Updated: 7:25 AM, March 16, 2010
Posted: 3:24 AM, March 16, 2010

They were supposed to be taking a direct flight from LAX to JFK -- but wound up on a 16-hour nightmare tour by air and bus of New York state.

Before finally arriving at their destination, the starving passengers of jinxed Virgin America Flight 404 had been stranded on a tarmac for seven hours and forced to ride a bus for another 2½ hours.

At one point, food supplies aboard the plane were so low that Pringles chips had to be rationed: four chips apiece, furious passengers told The Post.

"That's all we got -- four chips and half a cup of water," said disgusted flier Justin Gordon, 23.

Flight 404 had left LA at 7:10 a.m. (PST) -- 10:10 a.m. New York time -- Saturday and was due to arrive at JFK at 3:30 p.m.

But because of 60-mph winds here, the plane was forced to circle JFK until it was finally diverted to Stewart Airport in Newburgh -- 90 miles north -- for a 5:15 p.m. landing.

There, the plane remained on the tarmac until close to midnight, passengers say. The airline said the wait was more like 4½ hours.
Either way, passengers were growing increasingly frustrated -- with one woman suffering a panic attack. She was escorted off by police. The remaining cranky passengers included Carrie Ann Inaba of "Dancing with the Stars," the CEO of a social-networking firm who made videos and Twitter posts throughout the ordeal, and three screaming babies.

The captain and flight crew seemed to be overwhelmed, too, said David Martin, CEO of Kontain.com, who posted the frequent updates online.
"One guy said he had a question, and the flight attendant started shouting at this guy, 'You are really getting on my freaking nerves! You need to shut the hell up!' " Martin said.

He added, "Carrie Anne and I tried to bring cookies on the plane to the mothers with babies, and the flight attendants started snapping at us."
The passengers' white knight finally arrived -- in the form of JetBlue.

Contacted by the Virgin America captain because JetBlue has facilities at Stewart and Virgin doesn't, the competing airline sent over staffers, who boarded the plane.

"Ladies and gentleman, we're here to get you off the plane," a JetBlue employee said to cheers.

JetBlue arranged for buses to transport the passengers to Kennedy. Exhausted, the riders finally arrived at 2 a.m. -- actually, 3 a.m. because of the changeover to Daylight Savings Time.

Adding insult to injury, the Virgin plane had left Stewart empty -- and beat the passengers back to JFK.

After seeing Martin's posts and videos the next day, Virgin America CEO David Cush called him and Inaba to apologize, promising a full refund and $100 credit to all passengers.
[email protected]

I am sure this was great PR for JetBlue but before you go throwing your shoulder out trying to pat yourselves on the back should I remind you of a certain Valentine's Day Massacre. You know that pesky little glass houses thing. Just sayin.

 

[Blue Dude]

And by the way....we have to pay for our airplanes in the first 5 years....YOU DID NOT! Don't try to compare the two companies with "Start Up" costs...you won't even qualify. All kinds of things would be different if we did not have to pay for our planes for the first 5 yrs.

Hey guy, 2004 just called and wants its rumor back. Where have you been?

 

[hyflyin]

Yeah, I figured someone would come with that philosphy. But the fact is that are (OUR) rates are right in the meaty party of the curve and our 190 rates should give the USAir and Republic guys some serious bargaining leverage.

So until you get your compensation up, SHUT IT!

Your welcome.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Hey,
I heard from a couple of different people that Branson has been buying seats on his own planes.
PBR

 

[Tomct]

Ummmm yes but you already knew that....

Jetblue started the trend a decade ago paying $80 an hour for capts and dragged all the majors down in their concessionary contracts after 2001.. Jetblue was standard causing airline managers to salivate thinking of multi million dollar bonuses for pushing their employees lower than they had been in 20 years and using that new startup airline as the benchmark..

Virgin America has happily continued that trend.

to give you credit I will say that the smartest thing that JB could do is buy VA and integrate the operation ( with date of hire integration of course..) and avoid the years of bleeding ahead as va yield trashing what little profits there are out there..

Stranger things have happened

Won't happen, but interesting twist. The Virgin brand is too much for JetBlue. ;-) Don't get me wrong, JB is the 2nd best airline out there....but it is a VERY DISTANT 2nd from VA. If in doubt....ride on them, that is all you will have to do to realize this statement is true. Happy Trails.

Blue Dude...you can call it a rumor all you want, but there were numerous articles in ATW and even AIRBUS admitted to letting Blue have a "SMOKEN" Deal. Good Luck out there...

 

[Blue Dude]

Blue Dude...you can call it a rumor all you want, but there were numerous articles in ATW and even AIRBUS admitted to letting Blue have a "SMOKEN" Deal. Good Luck out there...

A "SMOKEN" Deal is a long way from "free aircraft for 5 years." We got a terrific fleet discount, no doubt of it, mostly because were were the first LCC to make a go if it with Airbuses and we ordered a bunch of airplanes. But we paid for every single aircraft we took from day 1. And it's so easy to verify even you can do it. You see, JetBlue, unlike VA, is a public company and must post quarterly financial information. Go back all the way to 2002 after the IPO and you'll find all the information you need on capital expenditures and leases and strangely enough, they were far from zero, even in year two. Gee, that was tough.

 

[hyflyin]

to give you credit I will say that the smartest thing that JB could do is buy VA and integrate the operation ( with date of hire integration of course..) and avoid the years of bleeding ahead as va yield trashing what little profits there are out there..

Stranger things have happened

Looking around the globe I see the Virgin brand not the JB brand, I think it maybe the other way around (with you stapled at the bottom of course..)