The rest of the story!
Wow, looks like we got hosed. Not!
In the interest full disclosure, lets look at a few things “Alaska’s” numbers don’t fully articulate.
· We currently have about 320 pilots on the property 30 of which are co-pilots.
· We have about 50 Capt’s who have been downgraded to F.O. status; the contract stipulates that they will nevertheless continue to be paid as Capts. This is unheard of in our industry.
· So, all those F.O. numbers you see only apply to about 30 pilots currently flying at Flops.
· Of the 290 other pilots currently flying for Flops, most have been with the company between 9 and 15 years and are being paid as Capts. So when looking at the posted pay charts these are the truly relevant numbers.
· Under the contract 10% of pilots (by fleet) will be on the 7/7 schedule in the first year of the agreement. (Tops out at 25% in the 5th year)
With this in mind you can see the logic behind the union’s strategy of putting most of the available funds into Capt’s on the 8/7 schedule who have been with the company between 9 and 15 years.
· Prior to the contract Flops had a policy in place, affectionately referred to by the pilots as “slide to poverty.” This policy essentially stipulated that pilots who upgraded “slid” to a similar pay scale on the new equipment, e.g., 6 year BeachJet Capt. moves to Hawker and is paid as a 4 year Hawker pilot because that pay scale most closely resembled his former pay. (This is no BS gang).
This was eliminated as part of the new contract. The pay raises which will result from the elimination of this policy will kick in Jan. 1, 2011, resulting in significant pay raises for pilots throughout the list. (Many pilots were paid as many as six years behind where they should have been).
· The Pay Scales “Alaska” posted don’t reflect the fact that if the company chooses to exercise it’s unilateral options to extend the contract into years 4 and 5, the pay scales will move up by 3% for each year, respectively. These numbers compound. Also he did not post he mid/large cabin numbers, which are considerably higher than the small cabin numbers he chose to post.
All of this results on an average 38.9% for each pilot at Flight Options. All of this is is in addition to the 300+ pages of contractually protected work rules, scope protections, very favorable duty/rest rules and job protections our contract contains.
Even when I'm away doing family activities and volunteering at my daughter's school, I try to keep up with current events within the industry. I knew the day of the vote that it had passed. My congratulations are admittedly belated ...:blush: but my support is always there...even when I'm not posting. 
