CHQ Christmas Bonus
The CHQ "Christmas Bonus" is not really a Christmas bonus. It is a profit sharing disimbursement given at the end of the year.
For a pilot with about 5 years seniority making about 60000-65000/year, the $2000 disimbursement turns out to be a little more than a 3% profit sharing disimbursement.
Incidently, that is the same minimum amount of profit sharing that the new ExpressJet contract pays out.
The difference is, in CHQ's case, this payout is not expressly written in its contract. However, this "bonus" payout has been given consistently at the end of the year for the past several years.
Also, those who say that the bonus is nothing special because it is taxed at a higher rate are misleading themselves. True, that one particular check is taxed higher, but, when you pay your taxes at the end of the year and you total up your wages, you are still paying the same tax rate as the rest of your salary. (unless it bumps you up into the next tax bracket)