Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Standing together

The skies are changing.

This year over 10,000 pilots from three different airlines said enough is enough. No longer will they continue to take concessions especially when their parent companies are making record profits.

Things looked gloomy after Endeavor pilots set a new low as part of their bankruptcy reorganization under new parent Delta. The larger precedent was when the pilots of PSA chose to bend over and seriously lower the bar for regional pilots in exchange for bigger regional jets.  Management teams from other airlines took note.

Expressjet management tried first to grab concessions from their pilots. The pilots said no.

American Eagle management was second in line to get concessions from their pilots. The pilots said no.

Republic management was most recent to seek concessions that were labeled as an "industry leading contract". Even though it was improvements from what they have now, it still would have been below their peers. The pilots said no.

I seriously hope this is a change for good. The management playbook is outdated and should be thrown out. Treat the professional pilots they employ as true professional and compensate them as such. Pilots with an ATP rating will soon be in very short supply.

standingtogether

1 comment:

  1. On contracts and working conditions - including the basic salary, I agree with you and you regional colleagues 100%. That said, let's please keep ALL of it on the ground. Those many issues have no place in a wheels-up environment, anymore than an unhappy, now employed by an operating corporation, surgeon takes his grievances into the OR. Please do not do it. I'm well aware of just how difficult it can be to leave the issue behind, but once the brakes are released, your airman's certificate includes but ONE obligation - and you certainly know what it is. It I was wearing your shoes (I did, but in a different profession) I would not even discuss this business above the sterile cockpit level. IMO, it belongs on the ground. That is but one hallmark of the genuine professional. Best wishes. I hope you guys (and gals) get a much better deal, but again, please work through the details someplace other than your active flight deck. Thanks.

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