The SHOW: Airlines still a "good gig"??

[FrankTheTank]

Yeah...I need to get to The Show ASAP. Can’t wait.

I’m not really killing my quality of life either. Flying 8 days and 6 days of reserve. The only down side, to build the extra hours it’s a lot of long haul junk. Billings, Phoenix, LA, Burbank, John Wayne, Great Falls.. My shortest flight out side of the Mobile that didn’t happen was a Middletown out and back last night.

 

[ChuckMK23]

Envious.

 

[HokiePilot]

I just got off a great 25 hour 4 day. That is over a $1000 of pay! Plus Per Diem.

 

[wlawr005]

What leverage exactly does the ALPA hold to make this possible and how sustainable is it?
I only ask because I'm the type of guy that bought a house in 2007 and am always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

[Jim123]

... always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I guess the foot's on the other hand now, isn't it, Kramer?

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[scoolbubba]

What leverage exactly does the ALPA hold to make this possible and how sustainable is it?
I only ask because I'm the type of guy that bought a house in 2007 and am always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The 1500 hour requirement is a barrier to entry that is naturally raising pay by squeezing supply. The other leverage is age 65; guys hired in the last big boom of the reagan years and desert storm are timing out. Even better leverage is the profitability of the consolidated carriers...Capacity discipline boosted the profit/seat mile. At some carriers, they can point to billions in shareholder buybacks and dividends and go "this company is healthy enough to spend in the short term to boost its stock price vice making investments in x/y/z...therefore, it can afford to take care of what it always claims is its most valued asset."

Unions are looking to make up for concessionary contracts voted on in the wake of 9/11 and bankruptcy. Guys won't get their pensions back (and based on past performance I'd argue that it'd be wasting negotiating effort to try even if you did succeed seeing as to how quickly the companies can shed that obligation after a quick run through the bankruptcy rinse rack), but they'll look to keep grabbing bigger pieces of profit sharing, better work rules, better 401k matches/non-elective contributions, retaking flying farmed out to the regionals back under mainline, and higher pay rates.

 

[wlawr005]

Thanks! I'm not gonna lie, your second paragraph might as well be written in Greek. I know there's been a couple of books floated around here about those days. Would that help?

 

[scoolbubba]

Thanks! I'm not gonna lie, your second paragraph might as well be written in Greek. I know there's been a couple of books floated around here about those days. Would that help?

It wouldn't hurt, but most of it won't make sense until you're at a 121 carrier and by then you'll just have to learn how to play the game the same way everyone else does: verbal tradition passed down from on high (the old guys wearing white new balances and carrying an iphone in a holster usually have some pretty good gouge), reading the contract over and over again, and screwing things up on first year pay when it doesn't matter because you don't make any money anyway.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Look at @scoolbubba, passing the word like a crusty airline pilot. To think, it wasn't that long ago he was scoolbubba just wanting to get to The Show...

He always was a fast learner...

 

[scoolbubba]

Look at @scoolbubba, passing the word like a crusty airline pilot. To think, it wasn't that long ago he was scoolbubba just wanting to get to The Show...

He always was a fast learner...

I'm half as dumb as I look.

 

[HAL Pilot]

I'm half as dumb as I look.

So does that mean you are also half as smart as you look?

 

[scoolbubba]

So does that mean you are also half as smart as you look?

I’m more of a ‘the glass is half stupid’ kind of guy.

 

[FrankTheTank]

Cargo is different.. So I would say extremely sustainable. I know when the Flying Tigers merged there are stories of lots of folks getting 400 and 500% BLG. Actually the more each pilot flys in addition to BLG just means they can man the airline less which saves tons of cash for the airline. My award was 77 hours so I have almost doubled it. 121.5 X $313 = 38k which is cheaper than having 2 Captains with the health care, vacation, training and all the other incidental costs.

 

[scoolbubba]

Cargo is different.. So I would say extremely sustainable. I know when the Flying Tigers merged there are stories of lots of folks getting 400 and 500% BLG. Actually the more each pilot flys in addition to BLG just means they can man the airline less which saves tons of cash for the airline. My award was 77 hours so I have almost doubled it. 121.5 X $313 = 38k which is cheaper than having 2 Captains with the health care, vacation, training and all the other incidental costs.

Tangent, but my wife’s grandfather flew for Flying Tigers but retired before the merger, I believe.

I seem to have inherited all his sweet golden era of aviation swag.

Dude started out wrenching on super connies for Seaboard, became an FE, SO, FO, and retired as a four striper flying the Queen for Flying Tigers.

 

[FrankTheTank]

Cause I’m greedy this month, finally getting back after my medical stint, added another out and back to Santa Ana on Friday. Up to 130 hours this month with only 4 nights sleeping in a hotel.