QX about to hire again

Suffice to say: good luck to all who apply, and I hope you enjoy PDX. Hopefully you'll remember my well wishes and be able to put me up if I ever come visit...
 
Horizon is (was) a great place to work. I wasn't a dispatcher then but it was the best airline job I've had.
 
FMCinop said:
Consider it an "internship" in which you trade pay for experience
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I used to agree with that statement, but the regional airline dispatcher job has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades. I started 20 years ago dispatching 37 seat, 250 knot turboprops on 150 mile, 45 minute flights. A given flight generated perhaps 5000 ASM's/RPM's. Today the entry level dispatcher is dispatching 74 seat 500 knot jets on 1500 miles flights, generating over 100000 ASM's/RPM's, yet making the same wage I did, adjusted for inflation.

For those of you who don't know, ASM is Available Seat Mile. RPM is Revenue Passenger Mile. These are the units of measurement in airline financials.

The point is the modern regional dispatcher is generating 20 times the revenue as his predecessor, but still making the same basic wage. I'm all for internships and apprenticeships, but there comes a point where you're just not being compensated for the value you bring to your employer.

In my opinion regional airline dispatchers "should" be starting at what they're topping out at, and "should" reflect the value they bring to their employers, not the internship they are supposedly serving. But we live in a free market, so there you go there then.

That's my.02. Your mileage may vary. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds. Void where prohibited. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
 
Flying Saluki said:
I used to agree with that statement, but the regional airline dispatcher job has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades. I started 20 years ago dispatching 37 seat, 250 knot turboprops on 150 mile, 45 minute flights. A given flight generated perhaps 5000 ASM's/RPM's. Today the entry level dispatcher is dispatching 74 seat 500 knot jets on 1500 miles flights, generating over 100000 ASM's/RPM's, yet making the same wage I did, adjusted for inflation.

For those of you who don't know, ASM is Available Seat Mile. RPM is Revenue Passenger Mile. These are the units of measurement in airline financials.

The point is the modern regional dispatcher is generating 20 times the revenue as his predecessor, but still making the same basic wage. I'm all for internships and apprenticeships, but there comes a point where you're just not being compensated for the value you bring to your employer.

In my opinion regional airline dispatchers "should" be starting at what they're topping out at, and "should" reflect the value they bring to their employers, not the internship they are supposedly serving. But we live in a free market, so there you go there then.

That's my.02. Your mileage may vary. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds. Void where prohibited. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Click to expand...

Here here. Couldn't have put it better myself. The regional pay scales for everything, dispatch, pilot, FA, etc is a joke IMO.

And I also never understood the argument that regionals are "training jobs". Are the lives on board a 50 seat RJ any less valuable than on a 314 seat 777? The responsibilities and lives are the same so why should the pay or job have that drastic of a difference to it?
 
Flying Saluki said:
I used to agree with that statement, but the regional airline dispatcher job has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades. I started 20 years ago dispatching 37 seat, 250 knot turboprops on 150 mile, 45 minute flights. A given flight generated perhaps 5000 ASM's/RPM's. Today the entry level dispatcher is dispatching 74 seat 500 knot jets on 1500 miles flights, generating over 100000 ASM's/RPM's, yet making the same wage I did, adjusted for inflation.

For those of you who don't know, ASM is Available Seat Mile. RPM is Revenue Passenger Mile. These are the units of measurement in airline financials.

The point is the modern regional dispatcher is generating 20 times the revenue as his predecessor, but still making the same basic wage. I'm all for internships and apprenticeships, but there comes a point where you're just not being compensated for the value you bring to your employer.

In my opinion regional airline dispatchers "should" be starting at what they're topping out at, and "should" reflect the value they bring to their employers, not the internship they are supposedly serving. But we live in a free market, so there you go there then.

That's my.02. Your mileage may vary. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds. Void where prohibited. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Click to expand...

Not trying to defend low regional pay but how hard would it be to break into the career without the high attrition that the regionals have? If regionals paid reasonably well, attrition would be fairly low and more people would want to work there who like where the job is located and the pay even. It is difficult enough now for people to get hired into the majors. Imagine how much more difficult it would be if all the regionals were pretty much stagnant in hiring and because of it most of the major hiring came only from internals because few were willing to leave the regionals.

The good thing about this career is that the license is relatively cheap to obtain and major pay is really good and not that difficult to obtain right now with someone who has regional experience. Low regional pay does discourage some people from getting into the career. It is much easier to get a major job through the regionals than it is though the long road internally at an airline to get into jobs like load planning, scheduling and maintenance routing.

I saw the experience levels both at AA and WN of internals versus those that went the regional route. People on average spend way more time trying to go the internal route than the regional route.

Higher regional pay would be great for those currently at the regionals but would it hurt people who want to get into the career?
 
RedFive said:
Here here. Couldn't have put it better myself. The regional pay scales for everything, dispatch, pilot, FA, etc is a joke IMO.

And I also never understood the argument that regionals are "training jobs". Are the lives on board a 50 seat RJ any less valuable than on a 314 seat 777? The responsibilities and lives are the same so why should the pay or job have that drastic of a difference to it?
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I didn't say that I like the pay or agree with it. The reality is that it is like an internship. Entry-level, low-pay and it helps you get experience you need to move up later. The experience I got from a regional is invaluable and helped me to move up, while living on chicken feed.
 
Flagship_dxer said:
Not trying to defend low regional pay but how hard would it be to break into the career without the high attrition that the regionals have? If regionals paid reasonably well, attrition would be fairly low and more people would want to work there who like where the job is located and the pay even. It is difficult enough now for people to get hired into the majors. Imagine how much more difficult it would be if all the regionals were pretty much stagnant in hiring and because of it most of the major hiring came only from internals because few were willing to leave the regionals.

The good thing about this career is that the license is relatively cheap to obtain and major pay is really good and not that difficult to obtain right now with someone who has regional experience. Low regional pay does discourage some people from getting into the career. It is much easier to get a major job through the regionals than it is though the long road internally at an airline to get into jobs like load planning, scheduling and maintenance routing.

I saw the experience levels both at AA and WN of internals versus those that went the regional route. People on average spend way more time trying to go the internal route than the regional route.

Higher regional pay would be great for those currently at the regionals but would it hurt people who want to get into the career?
Click to expand...


I am not saying that the pay needs to be the same as the majors. Not at all for the exact reasons you mentioned. But I do think that the job and responsibilities along with it (not to mention the cost of training which I would argue is really not all that cheap) are more deserving then what is currently offered
 
RedFive said:
I am not saying that the pay needs to be the same as the majors. Not at all for the exact reasons you mentioned. But I do think that the job and responsibilities along with it (not to mention the cost of training which I would argue is really not all that cheap) are more deserving then what is currently offered
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All I am saying is that a lot of people have gotten really quick results because of how much attrition there is at regionals. You can be at a major within a year of getting hired by a regional to dispatch. Many more within 2-3 years. Advancing inside a regional is even quicker. Every major now starts at 60-80K and tops out before OT around 150-160K. Thats a really quick way to double, triple and eventually quadruple your salary.

As for the cost of dispatch school the low cost is relative to the return on investment. How many six figure jobs with union job security and no work performance reviews can you get with so little experience and just $4,000 worth of training? There are so many jobs these days that require tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars of university and post university training for a lot less money than a major airline dispatcher makes. Dispatchers at majors generally have a lot of flexibility in trading shifts and work less than the standard 40 hour work week and dont have to do any work outside the office.
 
Flagship_dxer said:
All I am saying is that a lot of people have gotten really quick results because of how much attrition there is at regionals. You can be at a major within a year of getting hired by a regional to dispatch. Many more within 2-3 years. Advancing inside a regional is even quicker. Every major now starts at 60-80K and tops out before OT around 150-160K. Thats a really quick way to double, triple and eventually quadruple your salary.

As for the cost of dispatch school the low cost is relative to the return on investment. How many six figure jobs with union job security and no work performance reviews can you get with so little experience and just $4,000 worth of training? There are so many jobs these days that require tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars of university and post university training for a lot less money than a major airline dispatcher makes. Dispatchers at majors generally have a lot of flexibility in trading shifts and work less than the standard 40 hour work week and dont have to do any work outside the office.
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I agree with everything you posted here. Still though as a new dispatcher hopefully going into the regionals....I still wish it payed more lol :cool::p:rolleyes::D
 
RedFive said:
I agree with everything you posted here. Still though as a new dispatcher hopefully going into the regionals....I still wish it payed more lol :cool::p:rolleyes::D
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Just remember that you can donate plasma to supplement the income and they'll give you free cookies! I can neither confirm nor deny whether I participated.....with some coworkers
 
FMCinop said:
Just remember that you can donate plasma to supplement the income and they'll give you free cookies! I can neither confirm nor deny whether I participated.....with some coworkers
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Yes, but unfortunately a dispatcher lifestyle for fatty foods and long periods of sitting around may disqualify you...
 
Flagship_dxer said:
Not trying to defend low regional pay but how hard would it be to break into the career without the high attrition that the regionals have? If regionals paid reasonably well, attrition would be fairly low and more people would want to work there who like where the job is located and the pay even. It is difficult enough now for people to get hired into the majors. Imagine how much more difficult it would be if all the regionals were pretty much stagnant in hiring and because of it most of the major hiring came only from internals because few were willing to leave the regionals.

The good thing about this career is that the license is relatively cheap to obtain and major pay is really good and not that difficult to obtain right now with someone who has regional experience. Low regional pay does discourage some people from getting into the career. It is much easier to get a major job through the regionals than it is though the long road internally at an airline to get into jobs like load planning, scheduling and maintenance routing.

I saw the experience levels both at AA and WN of internals versus those that went the regional route. People on average spend way more time trying to go the internal route than the regional route.

Higher regional pay would be great for those currently at the regionals but would it hurt people who want to get into the career?
Click to expand...

Picking a "path" to the majors has been something I've been considering for a while, but it has quickly become apparent that there is really only one logical path (outside of getting lucky and getting hired by an LCC/good cargo supp with 0 121 experience). Since I'm in Chicago and would rather not move for the time being (no rent at the moment), getting into United somewhere and jumping into dispatch after a couple years seemed to make sense. However, talking to several dispatchers and reading what everyone on here has to say has made it clear that 1-3 years at a regional is a much better choice than potentially spending a decade plus waiting to get in internally. Might not be living the good life for a while, but to the point about the benefits vs the relatively low cost of the profession, it's worth it. Thanks for the helpful info everyone.
 
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Flying Saluki said:
I used to agree with that statement, but the regional airline dispatcher job has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades. I started 20 years ago dispatching 37 seat, 250 knot turboprops on 150 mile, 45 minute flights. A given flight generated perhaps 5000 ASM's/RPM's. Today the entry level dispatcher is dispatching 74 seat 500 knot jets on 1500 miles flights, generating over 100000 ASM's/RPM's, yet making the same wage I did, adjusted for inflation.

For those of you who don't know, ASM is Available Seat Mile. RPM is Revenue Passenger Mile. These are the units of measurement in airline financials.

The point is the modern regional dispatcher is generating 20 times the revenue as his predecessor, but still making the same basic wage. I'm all for internships and apprenticeships, but there comes a point where you're just not being compensated for the value you bring to your employer.

In my opinion regional airline dispatchers "should" be starting at what they're topping out at, and "should" reflect the value they bring to their employers, not the internship they are supposedly serving. But we live in a free market, so there you go there then.

That's my.02. Your mileage may vary. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds. Void where prohibited. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Click to expand...

Your right dispatchers at regionals worth way more, but in QX situation why raise the salary if there is no shortage of people who are willing to work for lower wage and thats company profits.
 
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