wheelsup
Well-Known Member
Actually I supported taking the proposed contract at Spirit albeit with a few slight modifications.Yet again, you are looking at the hourly pay raise ONLY and not pricing out the loses in scheduling and trip builds. First, Alaska is a legacy but in name only. Their pilot group has historically paid lower than other legacies, and have routinely bent over and taken lower than acceptable contracts, especially when it comes to scope. Scope is something they threw under the bus time and time again. Second, Alaska is not a commuting airline. Somewhere like 80% of their pilots live in base. VX is the opposite where 80% commute. So, Alaska’s contract has provisions that are SPECIFICALLY for in-base pilots, and as such their lines are built for non-commuters.
Case in point: Lines must have a minimum of 4 separate cycles of 48 hrs off. This leads to many lines with days on, 2 off, days on, 2 off. They have MANY lines that require 5 commutes per month. They don’t care, because they know 80% drive to the airport.
In comparison, we both have many trips worth over 23:20. At VX, you tell PBS to give you a threshold of 70 hrs, and pairing credit greater than 23:20. That’s it. 23:20 times 3 is 70 hrs. So many guys get just three 4-day trips that pay 23:20+ and get 18-19 days off as a result. Just 3 commutes. This line construction is illegal at Alaska because, wait for it, it doesn’t have 4 separate cycles of 48 hrs off! Ridiculous. This is just one small example.
I find it particularly amusing that at Spirit, you’re saying pilots are complaining about a $50/hr raise for a 5th yr CA slot. I have the Spirit management final proposal of this year:
Current Spirit 5th yr CA pay = $136.35
Mgt proposed 5th yr CA pay = $202
That’s almost $66/hr raise or 48%!
Top 15th year CA rate current = $185.32
Mgt proposed Top CA rate = $235
That’s almost $50/hr raise or 27%!
Anyone can play that game. You say pilots will be pilots, and complain about a 30% raise or $50/hr at VX. But Spirit, 5th yr CA is a $66/hr increase or a 48% raise. Aren’t you the unreasonable one for turning that down?
You’ll probably counter, but it means PBS! That will be awful! You’ll say this mgt team will hose the entire pilot group with PBS and you won’t have control over trip quality and building trips, and you’ll lose your trip touch protection pay and vacation conflicts. You can say we’ll need less pilots, but with Spirit’s aggressive growth plans, you know that is not true and you’ll still grow your pilot group numbers.
Amazing how a 66/hr raise for you at a 48% percent raise is *unacceptable* because you’ll gain PBS and lose your line conflict advantages. Translation: I don’t like the high pay raise proposed (and YES, 66/hr = 48% raise is a high pay proposal), because it messes with our scheduling system, brings PBS, etc.
But for VX, you’re all about pay increase and nothing about the loss we take switching to their inefficient line system, which has no conflict/vacation/transition pay protection. You have to add back above 75 hrs. Before throwing the stone at VX pilots for “complaining” about this arbitration awards, a look in the mirror is warranted at Spirit. You of all groups should know a high pay raise is easily offset by a decent margin by losing your scheduling/line benefits. Without actually working here and knowing what we have, what we are losing, and what AS has, you can’t just map my payraise out and say I’m straight up making $50/hr more. I. Am. Not.
For the commuting line construction example you pretty much made my point about how it was the way they constructed their trips. It’s neither here nor there, it will benefit some and not others. Kinda like the proposed tax cuts.
I don’t think either way is right or wrong, they have their reasons for doing it like they do. What will happen is on the next contract the Virgin guys will hopefully infiltrate some union positions and get their voices heard. The idea should be take what works for the pilot group and take out what doesn’t.
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