RedeyeAV8r

It was a major mistake by some MEC's.......20/20 hindsight though.
Back when things were good at all the PAX carriers, When they were buying airplanes, hiring 50-100 pilots a month and upgrade times were in the single digit years (5-9) and most of all Pay was good, none of the MECs wanted to agree to $99.00/hour RJ CAPTs at mainline. For fear they would lose growth on larger equipment.

The focused on $145/hr 737 0r MD-88 rates as well and rates for 757/767 747-400. Sure it is hindsight, but I know one MEC for sure is regrettting that decision now.

That is why the National seniority list needs to be re-explored. It will be a tough cookie to crack but necessary (IMHO) in the long run.

UGBSM

Oh, BTW, you are wrong.

A 12 yr AirTran captian makes $153/hr
A 12 yr Delta 767ER captain makes $163/hr

Get your facts straight.

Skyone

Sorry......You are right about AirTran, but the DAL 76/75 captain makes 158, according to the Airline Pilot Central info. Are you including the international overide, which only kicks in for an international flight? IOW, if you fly a 767ER on domestic routes you are making 158. My point was, who in their right mind would have ever thought, ten years ago, that a Delta wide body captain would pay approx the same as the ValuJet (aka, AirTran). $800 a month more by your figures or $400 a month by APC figures. Not significant. Delta 737NG-$151/hr, MD88-$140/hr. All less than AirTran.
S1

Eric Stratton

how do their FO's compare?

Bigboy

VA's Pay is comparable to many of the airlines out there. here is this.


Fifth Year Capt Pay based on 70 Hrs Guarantee:

- UPS--------------- 215
- SWA-------------- 204
- ABX-------------- 197
- FedEx------------- 187
- Hawaiian-------- 168
- Astar------------- 160
- AA----------------- 152
- Alaska------------ 144
- Delta--------------- 143
- World------------- 142
- CAL--------------- 138
- AWA--------------- 136
- Aloha------------- 136
- NWA-------------- 130
- Atlas--------------- 126
- UA----------------- 122
- Jet Blue------------ 121
- VA------------120
- Air Tran----------- 120
- ATA--------------- 120
- USA3000--------- 120
- Original US Air--- 119
- Spirit--------------- 119
- ATI----------------- 114
- Polar--------------- 111
- Focus-------------- 108
- Midwest------------ 102
- Kalitta---------------102
- Southern Air------- 100
- Ryan Int’l---------- 97
- Allegiant----------- 96
- North American--- 95
- Sun Country------- 95
- Gemini------------- 94
- Tradewinds--------- 91
- CAT---------------- 90
- Xtra---------------- 90
- Express-Net------- 90
- Omni--------------- 88
- Champion Air------ 85
- Miami Air---------- 87
- Evergreen---------- 83
- Centurion----------- 81
- Arrow Air---------- 77
- Kitty Hawk-------- 75
- USA Jet------------ 75
- Amerijet----------- 67

I have posted this somewhere else. just incase you didn't see it.

CE750

good post, but pay is only a small part of the labor equation... there are the more important workrules.. and in the end, with no contract, the productivity of an airline can be greatly boosted by abusing the labor which then forces other companies that have labor contracts in place into having to pay less in order to maintain a fair productivity curve.

Velocipede

How many 5th year Capts. are there at VA? Answer: 0. So what's the current pay rate? $95.

Nicless

I think that they have the same number of 5th year captains as AA or CAL or UAL.

Would any internet or math wizard compare total earnings for a 40 year old joining VA as a captain,to say joining CAL.
Thanks

Skyone

Don't confuse the major Greenface with logic and facts. Just did some figuring with the numbers on what is on the home site of APC.

It takes seven years to make captain at Alaska (according to the info). As a f/0 flying 80 hrs everymonth you will earn approx. 406,080 for those six years. If you happened to get hired at VA as a captain now, in those same six years you will earn approx. 619,200. So over the same course of seven years the Virgin Captain will make 213,120 more. The real hit will be in years one and two. Alaska copilot will make 90,120 vs. 187,200 in two years. Year one of probation is at 35/hr. at Alaska.

A seven year captain at Alaska makes 138/hr. A seven year captain at Virgin will make 130/hr. Just over a 5% difference.

At the twelve year mark the Virgin captain will be making around 150/hr and the Alaska captain around 158/hr. Still around a 5% discount.

Sure there are some anomolies in this. Not everyone will be hired as a captain at Virgin for the next seven years. But Greenface is keeps harping on how awful the T & Cs are at Virgin. I will say, Virgin's package is as good as most any startup for the first year or two.

Others will say "rigs, rigs, rigs, it's not all about just pay." Well, you can have that debate in your own cockpit today. Some will chase money, others will chase seniority and lifestyle (rigs help this). From my perspective, it is a combination. At my old legacy, I had friends that didn't upgrade for twenty years and stayed ultra senior on heavy international equipment. Problem was, when the airline looked at BK and 2000 retired, those that stayed ultra senior had not made enough $$ to get a decent payout, and had no little or no left seat time to go out and find another job.

As one guy said, you don't know what your decisions (airline, seat etc) will reap until you graduate.

CE750

Work Rules.. What about the contract and work rules? How do I know where I stand at a VA when the CP tells me I have to stay out on the road a few more days? Or if I'm asked to do an 8 hour min rest?