DGFlyer03

Come to Mesaba and be based in DTW where I'm probably heading.

BlueMoon

No thanks I don't want to do FO pay there...it is pretty abysmal....I had my chance last year. I applied to Compass...I would go there.

heading180

We at Comair have this mind-set about our pay scales. As pointed out to me by a very good friend who is a pilot for Freedom, "Although our pay is lower than standard, we are upgrading guys in 2 years where you are taking 5-6. So yes, I do make less as an FO but I will make more as a captain in 2 years while you sit at FO pay at Comair until eternity." So with the big picture in mind, who is really making less money?

Obviously nobody is upgrading that fast anywhere now, and our conversation took place at the begenning of the year when times were good. But really, even when times were good Comair upgrades were still for freekin ever.

The industry will bounce back, historically it always has, its just a matter of being in a good position when it does. Staying at Comair, IMO, is like stumbling over a dollar just to pick up a dime.

TAILSKID

heading180..u lost me with tripping of a dollar for a dime explane

heading180

It's just a saying.. stumbling over a good opportunity, not realizing it is there-- because of short sightedness. (focused on that dime)

TurboDog

I think he is saying that everytime we take a step forward here at Comair it is followed by a few steps back.

BlueMoon

Yea, but there isn't the attrition and they are already at 1200 pilots...so they will have to double in size for you to upgrade (I can't see Delta letting a company get 2000+ pilots for the sake of the power struggle). Delta may hire in the future, but they could also not. Also with 17 50 seaters that delta could tank whenever they feel like it...I'm not so sure upgrade is going to come really soon for someone hired today.

They are the golden goose today, but easily could be a goat in 2.

heading180

Well, ya know, kinda like you are walking down the street and you see a dime laying on the sidewalk, so because an individual may be so focused on picking up that dime they completely miss, and trip, over the dollar bill that is laying right in front of it.

heading180

I totally agree, but I don't see Comair, even if it recalls its furloughees, being any kind of place for advancement.

This is due to its senior gentlemen who have no desire to go sit right seat at JetBlue, Delta, Southwest, etc...

Take a less senior airline for example, like Mesaba, where its captains don't have so much vested into the place, young guys will accept a paycut to go fly for a major carrier when things get back on the upswing. Our 55 year old captains will stay and retire.

So while again, the short-term looks stagnant just about anywhere, but in 5 years where will you be?

Also, one has to consider the age 65 rule that hosed us. Those guys will eventually drop off.

If Comair upgrades were 5 years when times were good, imagine what they will be now.
If Mesaba's upgrade was 2 years when times were good, then it's probably about 4-5 years now, probably right about the time these Baby Boomers start jumping ship.

DappemAV8

I'm sure if given the choice, you would choose a pay check, all be it slightly less, than no pay check at all. Your post illustrates exactly what is wrong with this senior pilot group. It's not 1999, it's not a pilots market, oil is not $30 a barrel. We're in a recession, it's tough to get a job much less keep a job, just look what happened at DHL today. This is a time for us as a pilot group to stick together and work with the company on provisions that will benefit us as a group rather than push for things that that try and make up for concessions of the past. Too many personal feelings are involved and the quest for vindication will ruin this pilot group and ultimately this company. The mentality of us against them is not the correct approach; nobody wins and more pay the price just to further the ego's of a few.