Fat Old Tired

Has there been any rumblings about improving profit sharing? I know it's not a factor right now for any airline but the fact that we're second from the bottom in profit sharing never felt right.

massgflight

New contract by the end of June. Bet the ranch!

WB order soon. Bank on it.

These forum comments are so fascinating. So much color and opinion from such a wide age perspective. Neat stuff.

Good luck to us all with high oil and the impending rate hikes. Don’t forget China crushing our WB flights into Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai, and losing India thanks to Vlad the assassinator.

For the record, my outlook is UAL bullish for the next 20+ years, despite the shifting headwinds.

Humbly submitted,
Just another line guy.


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Bellanca

I think you may have underestimated how many of us slogged it out at regionals, lcc, and cargo for years for not enough pay and horrible work rules. Myself and others got caught up in the lost decade. We are definitely very excited to be at an airline where the grass is greener. However, better QOL of life is something we seek often times we've had to put our personal life on the back burner all too often. Virtually all of us have neglected 401ks and retirement accounts we need to catch up on, many were never able to buy a house on regional pay and see how difficult it is to get into the real estate game with daily rising housing costs, especially in our hubs, and seeing how it is still unaffordable now that we've made it to the legacy job. Most of us have come from carriers where we saw management drag pilot groups through years of fruitless negotiations, while abusing everyone. We saw how often LOAs and short term gains of bonuses really were in management's favor and a delay tactic for meaningful contract negotiations.

Being happy to be here does not equate to willingness to settle on these important issues in the next contract.

Fat Old Tired

I hear what you're saying man. I am a newer guy as well. The issue with the new contract goes way beyond any group of pilots (new, senior, etc) because of the current economic conditions. Like you said, it has gotten harder for people to purchase a house. The major airlines are really in no rush to raise pay or make big improvements because they know legacy pilots are "trapped".

Once reaching a legacy airline, a pilot has reached the pinnacle of his career. Other than switching to another major for personal reasons or FDX/UPS, there is no more upward movement for the airline pilot. The vast majority stay at the legacy they first get hired at. The airlines know we are trapped in this regard and most cannot just leave the career for other fields since our certificates do not transfer to other industries.

Meanwhile, Covid has still depressed revenue and profit so the airlines can simply say they aren't in a position to make big contract improvements since these are permanent costs. It's just business, I get it. But being trapped with nowhere to go puts them in the homefield advantage.

John Carr

But…..but……you didn’t have to experience all that at United!!!!!!!

Often heard from a crusty CA that thinks that if you didn’t experience misery/adverse conditions at United there’s no way you ever experienced it.

JoePatroni

Those are the same guys who get angry because someone was able to bid a widebody FO seat in a year or two, luckily the numbers are dwindling.

Fat Old Tired

It's way past time for new contract. I can't even afford getting a little cup of coffee from starbucks anymore without really feeling the pinch each month. Can't pay my bills anymore because the utlities have gone up so much. The 16% to retirement isn't even close to what I'll need. Things are getting tougher for us pilots while people everywhere else just blow us out of da water. Please help us union.

iahflyr

I’m sorry, I just have to respond to this. Of course we always want more, more, more. I get that. But 16% DC is somewhere we are extremely well compensated.

In most other professional industries, we would be getting more like 4% DC and a 4% match. 16% DC is as generous as any industry ever gets.

If 16% DC isn’t enough, then you can contribute an extra $20,500 tax free into your 401k (plus an extra $6,500 a year once you hit age 50). Still not enough? Then save it post tax via other investments (stock, real estate, etc…). How bad must your financial management be that you can’t handle a 250k+ a year job and not save a little for retirement.

There are definitely things we should ask for in a new contract. Adding to 16% DC isn’t anywhere on the list.

oldmako

Now that's a knee slapper! Keep up the good work.

Fat Old Tired

I appreciate your point of view. But you missed how it's tough to even pay normal bills now like coffee and groceries and my little house. Can't put gas in the plane or truck anymore. Had to get a new pilot shirt since my current ones are falling apart and the invoice was just soul crushing. How can I save for retirement when all these other things have to come first and have gone up so much in price?

16% is fair I agree, but some folks on Delta form suggested 20% is what they want/may get. I think we can impruve ours in a similar way. Our $250k job has fallen behind many other industries and not sure we will catch up.

I'm getting too fat, old, and tired for this!