Goldilocks
Well-Known Member
What facts? All I see are opinions and name calling. Off the meds again?
Thanks Van, I just spit coffee all over my monitor....lol...
What facts? All I see are opinions and name calling. Off the meds again?
Some facts. The skill level to fly a 737/717/MD80/90/95 isn't that different from the skill level to fly a 777. Seniority determines who flys what and where. SWA is an "all 737" (almost all, forgot about Airtran purchase) carrier, so there isn't much choice of which airplane to fly, just which version. It can be argued that multiple day and night landings with many more cycles are more dangerous and disruptive to the system than being on autopilot for 4-5 hrs evry night while you read Penthouse and brag about your new Mercedes or Porsche, or who you are banging other than your wife. The SWA pilot has enough time to actually fly to their next destination and not read a magazine or discuss money.
The SWA union is an in-house union, similar to what FedEx pilots voted-in and then dropped in favor of ALPA.
You're conveniently not factoring-in the lack of a pension and inferior benefits the SWA pilots receive, making their actual level of compensation much less than a Fedex pilot.
My buddy is a 5th year FO at SWA. He doesn't make anywhere near what a FedEx pilot does in total compensation. He wishes he made what a FedEx pilot does, but he doesn't want to live in MEM...ever. Cannot blame him for that.
SWA is an orange and FedEx is an apple, so this is NOT an apples vs. apples conversation.
You need to get out more often.
That's rich. Your buddy wants the perks of working for Fedex but does not want to actually work there. Can't have your cake and eat it to.
And why did the Fedex pilots choose ALPA? Perhaps more leverage and a stronger union to negotiate a better contract?
5th year FO at SWA makes $128.77/hr with a guarantee of 78 hours/month or around $10K/month. Per diem is $2.15 hours. 401k plan in place with a match that goes as high as 9.3% with a profit sharing plan
5th year FO at FDX (757) makes $114/hr with a guarantee of 74 hours/month or around $8,400K/month. Per diem is $2.15 hours. 401k plan in place with a $500/yr match.
Do you still contend that a FDX pilot (same year and title) makes $30K - $40K/month versus the SWA pilot (even with pension)? You said they make 3-4 times what SWA pilots make.
FDX is hiring. If your buddy wants to make the big bucks, he has to make some adjustments to his life and work for a global airline versus a strictly domestic airline flying non-widebody aircraft (skill levels ARE different, hence the need for type ratings in each aircraft). MEM is not the only option for a domicile for FDX. LAX, ANC, HKG or CGN are options. But that would require your buddy to move, make an adjustment in life, fly larger aircraft, etc. If he wants the "glamorous" life that you think the FDX pilots have, adjustments have to be made. Or, get a better union that can negotiate a better agreement.
Come on guys leave the pilots alone. Their income levels and benefits are not the problem.
You Fedex guys have the income problem thanks to Freds corporate greed to achieve shareholder value. cough cough
Its not like you would get a pay raise if the pilots took a pay cut.
No. we wouldn't get a pay raise. But the point is that they make big money in a company that is supposedly just scraping by. We (the hourlies) have lost our retirement, lost profit-sharing, had our medical premiums and deductibles jacked-upward, and on and on. What takeaways have the pilots experienced? None. In fact, they get a cash bonus just to sign their lucrative contract, which we aren't even allowed to see.
Come on. We're getting screwed blind while these guys are making major bank.
They deserve it. How many of you have invested 50-200k on your education and building enough hours to get hired on at express? Then spent years slumming around with garbage hours and low paying jobs building your careers?
Your job requires a drivers license.
I love how that site, right on the front page, lists the exact pay raise you'll get every year. And, it's a great raise.
Unlike us.
That's weird.
Why would it pay more to fly a larger plane full of cardboard with replaceable objects inside than to fly a smaller plane with irreplaceable cargo inside?
I love how that site, right on the front page, lists the exact pay raise you'll get every year. And, it's a great raise.
Unlike us.