Idunno - now who's getting distracted? I thought this thread was supposed to be about FR and Aer Rianta!
Seriously, though, this is precisely what I have been saying will happen for months now. Pay rates are going to come waaaaaaay down, across the board, for all carriers. MO'L is simply the vanguard - everyone else is watching him to see if he can make it work. And when - not if - he does, everyone else will jump on the bandwagon. If you don't like it - to quote yourself - you know where the door is.
There are more than sufficient people out there who are happy to fly for the love of it to compensate for loss of those who only fly because its an overpaid job.
Frankly, £1,500 nett for someone on the bottom of the ladder is not a bad whack at all - that would be a gross of over £2,000 per month.
If the revised Captain's pay will be on a similar basis - ie 50% of what it is at present - then you're looking at a take-home of around £2,500 with a gross of around £4,000.
If I was in MO'Ls shoes, I'd be playing around with the allowances so that the take-home is maximised without it affecting the amount being paid out by FR; and again I'd be doing what Southwest does - give everyone share options. Other than that, I reckon those figures are pretty fair - and realistic - all things considered.
Hopefully, these cost cuts will enable our industry to stay aloft.
[ 16 October 2001: Message edited by: The Guvnor ]