Hi Guys and Dolls.
Just an outsiders 2cents. Used to fly contracts for about 5 years (Feds, Immoral, Rudi's Rossair and finally NAC). The late pay thing I experienced with all except, NAC. Immoral used to pay you too exceed or more correctly put one could make a lot more money if you were prepared to exceed. I only did one contract with them. So yeah, it is one's choice to stay or leave, but if the contract pilots got together and formed a branch of ALPA-SA you would have a much better bargaining position to help the company keep to their side of the bargain which they signed to at the bottom of the same contract. So instead of bitching at each other as pilots are wont to do - get together over a beer and improve the whole contract setup by standing together. Yeah wishfull thinking, but plausible. As to the Comm captains on a B1900, it's only the question of how much to offer CAA that counts. A comm pilot can also captain a B747 cargo plane if one reasons that the only safety involved is that of the pax on board?
So in summary - enjoy contracts it's some of the best flying you will ever do. And don't be too harsh on poor old Rudi - he learnt from the masters of screwing crew.
Fly safe!
