Our cost - our worth?
We are but a small component of the operational costs. Looking at CX numbers, inflight services cost was almost as great as our salary bill for the first six months of the year (CX only).
Aircrew salaries(+PF) contribute 5% to total operating cost of the airline. Fuel contributes almost 30%. I find it ironic that the last pay offer would have equated to about 2% of the FUEL costs, or well under 1% in total operating costs. If the AOA initial offer had been accepted then the total operating costs would have gone up by about 1.5% in 3 years time. That equates to about 5% of the total FUEL bill.
How much fuel do we strive to save on every flight? Its lucky for the company that it is our professionalism that encourages the same parsimonious approach to fuel uplift and burn as they have shown us in pay negotiations.
I also find it ironic that the critical restraining factor in growth is aircrew and that segment has been most neglected. Still, from a managerial point of view, what is to be gained from paying more or improving benefits? They have achieved huge productivity gains over the last 6 years without any additional pay or benefits. So I guess I can't blame them for thinking the current operating model of management is the correct one!
I guess we are stuck in Newton's first law - nothing will change until a force, extrinsic(recruiting) or intrinsic(IA or people leaving), is applied!