AA has never made money on a five year average and only grew as a result of being a protected player in a government-rigged system. They could pay plenty because people had no choice and the prices were fixed. Airlines simply passed along what every they paid and the customer swallowed it.
That is all gone and what is really amazing is that the AA pilots don’t get it. The whip sawing of wages in the long run hurts the pilots and the industry. Asking for stupid amounts of money you are not going to get makes you look stupid. Work it out, 3% a year compounded for 10 years is a lot more than 50 per cent one year and handing it back 2 years later.
Forgot what it was, it isn’t that way anymore for pilots and a lot of other people. At one time there was a group of engineers called coal gasification engineers and they earned more than any other group. The world switched to natural gas and bingo, out on their butts.
The only thing that will change this is if enough people stop entering the pilot job market. Fact is being a pilot is a relatively easy job with a low entry level for what the job pays. It has never being easier to train to be a pilot and adjusted for inflation I suspect never cheaper.
The bankruptcy laws have hurt pilots but mostly because of seniority. Construction companies go tits up weekly but do the tradesman take a hit? Hell no, they just sign up with the Big Construction Mark IV when it opens on Monday at the same wages Mark III was paying Friday. Pilots give up that option by tying themselves to the company and its frequently useless management. Hate to say it but the best thing that could happen is for a lot of these companies to go bust and let their gates go to new companies that can run things, make money and pay a market wage.
I wish the AA guys well but they clearly don’t get it. It ain’t what it was and it never will be.
20driver
Last edited by 20driver; 27th Oct 2007 at 03:38.