Guys, you're certainly not going to hear me telling you that they haven't screwed the pooch royally here, but a slightly less cynical take on the response letter may be in order.
Any one initiative alone will not fully address the challenges that other regional airlines and we currently face.
TDC is correct to point out this phrase - they certainly shouldn't stick with what they've got. I personally believe that there's a lot more to it than just money (which is the major thrust of the AFAP and the pilot group at large). It's about making it a great company to work for - that extends beyond the pay packet and "lifestyle rostering".
We will continue to implement additional measures and initiatives to improve our ability to both retain and attract pilots.
You never know guys, maybe they are trying to make a positive move here. Any significant changes in terms and conditions will take a little while to organise, rather than with a snap of the fingers. For a start, you actually need to decide on the numbers - not an easy task.
For example (and I'm not suggesting this is what's going on at the moment), if you were NK and you had already decided that you had to pay your pilots more in order to compete against other companies for the pilot resource, what then? You now have to decide
exactly how much that's going to be. You would not be discharging your duty adequately unless you determine the exact,
minimum amount required to stem the flow of pilots out of the company. Not one penny more or less. If any of you guys can show me a formula how to achieve that, you're smarter than me and I've done some serious mathematics in my time! (And before someone writes back with a "That's easy, you just pay a dollar more than
VB is offering", that would be to ignore a significant element of this problem).
Anyhow, the bottom line is that it's very easy to read the worst out of the response, but there are a couple of things in there that suggest moves are afoot. I too would have liked a response full of action, leadership - a positive step in this problem we all face. At the same time, I have to acknowledge that the answers here are just not that simple. Maybe from time to time as we continue to rant about our current lot, we could just acknowledge there's more too it?
I'm either ducking for cover or standing by my reel. Or both.
Icarus