This actually creates four possible scales for Captains:
For arguments sake, we will call them A-D scales. Our first Captains until around September of 2009 received one scale (as did FOs), which is the A-scale.
After that, there was another lower scale, which we'll call the B-Scale. This is a lower scale for FOs hired from the same time as well.
The new raises only apply to folks hired before October 2010, leaving out FOs who upgraded and anyone hired after October 2010.
That leaves us with the following:
A-Scale
A-Scale Captains who received the latest raise (A+ scale).
B-Scale
A-Scale FOs who upgraded and were paid the original A-Scale Captain rate.
C-Scale
B-Scale Captains who received the latest raise (B+ scale).
D-Scale
B-Scale FOs who upgraded and were paid the "unraised" B-Scale Captain rate.
B-Scale Captains hired after October 2010 and all subsequent new hire DECs.
The difference between the A-Scale Captain and the D-Scale Captain is roughly 77,000AED per year. The original difference between A-Scale and the original B-Scale introduced in September 2009 is 62,400AED per year.
Obviously, the difference between the new scales is only about 5%, which doesn't equate to a big disparity.
I don't want to offer opinion at this point.
Randy
The COO of Flydubai was the former CEO of Skybus...In this perspective, the pay rates make more sense. The business model at Skybus included exploiting employees! They will pay what they think they can get away with (just like any management) however, I feel the different scales will kill loyalty!
Skybus Airlines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Business model
Attempting to emulate Ryanair's business model and Southwest's people-friendly attitude (often considered at odds in comparisons of the two airlines), Skybus had committed itself to be the least expensive airline in the industry with a projected CASM 28% lower than Southwest. To achieve this, Skybus planned to utilize multiple measures designed to increase revenue and decrease costs.
Employee Wages
Flight attendants were paid $9 per flight hour, and were not paid a per diem. While this was considerably lower than competing airlines' wages, flight attendants also received 10% of all sales made during the flight, splitting all commissions evenly among all flight attendants on-board.
Starting pilot wages were also well below average in terms of hourly rate, starting at $65,000 annually for Captains, and $30,000 for First Officers as a minimum guarantee. The average captain's earnings were about $90,000 vs $120,000 per year for a theoretical first year Captain at airlines like United Airlines (there is no first year pay at United) but in the case of Skybus this included a significant stock options and profit share package unique in the airline industry. Additionally unusual for Skybus flight crew was that there were very few if any overnight trips thus giving the crew far fewer hours away from home (known as TAFB or time away from base) and higher crew utilization rates for more efficient work schedules. Typical Skybus pilot workdays were 8–10 hours long (FAA maximum is 16 hours), which was lower than the industry average of 12–14 hours. Typical pilot work months were 14–15 days with no overnights.[21][22] The average pilot in the US has a work month of 16–17 days, and the average airline pilot wage is approximately $135,000 averaged between first officer and captain pay.[23]
Skybus was one of the few 100% non-union airlines in the United States at the time of its shutdown. However, it was facing a union organizing campaign from its pilots, who had collected enough signatures to hold a union referendum. The pilots were seeking to join Local 747 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, based in Houston, Texas. Because of the number of signatures collected, it was presumed that the campaign would be successful. The election would have most likely occurred sometime in April 2008. Successful unionization could have severely undermined Skybus's below-market compensation philosophy and laid the framework for union activity among other Skybus employee groups. (Note that there is precedent for unionized pilots with most other employee groups remaining non-union, as is the case at Delta Air Lines.)