Originally Posted by
McNugget
US Legacy carrier pilots took enormous cuts and concessions, so went from being some of the best major airlines in the world to work for, to some of the worst. Their pay was dwarfed by the likes of BA, Lufthansa, KLM, CX, EK etc... As you know, multiple bankruptcies leveraged the workforce into the corner.
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Must admit I'm a bit surprised that you think European salaries dwarfed US ones for a while but you're better placed to comment. I'm certainly aware of individuals in the States whose pensions were torpedoed during the downturn.
I think the big advantage you appear to have in the States is that your organised labour (labor..) is more cohesive and is effective across all the 50 states. In Europe we're faced with multiple national pilot associations, multiple sets of national rules governing what unions can or cannot do, and above all trans- European airlines who are able move their assets (including workforce) around the EU to prevent or at least very much reduce the impact of industrial action ( e.g positioning crews/aircraft in from country A to break a strike in country B.) There's also the impact of "pay to fly," which I believe hasn't crossed the Atlantic yet(?).
The company I work for was well in the black recently as it's own fortunes improved yet that didn't translate into jam for the workers, we are already into another round of belt tightning which manifests itself everywhere from pressure on rosters, uniform provision, through to the standard of slip hotels, especially for short haul. IMVHO most of the erosion of T&Cs in Europe is the result of calculated move by the CEOs rather than a consequence of a temporary financial downturn... As a result personally I can't see any end to the steady erosion of T&Cs in Europe, but I have been known to be wrong....