EK is lowballing the pilot group. For those who aren't familiar with the tactic. This is from the American Management Association website:
The highball/lowball tactic is one of the oldest hardball moves in the book. Your counterpart will open with an extremely high or low offer, which they hope will force you to reconsider your resistance points and goal. If you haven’t done your research, or aren’t aware of what is happening, you may fall for it. The best way to navigate this scenario is to call their offer out and refuse to continue unless they are going to take you seriously. By insisting on a more reasonable opening offer, rather than trying to counter, you force them to continue on your terms while appearing to be more reasonable yourself.