Well it's Saturday so that means back to work for me. Once again the ability to work on the weekend is paramount in that my boss called and asked me to be the bump-up supervisor for the morning shift. The pay is good the work is sometimes tedious but not very hard. All in all I like being the sup. and if the permanent position paid well enough and some other things were set in my personal life I would put in for the permanent position.
It's crazy that a position like Foreman at a major airline pays so poorly. People with FedEx delivery routes make more than our foremen do. It is just like many of the jobs at airlines these days-the pay is very low and in some geographical locations-laffable. Legal Secretaries make more money than most airline pilots, mechanics have to live often many states away and commute into work because they can not afford to live at their work base location.
All this is a result, not of airlines like Southwest as a lot of employees of the traditional "legacy" carriers claim. The reason the airlines are cash strapped is that they refuse to raise the ticket prices despite the fact that fuel has gone through the roof. When one airline raises rates all the others tend to do the same, however, at some time one of those airlines get greedy and lower their rates. This in turn makes everyone else lower fares and so goes the cycle, over and over again.
I'm not talking about raising fares from $50.00 to $200.00. I'm talking about raising fares from $50.00 to $60.00. A couple of years ago we raised fares an average of $2.00 and that allowed the company to realize a profit that year! It's amazing how a short term gain in filled seats can sabotage a companies thinking into believing that lowering fares is any type of advantage to their bottom line. This industry is in major trouble if the CEO's and CFO's do not start to realize that with the fares they are charging you can not make any money. If they can not make any money they cannot compensate the employees appropriately.
I'm sure that raising fares is not going to go over well with the public but I also do not believe that an extra $10.00 or so is going to be a deal breaker. I have seen a lot in this industry and I love working on airliners. The most troubling trend in this industry is the quality of the persons that are being attracted by low pay and hard hours. This used to be a proud industry where people were paid well and the people coming on board were willing to go the extra mile because they knew the reward was with in reach. I know from experience that pilots at regional and commuter organizations make about $800-$2000 a month! When my wife was working at a commuter I had to keep her fed and housed (away from home) and I also had to keep one or two of her colleagues fed as well. If you think that quality top of the line people are going to get into that line of work for $400.00 a pay check you better think again. Enrollment is down in maintenance training schools across the country, the caliber of folks that are enrolling can not be the top of the top as it was in years past. This is a problem for the future of our industry that is more immediate than any other.
The next time you fly on an airliner think about the fact that the multi-million dollar plane you are in is being piloted by a person who, on average, makes less than a manager at McDonalds, was "fixed" by a guy who could get a pay raise by going to sort mail at the Post Office, and these nice folks will likely get pay cuts in the coming years. It is really too bad when you find a job that you like, such as the Foreman position for me, and you can not "afford" to take the job but instead have to stay in the position you are in. maybe one day things will change...I need TEN more years baby, just TEN more years.
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