Originally Posted by cigarman
The execs are under paid comparied to equally qualified people at other companies. And the stress is insane on airline executives. I see silly comparisions to the President of the United States salary of about $200,000, thrown around of this board. People don't run for president for the money, they do it for the ego. Running an airline is a tough job that deserves fair pay. The guy flipping burgers at McDonalds doesn't spend all day, worried about what the CEO makes. If you don't like CO... go work someplace else. The union has NEVER saved one airline job EVER. The reality is the barier for entry is very, very low. 4 weeks training. Almost every other occupation in the world takes more training. And the pay was way out of line. The cleaners over at NWA were making between $45,000 and $60,000. To walk through an airplane with a trash bag! The reality of the airline industry is not caused by management. It is caused by disjointed legistlative and regulatory policy here. All congressmen are "for" cheap flights. Yet they all want to play politics and "save" jobs in their districts with expensive bailouts. General Electric is also a problem propping up sick airlines. USair had no reason to exist. It should have died. Had that occurred, you probably wouldn't have to have a pay cut. Since they didn't die... you can make what you make now for six months, and then flip burgers at McDonalds when the carrier folds. Or suck it up and make less. Both choices stink on a personal level. But that is life! I lost a ton of money January 1st when the government changed Medicare. Not a darn thing I could do about it. But I am not going to "blame" someone else. It's just life.
While a little strong, it is true that "this is life". I am worth no more than what someone else would be willing to do my job for, assuming they are qualified. The two big problems are pensions and the LCC. Once the LCCs became successfull, they set the bar for compensation and pensions. Eventually, sooner rather than later, any airline that wants to survive will get to a situation similar to what the LCCs are in with benefits/pensions/pay, etc. They must in order to compete. The only alternative is to go back to regulation where the government sets the air fares and that would be a disaster. The LCCs will always be able to undercut the Legacy Carriers because their costs are so much lower. Also, sooner rather than later, expect the LCC guys to start flying internationally. When that happens, whatever Legacy Carriers have not gotten their costs down to the LCC levels will go out of business.
The smart thing for those caught in this difficult situation is to look for a new job now, while they still have the current one. Most people would be surprised that their talents might be appreciated more elswhere with better pay. By doing it now, you avoid the desperate situation of having to grab something that comes up, rather than something you really want.
Its an unpleasant situation, but the ones that emerge successfully are those that stop feeling sorry for themselves and take the bull by the horns.