Suggestion: a 'primary source' link on every airline page for the union contract or pay scale, so the estimates point to the real document
-
#1 American, and I want to make a specific suggestion for the airline pages, because I think the site is honest about its salary figures being estimates and I think it could be more useful about it.
The problem
The salary figures on the airline pages are estimates in USD, and the site says so. For the Gulf and Asian carriers that is the best anyone can do, because there is no public contract. But for the US majors, the APFA contract at American, the AFA contracts at United and Alaska and the TWU 556 contract at Southwest publish the real pay tables, and for Turkish Airlines the Hava-İş agreement does the same, and for most European legacy carriers the collective agreement is a public document. Anyone comparing those airlines should read the real table before any estimate.
The suggestion
On every airline page where a public contract or pay scale exists, a short 'primary source' box that links to it, says what it is, and says plainly that it beats the estimate. Where no public source exists, the box says that too, so the reader knows the estimate is the best available. The box could also say when the site last reviewed the airline's numbers, because hiring status and pay move and a reader should know how fresh the page is.
Why it matters
The site's credibility. A reader who finds the APFA table after reading the estimate will trust the site less. A reader who is sent to the APFA table by the site will trust it more, and will come back for the Gulf pages where the estimate is genuinely the best there is. Pointing at the primary source is the strongest thing a secondary source can do.
A related one
The crew ratings. The site's scores are editorial and the methodology page says so, and now that members can add their own ratings the blend is shown with the count. A short note on the airline page saying 'this score is X editorial plus Y member ratings' would make it obvious which it is, and I think it already partly does. Worth checking it is on every page.
I use this site for the Gulf and Asian comparisons where it is the best resource I know. For my own airline I use my contract. The site could send people to both.
-
#2 Virgin, and this is the most useful feedback thread on the board. The Unite agreements for us are public too. The site pointing at them costs nothing and gains a lot.
-
#3 Turkish Airlines, and the Hava-İş agreement being the primary source is the thing I say in every THY salary thread. If the airline page said it, I would not have to.
-
#4 SAS, and the CAU agreement is public in Danish. A link and a line saying 'this is the real one, in Danish, ask a crew member to translate the pay table' would be more honest than any estimate.
-
#5 Done, and thank you for putting it so clearly. Every English airline profile now has a 'Sources and reliability' card with the review date, a plain statement that the salary figures are estimates, and a link to the primary source where one exists (APFA, AFA, TWU 556, Hava-İş, UFO, kapers, Unite, FAAA, CAU, VNC and others). Where none exists the card says so. The salary pages and the salary hub say the same, and the crew rating note on each page now states the editorial baseline and the member rating count. The editorial policy on the About page explains the whole approach. If a primary source is missing for your airline, post the link here and it will be added.