In its proposal to the government, the Bahamas Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) is demanding what would effectively amount to a seven percent increase over a five-year period, according to a document The Nassau Guardian obtained.
Bahamasair's proposal would increase the salaries of captains and first officers by 3.7 percent over five years.
But Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis indicated in a statement on Sunday that that offer might now be off the table.
The document from the government's files shows that the association is asking for full increments between $1,700 and $2,800 to be added to the salaries of pilots and first officers in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
It is also asking for lump sum payments of one increment for 2013 and 2014.
The increment for a Dash 8 first officer is $1,700 and $2,000 for a jet first officer.
For the Dash 8 captain, the increment is $2,300 and $2,800 for a jet captain.
In Bahamasair's proposal, the cash-strapped company had proposed the lump sum payments of one increment for 2013 and 2014.
However, it proposed that half of an increment be added to the salaries and half be paid as a lump sum payment in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Based on Bahamasair's salary scale, Dash 8 first officers make between $34,070 and $49,370 and first officers of jets make between $47,209 and $65,209.
Pilots of the Dash 8 make between $63,646 and $91,246 a year and jet captains make $98,316 to $131,916.
In addition, jet captains reportedly earn approximately $25,000 in overtime and Dash 8 captains earn $12,000 to $15,000 in overtime.
The proposal was revealed after the pilots staged a two-day sickout over those increment payments.
The pilots' actions resulted in massive flight delays last week.
In his statement on Sunday, Davis said Bahamasair is "no longer an essential service".
He suggested that industrial action by those pilots lit a fire under the government to rid itself of Bahamasair completely.
Davis also referred to the salaries of Bahamasair pilots, which he said are "well in excess of their regional counterparts," even though they actually fly much less.
"Additionally, pilots make up only 10 percent of the entire staff at Bahamasair but account for 30 percent of the payroll; there is something wrong with this picture," Davis said.
He called the pilots' action "unprovoked and unwarranted," and even "unlawful".

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