PDTpilotXX

PDT has been losing guys to Atlas Blue and United as well as US the entire time the current hiring letter was signed. I bet that continues even with the flow.

How's life on the 76 at AA?

Bzzt

I guarantee there will be a lot of FOs who are currently working for regionals that do not get called in the next 5 years.

billyho

Well that would be cause a lack of trying.

Systemized

Maybe if those FOs never get some captain experience.

Lambourne

That is pretty dubious to post that without taking into context what happened in those 5 years. In '01 ( 4 years into your 5) 9/11 happened. The industry furloughed thousands, combine that furlough with the increase in retirement age to 65 and that is the reason you are just now in class. You should be very well aware that advancement predictions are only accurate in a vacuum. Once a world event or a corporate event (BK) happens all bets are off.

My airline has always been "hiring for the foreseeable future" right up to the day they furlough.

buddies8

Systemized, Then move to where you can get you upgrade to get that captain experience. It is a free country here in the USA for now.

prop1900

In regards to the possibility of 175s to piedmont, How will that fit into the current route structure with most of there legs around 30 minutes long. Is there a need for 70 seats on existing routes?

higgi8f6

So I ask some hypothetical questions since we have yet to see the TA. I'm currently on the fence at PDT about this TA. You can sit here and tell me to hold the line and all other BS but no regional is in the same situation Piedmont is currently in. Republic and ExpressJet are both locked into multi-year contracts with the majors. Envoy has equipment that will be around for years to come and leases that can be extended. Piedmont has at best 2-3 years. We park 1 plane in 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017 we are scheduled to park 4 or 5 with a few more being parked later that year. Currently Piedmont staffs about 8 pilots per aircraft so in 2017 we will no longer require at least 15% of our workforce or about 50 pilots. There are no options to extend leases or anything like that. We will park aircraft because they have reached their cycle limit.

Now I'm not excited about a 12/4 cap because it took me 7 years to upgrade ,however is it a concession to accept a 12/4 where you reach the top amount faster and the hourly rate is consistent with what you top out after 20/8 currently? Let's say our 12 year cap is still higher than other carriers who top out after 20 years? Same for FOs? It may not be industry leading but it is in line with industry standard? In addition, because we make more money we have a net gain on income even paying higher insurance premiums? Is this a concession? I'd be making more money and consistent with other regional carriers?

ALPAs policy has always been get the aircraft on property then negotiate upwards. With this TA we are allowed to open up QOL items i believe twice or three times during its term. That gives us the opportunity to better our contract once the aircraft are present.

Personally I wanna vote no out of spite but that is not fair to the industry and definitely not fair to the Piedmont pilot group. Emotion should not be a reason to vote one way or another. Now I personally will probably be able to get hired by a major in the next year or two but is it right to vote down a future for Piedmont? Because that is really what we are voting on. Is it fair to the FOs who are just starting or the senior guys waiting to retire? Yes they will be able to find other jobs flying but at what financial and personal costs to them? If Piedmont doesn't close they will be in a much better position.

My biggest internal struggle is that if I am still here when the term of this contract expires, will I still be happy with the way I voted. There is no easy answer.

billyho

You can't be that dumb??? Lol! The route structure is owned by American. If we get 175's it will just change like they always have for our airline. We did 2 hour flights and actually flew to about 25 cities out of CLT. Now we fly to maybe 10. But route structure can change on a dime. Look at PSA when they dumped there DoProps.

RyanP

Clearly you are oblivious to our situation at Envoy. We are losing bases, lost the West Coast, losing jets EVERY month now for the foreseeable future. We just lost an entire fleet of turboprops. Along with another lost domicile in Puerto Rico that many called home, pretty much the entire Caribbean was lost last year. Our routes and bases are being slowly taken over by RAH, Mesa, Skywest, Expressjet and soon PSA and Compass. We are losing routes every month to others as we park airplanes. SJU closed, LAX completely taken over, ORD whor*d out, DFW infiltrated, with more bad news coming. Our MIA and LGA flying getting whor*d out to RAH starting next month. Next it will be Piedmont also coming into our bases while we get displaced and/or downgraded if they vote that in and undercut us like PSA did.

Your situation is not "special". We are under just as great of threat of non-existance as you are. We are Comair II according to management. From their own words.