Originally Posted by
NuGuy
That bar has moved significantly, but we can't even get the MEC to study the question. They don't want to examine the economics as they CURRENTLY exist.
The game of the next 24 months is not that of the last 24, nor the 10 years before that. FTDT will ravage the regionals, because their bag of scheduling tricks, like scheduled reduced rest and 16 hour duty days, are going out the window.
Their ONLY way to mitigate crew costs is to reduce pay and benefits. Yet they already find it VERY difficult to recruit people to work for their bottom basement wages...and yet here comes the 1,500 hour rule to haunt their dreams.
The game has changed. The only one singing from the old hymnal seems to be DALPA.
Nu
Nu,
Slowplay's answer is a half answer to a question that was not specific enough. I believe the resolution that addressed this was AI 11-95 from the Nov MEC Mtg (look on the comm committe page under resolutions, can't copy from my iPad). It was to study and report back on accounting practices and costs associated with various DCI flying to determine the true operating costs.
It was NOT a study of whether 76 seat flying, aka E-175, could be performed at mainline, with seat, route, GW limits and other restrictions lifted, and duplicate managerial and other costs eliminated, and at what pay rate that could still allow a margin for the company, per Sailing's post.
I believe that someone at ALPA has already decided they don't want to pursue this because while perhaps not a negative cost item, might detract from other possible PWA gains, so the question is not being seriously considered. Of course the company doesn't want to go there because with PCL in BK, they can keep whipsawing the DCI costs even lower. So we'll put them off the scent, trot out a few old power points and brush them off and say its not cost effective.
I asked my LEC reps if any analysis as above has been done and they said not that they had seen. I also asked if there was any truth to the rumors of letting the company outsource further 76 seaters and was told they cannot discuss negotiation specifics. ****?!?
My experience is that reps will usually tell you NO if there is no truth to a rumor, but when they can't discusses means BOHICA
