Idiot was generically applied to people who think unions are unneeded for airline pilots.. not anyone specifically here, certainly not you. More over, my MD-11 operation is not as well paid as FDX / UPS which frankly sucks, but I do have a work contract with decent work rules, call out times, days off, and home basing... it's not going to get better without a union anyway; there is no chance of that. So while it sucks now, I think in the long run with ALPA on the property (they're only 2 years there now and the company is young), it can only get better, and I wasn't there when ALPA got voted in, but the fact that it did made this company a choice for me over other non-union cargo outfits with no work contracts or quality of life at all.

IF I'm still with my company in two years when our contract is amendable, I will fight for a better contract that is reasonable and doesn't make my company noncompetitive. If I've moved on, I'll have moved on to another union carrier that pays better.. I just don't think the attitude that airline managers are going to do anything positive towards pilots without a union work contract is a reality. My company may not pay as much as it should (the pay isn't bad for a company fresh out of BK at $64/hr 2nd year pay).

I also think (and this is a VERY important point).. that the fact that many union contracts are weak now (my company being a prime example) is that many of the direct competitors are working for non-union wages, and with non-union work rules.. i.e. higher productivity which makes it impossible for my union company to be competitive without concessions. Point being... we should all be members of a union in this profession, and take an active interest in what our professional unions are doing.

AS for the MD-11... it's a great airplane in many respects, very fast, lots of power, incredible level of systems automation and redundancy.. but that FMS box is slower than molasses in January (this is being worked on now I understand with an upgrade called Pegasus).. it's downright frustrating at times. Also, with hydraulic system failures it's a complete bear to fly.. I honestly wonder how some of the skinny women I've seen flying them at FDX,UPS are doing it.. I'm 200lbs and strong and even doing simple departure stalls requires a lot of "man handling"