Originally Posted by
Captain Tony
Everyone is panicing and making threats. One memo from an unknown source to an unknown recipient has been posted. Let's take a deep breath until we get something official. Then we go to war.
And to the disingenuous majority who think jumpseat/non rev wars don't work, Ask an ASA pilot why we're the only DCI carrier that gets full priority on our own metal. I suspect a lot of DAL pilots complained to their chief pilots about not being able to get to or home from work in late 2007 when DAL last threatened to "enhance" our non rev "benefits".
Not a commuter, or on the JS Committee, but ...
I thought CMR and ASA were able to maintain status quo from their days when they were subsidiaries of Delta, Inc.
A Jumpseat War does not work because declaring war on Iraq doesn't change the way they eat meatballs in Sweden. Or, in other words, if a commuter can't get to work the first person to feel the heat is the commuter. It seems at ALL airlines the Chief Pilots are simply there to take the cram downs from upper management and put those mandates into pilot friendly talk (and sometimes threats) to execute the orders given them from on high.
I would think it would be more effective for the UAX guy to refuse to pay and call their own Schedulers and state "I don't have $20 to get to work." IMHO the real problem is that the UAX pilots do not have effective representation (which the ASA guys did/do have) to raise their concerns at an appropriate level to get action.
As several posters have pointed out, UA depends on UAX for feed. Park an RJ on a first flight of the day and the phones are going to ring somewhere.
But, don't take the issue out on innocent jumpseaters. They have the same problem UAX commuters do. Rather than make enemies, make friends. Carry copies of the memo and hand it out to the mainline UA pilots ... most will blow you off, but there are some good guys who will elevate the concern.