Originally Posted by
forgot to bid
I win.
Yeah I saw that (the bold) and I get it with respect to NYC, but it kind of doesn't explain why we stay at some of these other places. The reason we were told for years we wouldn't go to downtown JAN was because it wasn't safe, well, we're back to downtown.
I guess, how does it work? I've heard conflicting stories supposedly of how hotels get chosen and I'm kind of curious. Can ALPA say you're not putting our crews in these locations or is that solely up to the company until the company decides on a non-downtown location then ALPA must approve?
It seems like everything is oriented to finding a downtown
even if it is the most illogical choice you could make. PHF was a great example. Across the road basically from the airport is the largest/safest/best mall in the area and packed with the typical ancillary stuff surrounding it, but, contract says downtown so off they went to a dump somewhere near Williamsburg- but not really. Then when crews complained they decided to go find another downtown and decided on the not so safe and nearly dead downtown in my hometown of Hampton, which is a half hour away. To get there you passed two major commercial shopping areas.
ASA and AirTran crews meanwhile drove across the street and were better off in every way. It's something I see in some locations where you pass decent locals and safe areas to drive to a dead downtown nobody goes too, except it has this one bar, maybe, sometimes open, otherwise you have the hotel restaurant and 15% off.
I would like to see the downtown requirement stricken except for those locations where ALPA says we must be downtown (SFO, BOS, ORD/MDW, NYC, etc) and those need to be cemented into the contract so they don't ever change.
Being a former regional new hire I have seen the opposite side of this. I'd rather keep the downtown provision in place and work with the company on special circumstances. OMA was one of my favorite layovers while downtown and my absolute least favorite while not downtown. My guess is Delta has better hotel provisions are better than any of my previous companies but the point is, be careful what you wish for.
The biggest difference I have observed between my old company and Delta is the layovers. Domestically, I've been going to pretty much the same places but the layovers are waaaaay better.
There is one certainty when it comes to hotel preferences, no one will agree what is best. I've heard people claim a particular hotel was their favorite while other people claimed the same hotel was their least favorite.