Originally Posted by
WhistlePig
1. The current contract is a concessionary one that is about, oh ... 15 years old. The company is not even faking an attempt at good faith negotiation. The company is tighter than a frog's @55 and expects further concessions for more money and reasonable work rules. Yes, even in this market. The current contract reads more like a handshake deal and the company has exploited the naivete of the pilots who negotiated to the fullest, to the detriment of the current work force. Good on 'em, but it's time to tighten up the language.
2. There haven't been upgrades in 2 years because we don't have the FO's to upgrade. We don't have the FO's to fly the bid flying without using all of the reserves and then some. It's arguable that we don't even have the contract minimum number of captains, but I don't have a dog in that fight. I don't think 18 month upgrades are realistic, maybe 24 for the new guys? Who knows?
3. Operationally, AWA is great. I fly with a lot of different folks and I enjoy going to work every trip. The constant reroutes, extensions, junior-manning are a real drag. Line holders here are flying for a completely different airline than reserves (reference the contract above). It's a great place to learn and get experience and there are some great folks who work here, but once you can move up and out, do it.
Study. Work hard. Don't take anything for granted and have a positive attitude and you'll be on the line before you know it.
Cheers.
1. This is correct. The company just wants to "move the pieces around the board". If you want more money, take it out of somewhere else in the contract.
2. We aren't even close to the number of required captains and there is a current filed grievance on this awaiting arbitration dates. The company is using every trick (clever and dirty) in the book to cover the flying. It is really a game of wack-a-mole in scheduling every day. Even 24month upgrades is a bit of a long shot for a while I think. They are barely covering attrition right now in their hiring. Even if you fill all the classes, we are short on atw instructors, sim instructors, and the LCAs are all covering said FO flying. They have gotten themselves WAY behind the curve here and it will be a while before they can straighten it out.
3.Agreed