Originally Posted by
CaptainHvac
I have presented several strategies directly to the EXCO over the years, one of which was used and nearly resulted in the firing of one of our pilots. The other strategies were deemed far too extreme, which I understood, but at the same time it's unfortunate. I won't hesitate to offer new ideas in the future and I support our EXCO specifically. I disagree that attrition is an effective strategy right now because it leaves the ball in their court to do whatever they need to mitigate it. Again, they could just re-alocate crew as contracts expire, or partially farm contracts out or cancel them, not seek business that would tax their Amazon/DHL operations too heavily, 767 staffing is fat leaving opportunities for efficiency gains partially negating this strategy, they are still mostly filling classes, etc... Its a closed end strategy for our side and that's what makes it weak because they have options to deal with it. They do not have immediate options to deal with parking jets. The execs seem to have thrown the keys out the window per se, so how do you deal with a group who doesn't seem to care either way? They will always get theirs...
Thank you for stepping up to the plate and trying to make a difference. There are too many pilots here that do nothing but complain. Trying and failing or even partially succeeding if far better than giving up and doing nothing.
Personally, I, too, am in favor of extreme strategies, and there may still be a time for them in the future ...
As I pointed out, the attrition thing is only a part of the union's strategy. There are several other irons in the fire some of which I think most folks know about and some of which none of us know about.
Flynn and his team are all about growth. It has been their strategy for the entire time that I have been here and it is working well for them. Due to our size, Atlas now has the economy of scale and the critical mass to survive in an industry that has crushed Evergreen, World, North American, ATA, etc. So, for them to give up on growth seems antithetical to their current strategy. Atlas is the 800 pound gorilla in the room and they are redefining the industry with their vast array of customers, their fleet, their Titan portfolio, and the whole CMI thing.
Of course, they may just sell some or all of Atlas to Amazon and retire to the country club for some much needed R&R.