Originally Posted by
Ar Pilot
There was never any API access that ACE used for their Auto-ID. It took MPI/RPH text files and compared rerouted messages. It was never reliably programmed to catch edge cases such as gate returns and diversions. Pay calculations were also not 100% as end of rotation credit calculations were never fully fleshed out.
Also, any programming around 12.D.4 and 8.D.3 when tested returned results that were sometimes sub 50% accurate and still required extra work to validate.
The full capabilities of auto-ID in its end state were essentially generating a list that would need to be manually audited by scheduling committee members to ensure accuracy. It was not a magical automated compliance tool that people wish to believe.
Well be fair... ACE pre-dated API access by more than a few years. And API access was only negotiated with the current contract, signed in March 2023. It was negotiated specifically with ACE in mind, in collaboration with, and at the behest of 5S.
It takes 2 to tango, and the company gets a vote. DL requires significant data security certifications to access its systems. This cannot be done overnight, and is
not cheap to obtain. ALPA only gained real-time API access in what, September 2024? Or thereabouts? Months
after ACE got dumped? So throwing shade at the work-around of using text files in the 'meantime' paints a very incomplete picture.
I can't speak intelligently about the workflows/backend of ACE vs. STS. So I'll have to take the volunteers' word for what their work-life was/is like. But I can say that some of the accusations posted here in the last couple of days are wildly inaccurate. Such as the accusation that 5S was attempting to triple their fee. The fact is, the first contract APLA had with 5S was for $5 per user per month, and the second contract was $9 per user. It was the third contract where things fell apart because the MEC decided they wanted to own, not rent.
So I'll again ask if anyone can answer the following:
1. How much money has ALPA spent on multiple vendors getting to the current iteration of STS?
2. How much money did 5S offer to sell ACE to ALPA for (that was turned down)?
I think most of you would be shocked at the answer. Hint: The answer to 2 is less than 1... Regardless of the anything else, the then-MEC chair and admin did ACE dirty.