Old 07-08-2008, 04:50 PM
  #13  
Groundhog
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Originally Posted by Rightseat Ballast View Post
Such a typical response from United Mainline... "stupid little RJ pilots with their stupid little issues. We devoted one whole hour to listening to them, and they still weren't happy. How dare they! It is an honor to speak with us. In response, we will use big words and long sentences to convey the superior length of our johnsons. Also, we are going to deny YOU before you deny US. So there!"

UAX pilots have a legitimate issue, and these are the deaf ears it falls upon. United claims that to resolve these issues will take longer than the one month ultimatum given. Well, these issues were brought to their attention nearly two years ago. UAX pilots are being forced to pay to non-rev on their own aircraft while a mainline jumpseater is riding for free up front. That is disgusting. United then makes the classy move of saying it is the gate agents fault... well YOU hired them! How hard is it for United to print off a laminated memo that says "UAX goes first on own metal" and post it on every UAX gate desk. That is a cheap fix, and it is spelled out nicely for everyone. It would also be there for a UAX pilot to easily reference should a problem arise.

The UAX letter to UAL pilots is a bit extreme, but it was meant to be an attention getter and an educational tool. Instead of listening, the UAL MEC decides to tell their pilots to disregard the letter, and to be the bigger jerk.

So you expected UAL ALPA to roll over after receiving a strongly worded message from UAX?
UAL ALPA responds in kind, and you're surprised. Brilliant.
But then, this message wasn't addressed to UAX pilots. It was there to inform UAL pilots what was going on behind the scenes.

There is some additional background to todays events, that may explain the earlier deadline.

Two UAL pilots were traveling out of IND, when a Shuttle America captain went up to the podium and told the gate agent that UAL pilots are no longer allowed on the jumpseat at SA, and that it is new company policy. Don't even bother sending them down. Just to make sure they heard correctly, the UAL pilots confirmed it with the gate agent.

So it seems denials from the UAX crowd have already started. That got the Jumpseat chair's attention.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail on both sides. The only real losers here are going to be the families, when Mom or Dad can't make it home.

Hog

Last edited by Groundhog; 07-08-2008 at 04:55 PM.
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