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Do you know how much money and time it takes to get a new sim? I know when Taco Bell (DC10 #2) came on the property, it took over a year to get it installed, troubleshot, and certified by the Feds, and that was an existing sim. Ordering a new one is worse. There is a new A300 going in now, and it's been a long time coming. Not to mention, there are very few places doing MD11 (or A300) training worldwide that have excess capacity, so off-site expansion is problematic. Also, they keep opening spots for new instructors, but can't keep them filled. A bunch just bailed after seeing the new Section 11. That is also a 2-3 month process to get checked out.Originally Posted by capt_zman
I'm already on board, slinging coffee in the back of the Boeing. Anyway, couple of points regarding training. 1. They can always increase their training capacity, whether it's new sims, more offsite training, actual airplane training (in lieu of some of the lofts), more instructors, whatever. Shouldn't be that hard, and honestly, should have been accounted for by mgmt.
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This is a temporary thing, based on crewmembers not flying extra (makeup, draft, Vac buyback) during negotiations. You should have been here in 98 when they shut down training and sent everyone back to their old seats. A slip or two in your training date is no biggie. You could be at a real airline, and be moving backwards.Originally Posted by capt_zman
2. The company is doing a disservice to itself by using instructors for line flying as much as they are the past few months. I understand that trips need to be filled, but when you cut your training pipeline to cover trips (rob peter to pay paul), it never has a happy ending (e.g., trips get missed, employees get abused, mgmt gets tunnel vision, sales start dropping, customers start leaving, etc). It is very difficult to catch up when operations can't match sales (capacity can't keep up with growth), hence my productivity comment.
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We don't have the lift capacity available to just retire them. There are widebody deliveries scheduled out for the next 5 years, and we're still are behind. When the fleet gets down to around 10 jets, rumour, has it, they will shut down the 10s, as any smaller fleet size is not economical.Originally Posted by capt_zman
As for the 10's, they've successfully managed the fleet type for many years. With all the company growth, why not make the transition easier on everybody (mgmt, pilots, ops, mx, training, etc) and phase out/retire the birds when the time comes, just like they are doing with the 727. I'm sure it's more complicated than I know, but square pegs don't fit into round holes, even when Fred says they do.