Originally Posted by
TurboDog
Have you thought about the possibility that if we hadn't just been given more flying, that more furloughs were coming? Why else would they have started a 55 Point/EO program? There are many factors involved, not just how this dysfunctional company utilizes it's crews. The only reason the reserves are all being used over 70 hours is because the line values for line holders is so low. Paying a reservist(lower seniority pay) vs paying a more senior lineholder is much cheaper for them.
Did you honestly think they would raise the min line value for line holders to keep the same reserve/lineholder ratio after furloughing MORE people? Or that they would miraculously start utilizing crews better after furloughing more people just to be able to get by with less on the payroll? Would it be the smart thing? Of course. Would it ever happen? No.
And lets not think pilots are the reason they started the early retirement program. There are alot of senior ground handling/flight attendants/management/office staff as well, and as a bone to the pilot group, included them. Sometimes as pilots we think we drive every decision for the whole company and forget we are just members of the "team" (Congrats to the entire team!)