Originally Posted by
Inconceivable
Is their anything in the contract that would prevent this? I gave mine away years ago, but I don't think that there is. Nor do I see how preventing it gains anything for the pilot group.
The flying can't be done because you don't have enough pilots. That is a staffing decision, not a contractual one. How the company staffs is a "management's rights" issue. If they can't cover it with premium pay, what does making a plane sit and flight cancel gain the pilot group?
Nothing in the PWA requires the company to actually be good at running an airline.
The issue I have is that it opens the door to transfer airplanes over to another certificate at will. Can't staff it? Transfer it to Mesaba/Colgan. Then just don't hire at Pinnacle. Keep transferring airplanes, and eventually Pinnacle Inc has none. IMO, the only reason management hasn't played the "Mesa/Freedom" card is because, until now, the other airline didn't have pilots already trained to fly the airplane or an operating certificate with the airplane on it.