Everything is relative and it depends upon your situation. First of all, contract negotiations time is usually a low-morale time for any carrier, especially when they're going poorly (like ours). However, even in Allegiant's heyday, one could simply describe us as nothing more than a good paying regional (minus the work rules). Throughout the years, management has done a remarkable job of hiring most of its pilots from dejected regional carriers and other less-than-desirable operations. This created the illusion for said pilots that they were entering Shangri La, so they wouldn't complain. We do have a handful of TWA/AA furloughees, but they came here at a time when nobody else was hiring. Plus, several have gone back. For the most part, people were happy due to the "home every night" culture and the pay that was higher than their past regionals. We also were receiving steady pay increases (although we were still light years behind other airlines flying comparable equipment).

Fast forward to today. TDY's have become part of the business model, ripping people from their families for 7-8 months at a time. Negotiations are at a standstill, and the only protections we have are the FARs. Pilots who came from Mesa are now longing for the good 'ol days over there.

So, are things really that bad? The answer is: it depends on what you view as "bad". Some guy flying night freight in an EMB 110 might think all of this is great. However, if you tell a legacy pilot about our working conditions be prepared for them to make a face like they're watching one of those Sarah McClachlan abused puppy commercials. I have a lot of friends at SWA who complain about things, but they're complaining that the elevator doesn't move up to the penthouse fast enough while I'm jiggling the key to my broom closet in the basement.

 

Can you elaborate on the where/who of the TDY issue? Primarily from West to East or vice versa, junior vs. random?

 

I appreciate the honest replies. CLMP summed it up well...perspective sure has a funny way of tilting opinions one way or another. Five years in/out of furloughs/recalls has had its effects!

 

CLMP summed it up very well.

 

So far the TDY has been West to East. Pilots from the west coast are being sent to PGD and PIE (with 1-2 to SFB on occasion) monthly. They normally allow the bases affected to bid it, but usually very few want to go so it becomes a constant JA. The month of March saw over 40 total pilots sent east. More than 10% of the group on TDY. The IWA base has born the brunt of it. A few of the the pilots in IWA have been on TDY upwards of 8-10 months in the past 12. BLI and LAS to a lesser extent have seen pilots shipped east as well. Apparently a new norm is seasonal base openings. This summer Myrtle Beach and LAX will be opened from around May 1 till the first week of Sept. LAX will be once again staffed by IWA and maybe LAS from what hearing and MYR will be all bases allowed to volunteer and then JA to the FL bases if not enough elect to do it. So FL will get tagged with this one as well. The 757 guys have also experienced LAS to HNL TDY and vice versa. This month 1 757 crew is TDYd to BLI. So it's been all over the place.

 

Any news on the training front? Have they finished that last class yet?

 

I believe they are in IOE now.

If they want to make TDY's part of the business model, fine. But they need to stop lying to us by telling us that the TDY's will be going away. If people know about these TDY's before accepting a job here or taking that upgrade, they can make a more informed decision about what's best for their families. It makes no sense to move to IWA (thinking you'll actually be flying out of there) only to be sitting in a hotel for the next 8 months in PIE.

The TDY's also need to be compensated. They are asking us to be "flexible" (another dirty "F word" you will get to know well) but they don't want to pay for it. The company is basically getting this MYR base for free this summer. Do you think they would pass some of those savings on to the pilots and FA's who will be there with 10 days off? Nope. Do you think any thought was given to the pilots TDY to HNL last summer who were paid $1/hr to live in Waikiki? Do they have any clue how much it costs to eat in Hawaii? They know. They just don't care. Any pilot whose compensation and QOL is obliterated during the company's relentless pursuit of profit is simply collateral damage to be ignored.

 

When it comes to TDY's in locations that already have a crew domicile, is that because there aren't enough pilots to staff the flights? Is there additional flying that calls for more pilots than normal? Is it seasonal? Temporary?

 

Normally TDYs are to cover seasonal flying, but the FL TDY's have all been due to understaffing, the cause of which will vary depending on who you ask.

 

The cause of which is this company’s general propensity for understaffing, and especially Florida. Tdy’s are the new normal to stopgap seasonal flying increase’s. G4 is running hog wild, cheating out the pilots. They do it, because they can.

The tdy’s tend to go very junior ever time. Tdy’s are great if your 25 years old, un-married, have no girl/boy friend, no children, and/or divorced with no children, because you will never see them. Basically if you were live in an utter vacuum, there awesome.