The new contract in the "Aggressive pick up" section under filling of open time discusses the order, but it's not clear if the reserve pilot will have to wait for CS to allow for pick up on DFP (Day off).


For anyone not AA, AA and APA make the contract language so very very UNREADABLE that they have to have Q & A section at the end of the published contract.
The contract will then reference see Q & A #217 regarding reserves that don't use Lube.

Yep, it's all published in the contract. However, AMR seems to have "programming issues" implementing certain parts of that contract. Coincidentally, those very issues seem to be the ones that benefit the pilots. Shocker, eh?

On another note, did you see that our equity stake is looking like an all stock deal now? (no cash)... BOHICA! :mad:

Greetings from GRU, we were joking on the way down "Hey, this is the New American" think morbid sense of humor.

For anyone that thinks i'm a complainer and do nothing about it. Here's what i've been doing the last week and a half.

One or more new 777 FO's in MIA are not getting a South America IOE or IE as AA calls it. These FO's have never flown anything but the S80 and only domestic for 18+ years.
I watched in the computer as they got a 2 day LAX and then a LHR trip. So I called Prof Std's and then emailed the head of APA training comittee, no response then I called our MIA vice chair who's also a 777 Fo. He understodd but knew it's legal to just get a London trip and be goood to go for So Am & Carrib. Then I called a check airman, he said "give up you're beating your head against a wall" Then I called one of our MIA chief pilots and he said he'd work on it. Well they gave one guy another London IOE instead of So Am. So I wrote the VP of Ops Capt John Hale. HE responded in 30 minutes saying "Thaqnks and he check on check airman availability"

I knew he'd respond. I believe I critiqued him hard and harshly earlier this week. I'll let you know what happens, but I would imagine one email to Flt Training (Std's) and it's done.

So i'm not one that just complains, I act.

Other than my own "Contradictions" ( I wear Contradiction cologne by Calvin Klein) If you get on with AA in the near future, things may be changing. We are going to get a JBCA (new contract) within 2 years I hope and much of the AMR management will be gone.

When I hear of interview processes I will pass on details.

^^ I may be misunderstanding you, but the North Atlantic is much more complicated than the Carib or SA. Going deep South is no big deal.

I was told that for the IOE, they want you on Europe for that very reason... so you can be shown the NAT ropes, and the painful overcomplication that is LHR operations.

I've been flying So Am and Carib since 2001. You are correct that North Atlantic is complicated. However, there is terrain in the Carib and in SO AM there are over 200 peaks above 20,000' Knowing where to go is pretty important.

In March we had a new 777 CA that had never flown So AM. and did not recieve a So Am IOE. He got real defensive when I tried to tell him something. So I stopped trying to be helpful.

There is alot to know about Carrib and So Am. It is not right for me to have to play check airman. I'm willing to offer whatever I can to a fellow pilot, but this is just not right.

Agree totally on the hazards of SA. I guess the issue is this: the guys that run this outfit are a bunch of cheap screws, and won't do two IOEs in different divisions if they can avoid it.

Your CA is a world-class jack-A for not taking input. I've flown recently with a couple of CA's who right off the bat said "I'm new and looking for input." And I've said the same thing as an FO.

I'll never forget a new CA who was also an ass, and he made it known early in the Narita trip. On the leg home, he slowed to 190 knots, flaps and gear, with over 20 miles to go before we even intercepted a 12 mile final. The FB and I (FC) look at each other with a classic "W-T-F is he doing?" look but said nothing. Of course, we got reamed by approach for flying so slowly, and totally screwed up the arrival for everyone else. :rolleyes:

Agree! I am humble and never assume that I know more than I do.

Most all of the Capt's I fly with are great.

For some that are unaware of the Carib,

San Juan, false localizer with approaching terrain.
Santo Domingo High terrain above 11,000'
Nearly all Carib islands have terrain
Santo Domingo ATC gets very very busy
Port au Prince, daylight only terrain and we do not overnight there PERIOD
Jamaica birds high terrain
Grand cayman not in a 777
Barbados, Aruba, Martinique Port of Spain all have terrain
Lots of find Waldo frequencies in South America
Bogota not a big deal in 777 but would be wise to be familiar
Quito, yes LAN flies 777's in there cargo and because i've flown there for a decade, have not been to new airport which is lower 7,100' and long non-puddling runway
Guyaquil is easy but there are curfews
Very few grooved runways south of Miami
Most airports single runway with button turnaround
Many Brazil cities no after hours customs
Carracas Miquetia Good luck they cannot even speak Spanish properly
Lima is now Cat3
Santiago through Mendoza to Buenos Aires, better have an exit strategy

and that is just to name a few "good to knows"

At dinner last night I had a Captain tell me if a pilot can fly into MEX that they can go anywhere. Well, ok then.

My point is sometimes both CA and FO's are defensive and just don't want to hear anything from me. Whereas they might be more receptive to a check airman.

This company like many others are cheap where they should not be. Rule #1 in aviation Safety First!

PS: The FA's found out yesterday that we (AA pilots) now have a dhd policy not tied to them or first come first served.

They are very mad. They are mad at APFA, the Company, USAir and us.

All I ever wanted was a dhd policy not tied to anyone elses drama.

Finnally! But, I imagine they will begin to take it out on us.

Last week on the way to Buenos Aires I was FO and i'm always in the bunk unless it's a daytime flight or coming home form London. Well, FA's never asked any of us, they took our 1st class rest seat on the 777. I didn't notice until the Capt asked me. None of us ever were asked if they could use it.

This is a classic example of the attitude the AA FA's display on long haul.
The FA's by using the pilot rest seat can take longer breaks. They almost always ask if they can use the seat. They probably think it's theirs by now.

Additionally i'm in GRU Sao paulo where we've had male FA's in January this year and again earlier this month get caught smuggling IPHONES into Brazil. One was released form jail last week, the other I saw last night at our hotel. They have not given him his Passport back. Must have a poor attorney.

So on the way down the other night, we were expecting a possible strip search. When we went thru the xray machine in GRU yesterday morning, the head honcho was eyeballing us. But we didn't get searched.

This has been going on for more than a decade that I know of.

I say FIRE the bad AA FA's.

Occasionally i'll fly a LAX transcon on the 777 even then I get some uneasy attitude from the FA's. they run to the front desk at hotel to get the best rooms.

For years we've been trying to get (if the cabin jumpseat is not used by a commuting FA) could we put a pilot in it. The APFA says NO, it is there Jumpseat.

I strongly hope that USAir doesn't put up with AA FA STUFF!

What do you mean by a dhd policy tied to the fa's

Are you referring to the first class deadhead seat policy for cockpit? If so, it's only 40 years overdue.

7576FO, you're a MIA guy, right? I have to say, I have never seen anything close to what you are describing from our DFW FA's. It might be a cultural/base thing. If that's the case, time to set them straight but pack your own lunch.

When I was on the MD-11, the FA's always asked if they could use bunk #2, and 9 out of 10 times, CA says "no prob." I think maybe once they helped themselves, and the CA put them straight.

Zero probs so far on the 777, although I am leery about what we'll see on the 777-300 as we get more of them. That cockpit crew rest area is like a studio apartment; 2 huge bunks and two seats, and also awesomely quiet. I've already had more than one ask to "take a look" at the area. If it's pure curiosity, fine. I haven't had one ask to use it, let alone help themselves yet. If the time comes when they do ask the CA, so long as he checks with us other pilots, it'd be no problem with me.