sandman2122

I would like to see ALL of the MEC reps who voted for the LOA say they'll volunteer to be in the first group STV'd over to HKG or CDG for 90 days if the company is short pilots.......................oh that's right, BC and probably a lot of the other reps are MD-11 and 727 guys.....

Still voting NO..........adios.

eFDeeeX

I asked how long SIBA would last after the FDA stood up to a MEC member I rode on a bus with, and he said, "Fred's ****ed at DHL for coming into to the states, so we're taking the fight to them. SIBA will stay because we are ramping up for a big presence over there...."

SIBA will be around for a while since:
Fully converted 757 #1 has yet to be seen...
How many more still have to be bought/converted...
If the "fight" idea is true, SIBA, though expensive, offers FedEx a great ability to "instantly" add capacity.

This same MEC member gave me the impression that they feel Subic dudes are winers. He mentioned as Subic opened how the biggest winers were the first to sign up and go there. I'm sure they think the same will happen in this situation.

kronan

While I can't "bid" an FDA now, doesn't mean I don't want to bid one in the future.
(3 school age children the 56k Euro's for the American school makes it a non-starter for me, hard for me to believe BC is paying that much for his kids in Memphis--don't know which school he chose, but for me-sending my kids to Catholic school in Memphis equates to about 14k a year)
http://asparis.schoolyard.com/pages/....cfm?page=5182

So, not going to bid Yes for the LOA just to keep from taking the possibility of the 2700$ of rental assistance out of someone's grasp.
And while I can understand the company not wanting us to live in a palace, I don't think a 1500-2000 square foot (140-180 m2) home is unrealistic.....and the long term apts I'm finding within/just over the rental allowance are 1 or 2 bedroom apartments (again, wouldn't be fun with 3 kids)

The lack of a COLA is the show stopper for me.
The STV is a non-player with a good LOA.

for those folks thinking of bidding the FDA and moving only a crashpad (the only option economically viable in my opinion)......the system form might not be that conducive to commuting-could wind up with a more traditional airline schedule of 3 or 4 on, then 3 or 4 off.

cma2407

So did anyone say anything GOOD about this LOA during the mtg? Aside from slashing standard-of-living, hosing guys who bid it without a clue, and looking at the civilian equivalent of "going to the sandbox"...what is positive here?

And we should be giving up contractual agreements...why??

MAWK90

Albie,

I was there and I thought that you posed an excellent argument, very respectful and the response from those at the front of the room was marginal at best.

BC does need charm school. I can't believe the size of the ball$ this guy thinks he has. I appreciate the CBA we have, but the old "I've been here 28yrs" crap has to end. What about when he said that there were "3,500 widebody Captains here", and "you better get used to the fact that if you fly international, you are gonna be away from home" when he was trying to tell the dude in the back of the room why STV isn't that bad. I can tell you this, it must be a joy to spend 14 days in the front end of a Douglas with him...NOT!

Here are my points to consider:

1. Has ALPA costed this out to see A) what $$ is the company SAVING on not DH'ing people to these bases in a SIBA format? They should have if not.

2. Based on the potential savings from eliminating DH's and allowing trips to start in domicile, thus removing 36hr's front and back trip (ie - more productivity), why the meager $2,700 stipend?

3. Did ALPA cost-compare our agreement with Cathay (IFALPA member), and Dragonair? If so, why aren't we supplied with that information for comparison?

4. As has been mentioned earlier, and also before you got there last night, what about the 30% loss in buying power with the weak US Dollar? That is a 30% paycut to live over in Paris, and that's at NB payrates.

In the beginning of the meeting, before BC got there, the question was asked regarding scope "if we sign this, is the company admitting that extra-territorial flying will be covered under the RLA?" DM's response was "if they ever admitted that, they would fire the guy that said it". So, IMHO, this scope crap is just a scare tactic that at the end of the meeting BC jumped on to as an angle to pass this.

Face it, IF THE COMPANY COULD, THEY WOULD. Sure it's cheaper to hire WUN HUNG LOW to fly your jets, but you can't:

1. Control him
2. Guarantee the reliablility that our business is founded on
3. Operate the airline with a high level of safety

To name a few. And the notion that Air France pilots would fly the Paris flying is ludicrous as BC stated. Earlier in the meeting, that came up and DM stated that the labor laws are so pro-labor there they didn't want our guys claiming citizenship in France because they are so rebellious. Sure, just what our company wants is to have French-rebelrouser-pilots that are ready to walk at the drop of a hat. Again, scare tactics that contradict what was said earlier in the meeting.

Here is my take:

Our NC went into this knowing that whatever was negotiated wouldn't affect them anyway. As BC put it, "I've been here 28yrs, I don't care if this passes or not, I'm not going to fly it". Typical case of "we don't give a crap because it won't affect us, it's the junior guys". Just like the flip-flop on age 65.

I say, let the company open the FDA's per the current CBA.

MAWK90

Also,

Did you notice that our "man" TonyC stood silently in the front of the room? Perhaps they had a chokecollar on him preventing him from telling us how it "really is". Same one that is apparently on our man in SUBIC.

FDXLAG

Could that be because the people who whine about the agreements are the ones who are looking at going. DUH. Of Course the Maddog capts doing round the world trips aren't whining. They wont be STVed

HazCan

Any idea why BC's calender is blocked?

FDXLAG

New Sticker Suggestion (might be a little long):

Now that we have seen Fred's openers, let's show them ours.

nightfreight

First of all, thanks to Mawk and Albie for the PIREPs.

Our contract language allows these FDAs to be established. Under the current contract, it won't go senior. I don't think the LOA will change that to a great degree. I think if you added a grand or two, it would be a money loser for most of us. It might be a great adventure for some folks and they would bid these domiciles anyway. And we have quite a few that would take the upgrade to captain.

I still will vote NO until any involuntary STV language is pulled. I also can't believe the union is saying that "it probably won't happen" and that nonsense. If it "probably won't happen" then remove the language since it won't apply anyway. They could sweeten the deal for the voluntary guys, make deadhead lines, or send reserves to fill the shortages.

The company isn't dumb. They will save a ton on the FDA deal. Deadheads, very expensive hotel rooms, etc. I think the deal could be much better, but could probably vote for it if the invol STV section is removed.