UPS New Hire class
11-23-2007 | 03:42 PM
#21
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 511
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If the company decides to add a position, say put one more MD-11 captain up in ANC, that is an original vacancy. If an SDF Z captain takes it, that creates a recurring vacancy in the Z. If that is taken by a DC8 Fo, it creates another recurring vacancy which then gets filled automaticly. Say that person is an Airbus FO, that creates an airbus recurring vacancy. This could go on for a while but in many cases is limited by our contract. You can see why the company would want to do this. One of the ways that they limit it is to only allow a certain amount of these recurring vacancies before one has to be filled by someone upgrading, and not just bidding laterally.
This is a chink on our seniority system and one which is going to keep guys in ANC that went up there for the quick upgrade receiving that Alaska state dividend check for more years than they may have bargained for. To get back, they will have to wait for original vacancies that they are senior enough to hold.
How this all falls out for the age 60 guys is an open question as well. They can grab the first window seat that they get, but it looks like most of those are in ANC. If they want to go there and come back, they will again have to wait for that original vacancy to come up.
This is a chink on our seniority system and one which is going to keep guys in ANC that went up there for the quick upgrade receiving that Alaska state dividend check for more years than they may have bargained for. To get back, they will have to wait for original vacancies that they are senior enough to hold.
How this all falls out for the age 60 guys is an open question as well. They can grab the first window seat that they get, but it looks like most of those are in ANC. If they want to go there and come back, they will again have to wait for that original vacancy to come up.
11-23-2007 | 07:38 PM
#23
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 171
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From: A cushion seat
I think so too but for a different reason. I think we’ll jump on the bandwagon and get back into the pax business to capitalize on the upcoming elections. Passenger travel will increase tremendously before and after the presidential elections once people realize Hilary is coming to save us all from the evils of capitalism. The huge emigrant (notice "E" not "I") wave will be heading to less socialist countries, such as China, Vietnam, etc. and we’ll be happy to provide some extra lift…
Note! Sarcasm light is not only on - it’s crew-room coffee hot!
On a more serious note - anyone here ever got to fly the pax routes? I ran into many passengers in MEM and BNA who all loved the service...
11-23-2007 | 09:14 PM
#24
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,333
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Way before my time however I remember seeing the 727 at the American Eagle gate in Nashville boarding passengers going to some sunny destination ...
... Fast forward a few years, now I am flying the very same routes in a 737 (the same contract - Vacation Express). Here’s the kicker - you'd be amazed how many times we had passengers come up to the cockpit after a flight to say something like "you guys were all right but when UPS used to fly this trip they treated us sooo much better, and we had food on those flights, the seats were bigger and their flight attendants were nicer, etc, etc." I'm not making this up; I flew those trips for almost a year, day in and day out. I remember one of my captains explaining to a passenger "well ma'm, I'm sorry we disappointed you but surely you must realize UPS had way more money to spend on this operation than our little airline does?" (Pace which became HootersAir). Moral of the story, passengers will always complain no matter what!
Off the subject, one of our flight attendants was a former UPS flight attendant (I guess they were contracted out? - she showed me some pictures from her UPS days). She too missed those days, don't know what kind of benefits they all had but she said they were the best she'd ever had as a flight attendant (Her background I believe was Eastern, Corporate Aviation, UPS, Pace).
Btw, I was joking about going back to pax operation - I hope that'll NEVER happen!
Last edited by ⌐ AV8OR WANNABE; 11-23-2007 at 09:25 PM.
11-23-2007 | 09:23 PM
#25
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,899
Likes: 0
From: Leftof longitudinal
AV8OR,
I took the family on a vacation that used UPS, it was a class operation and a really good flight. They contracted the flight attendants, and they were superb. The only problem as noted, they used the wrong airplane (should have used the 75's) Oh well. Funny talking to the fellow crews who flew the trips. It was a real learning experience for UPS.
I took the family on a vacation that used UPS, it was a class operation and a really good flight. They contracted the flight attendants, and they were superb. The only problem as noted, they used the wrong airplane (should have used the 75's) Oh well. Funny talking to the fellow crews who flew the trips. It was a real learning experience for UPS.
11-23-2007 | 09:30 PM
#26
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,333
Likes: 0
AV8OR,
I took the family on a vacation that used UPS, it was a class operation and a really good flight. They contracted the flight attendants, and they were superb. The only problem as noted, they used the wrong airplane (should have used the 75's) Oh well. Funny talking to the fellow crews who flew the trips. It was a real learning experience for UPS.
I took the family on a vacation that used UPS, it was a class operation and a really good flight. They contracted the flight attendants, and they were superb. The only problem as noted, they used the wrong airplane (should have used the 75's) Oh well. Funny talking to the fellow crews who flew the trips. It was a real learning experience for UPS.
Yeah, everything you said I agree with, got to see it thru the passengers' eyes, or rather thru their complaints and the numerous stories about how much better UPS was comparing to us (based on their stories and on how our operation was run (LEAN! or El Cheapo!
) - I tend to agree with them)
11-24-2007 | 09:13 AM
#30
Freightmama!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,880
Likes: 0
From: 757/767 FO
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