FDX Mem 757 award cancellations?
 

Has anyone with a MEM 757 award received a cancellation notice? If the company cancels "All awards to non-FDA bases", then puts out a new bid next week, it seems that this would be where the over sixty guys would most likely relocate.

Why? you would think if there still on the property, they would love to increase the high 5. The obvious solution would be w/b capt.

There will not be enough secondary wide body capt slots for but a few 60+ guys to fill in a new bid. If the company really wants these guys back as capts, then there will be a 27/10 excess bid which would allow everyone of them to hold a capt position (assuming even one guy is capt junior to them) regardless of manning. Now that of course could force an excess off the bottom of the capt list later. Just going to have to wait and see. Either way, I just got frozen for 3-5 years.

They're? Anyway....not all the over 60 S/Os came from WB Capt. Some from NB Capt and some from WB F/O. At least one was a W/B Capt for 11 months before turning 60. We all think of CW (a 30+ year guy, making 20K less as a DC-10 S/O than he would if he retired) but there are many other circumstances out there. If you are a '95 or '96 hire, over 60, and on panel, I suspect you'll never be able to hold WB Capt before you turn 65.

Time Line
 

The contract has certain bidding protections regarding training, i.e., those with a January class date are still going (Boeing/MD-11) while the company is cancelling the Boeing dates in Feb right now. The 757 isn't scheduled for training until March and they have a few weeks to figure out what they are going to do. This is probably why the 757 group has not responded to your inquiry.

The company can not justify cancelling the 757 MEM bid when they need the crews to fly this airplane in the future. If the company does cancel the MEM 757 bid and then reopens it at a later date, you know who'll be bidding it..all the senior over 60 crowd. The original awarded pilots would have the right to grieve the bid, a mess that's not necessary since the MEM 757 pilots don't start training until the end of '08.

A friend of mine who was awarded the 757 to MEM has not received a VIPs notification of training cancelled.

And the problem is...?

At least it keeps the over 60 crowd from taking W/B capt seats and potentially forcing junior capts out...and junior F/Os out...and so on.

Super Mario.....the 757 is a NARROW BODY a/c at FedEx.

I think the vips notices just went out to the first couple of classes that have been canceled. For instance (reviewing the training letter) my 72 F/O class was canceled with vips notice but the next class has not been canceled. Since the M757 training dosen't start till October I would not be surprised at the lack of a vips notice yet.

Maybe they're hoping the trained 757 LCAs will bid it (with an LOA on the subject)...........but you might be right, maybe only over 60 guys will hold it.

a bid's the key
 

As I read the communications, for a ND to bid the front seat again there has to be a bid and an opening in that seat. So the next bid I'd expect will be for 757 and 300's at the FDA locations. If we're overmanned in the 11 I doubt there will be any vacancies available for them to bid...

of course ya never know what special deals will be worked to divide the crew force again.

My point exactly!

Unless it's an excess bid because then you can go where your seniority will allow you. It doesn't matter if there's a vacancy or not.

The point that I was making was PC stated in his message that

"All awards to non-FDA bases will be canceled. Section 24.E.4. contains rules for canceling awards and for any passover pay that may result."

If this is the case as he stated, then the Mem 757 bid will be canceled. This would leave an opening for the over 60 guys to bid once a new bid is put out for it. Obviously, they will have to put out some sort of 757 bid once they have an LOA in place to fix the LCA/ Flex problem, but the over 60 guys could also bid it.

I had a 300 FO class cancelled and am sure that I won't be able to hold it if they have any FO positions available with a new bid. The over 60 guys will jump at the opportunity (which I don't blame them) to get back in the front seat of something. It just seems coincidental that the legislation passes and the bids are cancelled and then there will be another bid out so soon. Just the devils advocate in me.

Well, duh!! That's the whole point: the legislation is a perfect reason (excuse) to redo the whole bid. PC didn't dance around that issue at all. He threw in a lot of other reasons but it seems to me the change in the law is the main driver in this.

What makes you think they would have the right to grieve the cancellation of the awards? It's allowed under the contract and besides, for ALPA to carry the grievance forward would make no sense at all. "Dear Fred, we'd like to grieve these cancellations that were made because of the change in the regulated age which we (ALPA) supported." That'll be the day.

And if you'll check the training letter, the first 757 class in March 08 is 2 MEM Capt and 2 MEM F/O.

sheeewww.. Thanks AerisAmris... I'll sleep better now. Should I explain what I thought or do you understand my giberish?

MEM 757 training dates are being cancelled
 

I stand corrected...the MEM 757 training dates are being cancelled!!!! A friend had a MEM 757 training date of Feb 09 and just received his crew notification of training cancelled per section 24 of the CBA.

Doesn't mean anything. They appear to be sending out individual crew notifications, but not amending/updating the training letters. Perhaps they will do so when they get through everybody or they'll just wait until the next posting closes.

Yo AA, if they speed up the demise of the DC-10 those guys forced off can go to any plane someone junior can hold. So they'll be able to be captain on anything they want too. Almost all the 95', 96' hires are senior to YOU :D
Get ready to move back.

Maybe but they have updated the training letter on the slaveship. As I said I got my vips notice and the training letter changed dropping my Feb 25 class. The next class in march was still there. They seem to be going in some sort of order.

When I checked after I got mine, the TL hadn't changed any, I just looked again and now it is. I stand corrected-iow I was wrong!;)

I just got a notification that my excess bid out of SFS to MEM was cancelled. I guess that means SFS isnt closing.....yipee!

excess vs subsequent bid's
 

A couple of questions I have... those that are in the back of the boat. Can they excess the front and not excess the back? or is it a whole acft excess? If the neardeads go to the CDG/HKG seats, will they be able to bid back to the front of the WB's if they are bidding from the other acft? Seems to me if they bid the other domiciles they need a vacancy, if they bid from the back as an excess they have a chance to bump a young guy back where ever he can hold.

does that make any sense?

neardeads...I love it!

An excess can be declared on a seat by seat basis.

Oh ***? I'll just move into your garage and service mamma while you on a 12 day trip. Or.....30 minutes at Home Depot. You'll both thank me!

But to do that they'll have to have an excess bid and those guys will be able to go to wherever they can hold, i.e. the FDA's. It seems to make sense that if they have an excess they'll do the front seats and keep the "cheaper" seat manned for a while longer. But then again, they haven't asked me yet.

Hehe, AA, I'll buy they beers when you're yanking my gear! ;)

That's what I would do! I suspect the first real chance for the neardeads to get up front will be the B777 posting late next year (or later this year if you read this after midnight :D).

yanking my gear!

that sounds really painfull SO.

Can't be excessed to an FDA if that creates an excess at that FDA though so they could go anywhere they can hold domestic....right??