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FDX - Is it too late to bid for Hong Kong?

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FDX - Is it too late to bid for Hong Kong?

Old 02-05-2008, 06:29 AM
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Default FDX - Is it too late to bid for Hong Kong?

China rail trip becomes 61-hour ordeal

GUANGZHOU, China - First, the food aboard the train ran out, then the water. When record blizzards hit China last month, what began as a 36-hour train trip for Edward Wang became an ordeal lasting nearly twice that long.
He described fighting among drunken passengers and staff armed with knives, fears of being robbed by those desperate for food, and breathing air so foul that some people became dizzy.
Wang, 25, rode the rails as China's worst blizzards and ice storms in five decades caused havoc during the nation's busiest travel period, the Chinese New Year. At least 60 people have died, thousands of vehicles were stranded on highways, rail travel was severely disrupted, and damage has been estimated at $7.5 billion.
State-run television and newspapers have painted an inspiring picture of people coping with the disaster — soldiers chipping ice off highways, and train conductors using snow to clean toilets on idled trains. Passengers were shown smiling as they looked out of train windows.
But Wang, an English teacher tells a different tale.
He said the crisis brought out the worst in China's system during what turned out to be a 61-hour journey from the southern city of Guangzhou to his hometown of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province.
Wang said train staff reverted to the communist habit of blocking bad news, refusing to say why the train was stalled on the tracks for up to 10 hours at a time.
"I didn't mind getting stuck on the train, but the way they were treating people was terrible," said Wang, who insisted on using his English name because he feared he might run afoul of the authorities for his criticism.
"The conductor didn't make any announcements," he said by phone from his parents' home. "We didn't know what was happening. They should have tried to comfort the people, but they said nothing."
When he tried to take photos, he said "the conductor came over to me and said, 'Who are you? Are you a journalist? You're going to have to delete these pictures.'"
His train left Guangzhou at 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 25. Two hours later, the train stopped in the city of Shaoguan — where it was stuck for 10 hours, Wang said.
Food on the train ran out after the first day and nothing was being sold on the station platforms, he said. Usually, hawkers will offer instant noodles, hard-boiled eggs, spicy tofu or other snacks.
"I guess there were 600 trains ahead of us, and everything was sold out," he said.
The water also quickly ran out.
"We didn't wash our face or brush our teeth for two days because there was no water left," he said. "We didn't get more water until the third day."
Some passengers drank beer or the popular, fiery "bai jiu" liquor sold by the train staff, Wang said. A few got drunk, barged into the packed dining car, and demanded food.

Fighting broke out, Wang said.
"The cooks had knives and the passengers had broomsticks. There were no injuries, though, just pushing and shoving and neck-grabbing," he said.
When the staff finally procured some lunch boxes with rice at a stop, they doubled the usual price to $2.80 — and some passengers bought most of the food and hoarded it, he said.
Wang said he feared that impoverished migrant workers could not afford the inflated prices. "I thought I could get robbed by people desperate for food," he said.
Every corner of the train was packed with people who were not allowed out for fresh air during the delays.
The crowding kept the unheated trains warm and staff kept windows — except for the small ones in the restrooms — closed to retain heat, he said, adding the lack of fresh air made passengers dizzy.
"Sometimes people had to go to the bathroom to breathe because that was the only place with any fresh air," he said. "It's funny because you normally don't want to do that in a train bathroom."
Wang said the toilets did not back up despite the lack of water. Most Chinese train toilets are just holes in the floor, with everything falling onto the tracks. People also threw trash out the windows, leaving a trail of toilet paper, beer bottles, instant noodle containers and other junk, he said.
The train was stuck for 30 hours in Hunan province, which has suffered most of the freakish winter storms. The ice and storm downed electric lines that powered the trains, and hundreds of thousands of people were still stranded in Guangzhou during the weekend.
Wang said he regretted not flying home but felt fortunate that he had not tried to take a later train, which would likely have left him stuck like the thousands of other passengers in Guangzhou. When he arrived home Jan. 28 — 61 hours after his journey began — Wang thought: "In this period of time, I could have been in Moscow."
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Old 02-05-2008, 07:48 PM
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I hear that some who were awarded HKG might not sign the agreement letter. If that is the case, and they dont go, you might have a chance.
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Old 02-06-2008, 06:16 AM
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Originally Posted by iarapilot View Post
I hear that some who were awarded HKG might not sign the agreement letter. If that is the case, and they dont go, you might have a chance.
Very, very interesting....

...Oh the tangled webs a substandard FDA LOA weaves...
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Old 02-06-2008, 08:42 AM
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That's about the one good thing in the LOA. Straight from page one:

b. Pilots awarded vacancies at CDG or HKG will be provided with paper copies of the agreement and shall sign and return such signed copies to the System Chief Pilot prior to the start of any training for the FDA vacancy, or, if no training is required, then prior to the distribution of any benefits stemming from the pilot’s FDA vacancy award (e.g., seed money).

c. Absent extenuating circumstances, if a pilot later fails or refuses to sign the agreement in the required time frame, he shall be frozen in his current crew position for two years, as if his failure to sign the agreement had been a down/lateral bid covered by Section 24.E.1.c. Such freeze shall not result in any passover pay.

The Union at least realized the company would dic k this up to no end, and provided a legit, and legal way out of the whole deal. Just don't sign.
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Old 02-06-2008, 09:18 AM
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The other thing that is not apparent is...
How many are guys that are in standards/flex/flt-test positions, bidding for pay purposes that will never have to go?
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Old 02-06-2008, 09:23 AM
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Not to mention how many of the new FOs on the list are 63 and won't be trained?
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Old 02-06-2008, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by A300_Driver View Post
The other thing that is not apparent is...
How many are guys that are in standards/flex/flt-test positions, bidding for pay purposes that will never have to go?
Zero. There is no such thing. You bid it, you're going.
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Old 02-06-2008, 09:58 AM
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Originally Posted by subicpilot View Post
Zero. There is no such thing. You bid it, you're going.
Is that so! Then why do we have a Purple Nugget teaching ground school and at least one ANC Capt teaching sims in Mecca?
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Old 02-06-2008, 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by MaxKts View Post
Is that so! Then why do we have a Purple Nugget teaching ground school and at least one ANC Capt teaching sims in Mecca?
Not sure to whom you refer, so I can't answer your question. I can, however, address the issue raised by A300_Driver, inquiring if anyone in Flex/Standards/Flt Test will be bidding Hong Kong for "pay purposes" and not actually go. The answer is, as I said...Zero. There is no such thing as bidding an FDA for pay purposes and then not going. Accepting a bid to an FDA requires signing the aforementioned "agreement", being tax equalized, and a host of other stuff. You don't just get your name on the list for pay purposes.

Right now there are exactly two flex/LCA's on the HKG list and both will be going to HKG.

Don't confuse this with the contractual provision which allows a Flex/LCA to bump trips in any domicile.
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Old 02-06-2008, 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by subicpilot View Post
Not sure to whom you refer, so I can't answer your question. I can, however, address the issue raised by A300_Driver, inquiring if anyone in Flex/Standards/Flt Test will be bidding Hong Kong for "pay purposes" and not actually go. The answer is, as I said...Zero. There is no such thing as bidding an FDA for pay purposes and then not going. Accepting a bid to an FDA requires signing the aforementioned "agreement", being tax equalized, and a host of other stuff. You don't just get your name on the list for pay purposes.

Right now there are exactly two flex/LCA's on the HKG list and both will be going to HKG.

Don't confuse this with the contractual provision which allows a Flex/LCA to bump trips in any domicile.
I'm saying these two bid or were hired into ANC domicile but are based in MEM to do their training duties.
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