I take offense to that. Yes, some of the management pilots are
a==holes; so are some line pilots. It does not pay to make all
encompassing statements.

 

aflouisville...

You're right...not all mgmt pilots are *********s and there are some line pilots that do fit the description. However, non IPA pilots know which side of their bread is buttered and no matter, right or wrong, will always default to the company line, so they CANNOT BE TRUSTED, NO MATTER HOW "GOOD A GUY" THEY ARE!!!!

Add their general lack of experience and poor airmanship (don't call me Eddy) and these guys are put back into positions of authority that line guys wouldn't be holding.

JMO

Pilot7576

 

That may well be. Eddy is a whole story in and of itself.
I went into management in 1988. I already had 3 years in
heavy jet aircraft and 15 total years flying. I have been in
management all these years and I have many friends from the
line who I respect and I think respect me. I have never embarrassed myself in front of a line pilot.

 

aflouisville...

You are the exception that proves the rule...you could be an ACP for a legacy airline with your credentials....your contemporaries in mgmt have neither the experience or time to automatically command the respect of the line pilots. Just saying you're a check airman doesn't make me respect you....there has to be something substantial behind it besides a blessing from karen lee (that is another topic in itself!).

My whole point to the post is that push comes to shove, we cannot count on a manager to go against the company even if the company is wrong. Maybe on his last day before retirement, but otherwise I put my trust in the union.

YMMV

Pilot7576

 

Totally agree. No matter how "good a guy" Mgt Pilot A is, at the end of the day he knows you have union protection and he does NOT. So, while possibly feeling extremely guilty, he'll throw you under the bus in a second to save his job. He'll justify it in his good-guy mind by figuring the IPA will save your job. You CANNOT trust a manager.

 

Perfect example: I'm a new hire, 2 months into probation and get bumped from ONT where I got hired into up to ANC which just opened. J/S to SDF to start ground school and the email I got from the Training folks mentioned something about an FOM exam on day 1. Still being a probie and not knowing the ways of the world yet, I figured I ought to at least review that doc before I got to the schoolhouse.

So, I show up to the gateway for my J/S and it's two manglers, Mike and Pete (who actually just gave me my 75 checkride a few weeks earlier, and of course didn't remember me...which I guess is good). Anyway, we take off and trying to kill some time and not ingratiate myself into the manglers' conversation, I grab the FOM from the aircraft library and start reviewing.

Just when I hit my limit at about 45 minutes with the sleeping pill, I notice Mike kindof rocking back and forth from cheek to cheek in his seat. Finally he turns around and asks, "so...you gonna tell us what we did wrong, or do we have to wait and read about it?!" I seriously had no clue what he was talking about and told him so. He noted the FOM in my hand and figured I was planning to dime them out for some unknown error they'd committed!! But THAT'S how UPS plays the fear-game leadership "tool" with them.

After a few more years of flying the line, I'm certain had I done exactly the same thing with an IPA crew, they most likely would have ignored me or busted my stones for geeking in the J/S. But not the manglers...they're always sweating, which is why many are such douches. IMO

 

No your fellow Managers do that for you. Nice move sending 5 year service plaques to pilots who are still on furlough.

How can a logistics company screw up so bad? They did not. It was deliberate. You cannot make this stuff up.

 

Is surfing APC one of your duties as a management pilot?

Nice job by your brethren sending out the 5 year certs to the furloughed bubbas. Another shining example of who we work for.

 

Reserves normally never have to worry about extra pay as they get paid on guarantee... more time home, same pay.

 

Well, it's not the first time HMP has taken a shot at me. No worries.

Agreed. I've met some really good people while riding with you guys.

You guys know more than me. The fact that they're leaving 40 guys on the street given their quarterly earnings does make one wonder.

Again, I'm learning. I do hope the IPA pilot group continues to grow and that I can be a part of it some day. There have been guys both here and elsewhere that say despite the nonsense it's one of the better gigs out there. For me, the possibility of sitting reserve in ANC while living there would be amazing.