PurpleTail

This missive come out three days ago from the VP of Ops on the front page of PFC and I'm shocked nobody is talking about it.

My take is that there there is NOT going to be an excess bid after all after peak contrary to recent rumors. KIX hub to open in April, no mention of future changes to CAN hub.

Overall flight hours should remain steady, when 76's arrive more MD10's to be parked and an overall shift of freight between airplanes in the international theater.

Also looks like the writing is on the wall for ANC domicile after Nov '14.....

"...We have a tentitive flight schedule through Nov 2014 in ANC... ...it is possible that flying through ANC will decrease to a level that no longer makes it logical to designate it as a domicile."

Possible bid in Mar-Apr time frame to fill vacancies and realign crewforce to fill retirements and new aircraft arrival.

And sadly "......it is unlikely the company will be hiring any pilots in the next 12 to 18 months."

Lots of competition out there, growth is slow and we are still recovering from the 2008 meltdown.

All the more reason to not even mention the initials PiBS.

olly

No excesses is great news, but.... With 19 new 757's coming and no new hiring to fill the right seats, combined with MD10/300's retiring there will be excesses in those fleets to fill the 757 and 767 seats.

Hopefully "Realign" doesn't mean massive bump & flush.

I'd like to hope that the company would eventually realize these bump & flush bids result in a huge training cycles that are multiples of the necessary excesses- and no training is not "free".

HazCan

It was information and that is good and appreciated, but it had a lot of caveats. Also, don't forget we are in negotiations. The threat (implied or not) of domicile closure could be a way of teeing us up for a "deal". Ultra long range flying anyone? "Boys, if you don't agree to xxx, ANC just might not survive. Keep your eye on the ball....NEWNAN!!!!

HDawg

The same management that doesn't trust us as professionals to determine fitness for flight. They don't trust us I don't trust anything they say, just words so they can say they are communicating.

Albief15

Single departure European SIBA out of HKG is an interesting wrinkle. It makes it easier for those who might commute. It is also going to be interesting to see how some of the very senior Memphis A300 Capts and FOs react to some the SIBA migrating to another bidpack. Do they follow the flying and commute from the states? Do they sit tight and grumble and fly domestic? Or do they use this as their reason to jump to another seat like the 777 or 767?

Been here a dozen years. What I've learned is never get too addicted to a certain trip, as they change quite a bit.

Curby

I understand the company is trying to change relocation benefits in the new contract - and I have no details...just concerns. If they close ANC - that's a bunch of relocations. I pray the Negotiating Committee (NC) is not going to make a base change a more significant burden for pilots forced to move.

In simpler terms - the company may be holding off on major changes in ANC until the move benefits are changed more to their favor. NC - don't let that happen.

FrankTheTank

There's no way the company could be that devious...

DLax85

The company also wants any New Hires to come on property without an A fund --- just an increased B fund, like all the pax carriers

Signaling that they don't need to hire for the next 12-18 months may also demonstrate that we are not as close to closing a deal as many may think

Gunpig

This would be a horribly bad thing for all current pilots. SS touched on this at the last Hub turn meeting and said it was not going to happen, let's hope the MEC holds firm on this.

As far as system form, I believe the writing is on the wall for an excess. The 767 assures that, it's just a matter of when

hypoxia

That's a good point! We need to see the bidpacks. It's possible one can be HKG based, fly double deadheads Europe, Middle East and never step foot in Hong Kong if they don't want the housing allowance!