Wow!! That's a crazy approach.

 

I like it...

Can we delete a trip for every SC too!

 

So Alfa:

Just to clarify, is that your official stance? That hiring will be occurring by July or August of 2013?

 

Here's a thought, make Short Call pay 1.5 long call, and the inbase guys will be killing each other to get them, the commuters won't have to get any!

And for the line holders how about Holiday Pay? Make flying (or laying over) on all Federal Holidays pay 1.5 and the guys with young kids at home will get to spend Christmas with the family, while the older empty nesters kill each other to get those trips.

Oh, BTW, the ground pounders and F/A's do get holiday pay, and the G.O. is always closed on Federal Holdiays, so the PILOTS are the only ones working on holidays for straight pay...

 

My buddy who works for Jet Blue has the same result in that they pay 1.5 pay for holidays so you have to be senior to get them.... he has two young kids and hasn't worked Christmas since his hire with JB 8 years ago.
Great ideas Timbo!

 

Frustrating, but not surprising. When investors are told "capacity reductions are our leverage" they understand the Company's revenue base is shrinking. Investors are also smart enough to figure out that codeshares and joint ventures also mean that we have greater confidence in our partners' abilities to serve markets profitably than we do our own. It comes back to the question I always ask, "If flying passengers is our core business, then why are we trying to get out of that business by outsourcing so much of it?"

 

Its actually double pay.

 

Both of those were written in by pilots on our 2012 Contract Survey and discussed in Council meetings. They are great ideas, but did not fit into the "kick the can" interim agreement.

 

No, not really.

First, those who attempted to do an analysis of the staffing changes connected the available dots as best they could. Even you must admit it was a complex task involving myriad assumptions about future block hour plans. They showed their math in public and encouraged scrutiny.

Second, the response from within ALPA surprised me because it suggested a different operational plan than management had already discussed in investor conference calls. Management was clear they were pulling down capacity, particularly in Europe. It was inferred, if not outright stated, that our MEC enjoyed greater access to information via non disclosure agreements and thus had "better" information while being able to protect their math under NDA. Bottom line, it was nonsensical for ALPA to make forward looking projections based on flat line assumptions because we knew management was continuing along a negative trend vector which started more than a decade ago at Northwest.

If we must pick "sides" then ALPA's side was less consistent with the announced business plan than those who used public information in their analysis. But, rather than fighting with Delta pilots, why not conclude that management called these shots?

Contract 2012 was surprisingly well balanced across both ends of a stagnant and shrinking pilot seniority list. Some gains were made to restore a little flying back to mainline. That should be applauded.

Bottom line, ALPA does not hire pilots. ALPA does negotiate scope and where it could, it brought jobs back.I think they are crowing because ALPA came at them with a "you are wrong, we are right" approach. Their response is in kind.

 

I did it in the 737... it was quite the hoot! I can only imagine taking a heavy without all the gee-whiz stuff we have on the 737 into there.