Greenslips are effectively nonexistent unless you live in base and are in the top 25% of the category. There are just a handful of dudes that lap up all the green-ies in NYC. It is a catch 22 for them. They live in NYC so they absolutely need these gs's to make ends meet. (cost of living is crazy high on the east coast) I'm with you. Hiring equals a better qol for those of us flailing at the bottom of this seniority list. Green slips only really help the rich get richer. I am also a fan of premium pay above say 85 hours. This will allow a more equitable means of picking up extra pay. BTW...the other day scheduling offered me a gs and asked if I could be to LGA in an hour. I laughed my butt off as I told her I could be six blocks from LGA and not be to the gate in an hour. Scheduling doesn't understand the NYC layout. Whatever...."win in NY"

 

Official answer....no hiring planned. When hiring kicks off you can expect to see 50+ /mnth for quite some time. Summer hiring will slow down and pick back up in the fall. Look to next year or the year after. UAL is hiring huge right now. They don't plan on slowing down anytime soon. Get you app in!

 

[I always seem to be posting after the topic has moved on.]

Sailing,

I don't doubt you for a second, but I'm surprised at your experience with Bushy. I didn't know that about Harry Alger's stance on Delta pilots and jet aircraft. Personally I'm sorry his viewpoint didn't win out.

The "rumor" I heard about Bushy's departure after 9/11 was he and the COO at the time, Fred Reid, clashed somewhat frequently. Leo sided with Reid and Bushy was history. By my standards you're a pretty "connected" guy. Can you offer any more insight?

 

It'll be interesting to see how you guys do the hiring once it begins. It seems like pilot groups of other hiring airlines have been really nonplussed by the results of the recent HR/Computer/Lawyer takeover of the process.

 

I got this.

I used to fly the ER. Crew meals were meals the FAs would bring you in flight on a tray. Sometimes multiple trays
With plates and bowls. There was fruit, steak, eggs, steak and eggs. Food.

They'd give you a sheet of paper and ask you to write down your top three choices from the menu and then they'd bring you your fourth. It was awesome.

On the 88 from time to time you get a crew meal when the FA calls "want a sandwich? my cat princess wouldn't eat this anyways."

 

I commute to NYC from the south. I get GS's quite often. I see GS's awarded for the next day quite often in the A category on the ER. I hear the legend that you can only get a GS if you live in base. The reality is that GS's are much more dependent on manning. In the summer its not unusual to see multiple pilots on GS number 3 or 4. Certainly if you live in base you might get more short notice call outs but there are enough trips covered the day prior or early morning for evening departures to spread the wealth to commuters.
If you want hiring the last thing you want is premium pay above a certain hour figure. Guys will trip all over themselves to get above that threshold and hiring will be put off that much longer. At least GS's tie into the manning formula and increase min staffing.

 

Sailing...I have heard the arguments against premium pay. I agree with you. Guys will trip over themselves to get above the threshold. My thought is the company will hire more because of the huge number of retirements. Eventually we will hear about capacity increases (maybe not) and there will be plenty of hiring going on. You are absolutely correct. If we had this premium pay in place right now we wouldn't be hiring....oh wait...we're not

 

So far, so good:

Flight Delay Information - Air Traffic Control System Command Center

LaHood's going to have to send out some memos. Sequestration's impact not being felt. Must increase the panic.... He could call Dick Cheney, Saddam, Uranium, Yellow Cakes, alleged statements from known liars in Africa ... code yellow plaid... something.

Glad it is not as bad as feared.

But, if we have paid our fuel tax and the passengers have paid their taxes, haven't we paid for a service the government should provide?

If controllers can not go on strike, and neither can we, why should the White House be able to call a work stoppage?

 

What actually happens out there is a moo point. The goal is to have what LaHood said would happen, happen. The goal is to end sequestration, nothing more. If reality isn't as bad as the rhetoric then they'll need to figure out a way to make it as bad.

Tis easier to do this and not tackle the hard problems like entitlement fraud. Don't want to work or unemployment run out? Claim your back hurts or mood disorders and go on disability. There are Doctors and Lawyers happy to help you (for a fee) and States happy to see you leave there system and go to a Federal program happy to have you.
Robert Slayton: Disability Fraud?

Or, cut ATC, cause delays, anger the public, end sequestration. Which is easier?

/rant

But what if delays kick in and remain? Wouldn't it be easier to shift to larger aircraft and have fewer blips?

 

I read that due to higher than normal pay on Sundays, finding a controller that would use one of their furloughs today would be quite a task.

Tomorrow may show different results.

I'm sure EWR tower can do without "local assist" getting strips in sequence for in-trail and airway closures as storms make their way across Pennsylvania.