Very well put! Speaking only for myself, my biggest issue is with the training. We were thrown out there with next to no explaination of the whole process (hence the delays over the past few days). A couple of months from now we will be going thru this all over again with the cutover of the rest of the fleets unless they send out some kind of clarification on the process to the "Bus" & "Boing" guys. This "Learn it on line" mentality is fine as long as one of the guys up front can explain it. When both guys are clueless it is a "nowhere road". We can figure it out, but it just takes a few extra minutes at the gate (usually with some expletives thrown in).

I personally don't think the release thing is anything more than an inconvenience. We will get used to it shortly, but we will most likely still complain about it because lets face it, we're pilots & that's what we do best!

 

Delta & JetBlue Seek Tarmac Exemption
Posted on 03/09/10 at 9:41am by Daniel James Hayden IV
Because of a temporary closure of the main runway at New York's JFK airport, JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq: JBLU) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) have asked for temporary exemptions from a new federal government rule that limits the amount of time that passengers can be forced to wait on planes that are sitting on the tarmac.

The new rule was issued by the Department of Transportation and prohibits airlines from keeping passengers waiting in planes on the tarmac for more than 3 hours.

Violators could be fined $27,500 per passenger, which could amount to a fine of millions of dollars for a large plane full of passengers.

Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways Corporation run the biggest operations out of the New York airport, so they are the most likely to face delays due to the airport's main runway being closed from March 1 until July.

The two airlines have reduced their schedules by 10% to ease congestion but they're still worried that the runway closure will cause more delays across the U.S.

Okay, place your bets!

My bet? Delta gets denied and Jetblue gets approved because its Delta's larger aircraft that are causing the taxiway congestion in the first place.

 

It's actually Delta's huge RJ fleet that causes most of the delays.

This would be a great opportunity to limit all JFK slots to 130 seats or greater, due to the reduced runways and to improve flow. Let's see if Delta can figure out how to operate an airline with real airplanes again...

 

I remember my days on the 757. Glance down at the screens every so often. Hit the print button if I wanted something in front of me. Got a descent restriction? Type it in.

You can't even think about being that casual on the -9. So, yes, not having something to write on is a pain. But that truly is a minor point relative to all the other crap I went through. Like the gate agent who handed me a final WDR (unrequested) about two minutes before push. I asked where the preliminary was and she said she didn't know what that was, but would have to go find a supervisor who could show her how to print one.

Why can't we get that thing with the rest of our papers at the gate? What's so special about it that there has to be a formal exchange of papers just before the door closes? Or the fueler who put 1,000# extra gas on us and apparently never entered it into the system. Can we update the fuel figure from ACARS? No. And you don't discover the incorrect figures are being used until the final numbers come across after the door is closed. PITA.

NWA system: Enter fuel on board. Enter runway. Flip to appropriate takeoff weight card. Done.

I'm really not a a negative guy. I also don't espouse MGL as the be-all and end-all. MGL pre-dates me at NWA, so it is at least 15+ years old. I hope that when Delta finally gets around to upgrading their technology they don't "upgrade" to a 20 year old program. I'd like to think something better has come along in the last two decades. That said, I stand by my original statement - it is a lot harder to get an airplane off the gate and into the air using Delta's systems. And you -9 guys need to find something to write on. My last leg I finally just ripped the WDR in half and we each wrote on the back of it.

With that, I vote that we officially close discussion on this topic. I'm sorry I started it.

 

Any of you FNWA calling the CPO or speaking to the chiefs, or calling flight training etc. about these short comings in the new procedures? I agree the -9's are much more pilot intensive...higher work load...and could use the 2nd release. I would be all over calling the head of the program to get something changed for the better ASAP.
As for the rest of the FNWA fleet, I have no idea what is needed especially for a 9+ hr international flight! Keenster you make a valid argument about your specific a/c why not call those that have the power to change it. Cheers

 

Bravo Sierra. For those of us who have watched this man represent us for the last 20 years, we know he is anything but. No one, not one single person, has ever provided better representation for their pilots.

For him to ever speak up about the internal differences in an MEC is pretty much unthinkable. For him to do so now says there are some serious problems going on.

One thing is for sure...while you blubber on here about what you think your opinion is, the NWA pilots have 20 years of service from this individual, and KNOW what a stand up guy he is.

LM and the rest have just made an enemy of every fNWA pilot on the property. Way to go.

Nu

 

Hi Cinca3,
Yes. I flew only one leg yesterday using the AWABS, and I did de-brief the CP. He was (painfully) aware of the "growing pains" associated with the initiation of this new way of doing business. This is waaay harder than it needs to be. My favorite line in the entire LMS study was with respect to how we used to keep track of the fuel score right on the flight plan, down to the minute and pound, by each way point. The narrator said that "Delta doesn't use this method, but instead relies on the highly automated features of the aircraft to keep track of fuel remaining", or words to that effect. Remember, this is the DC-9 fleet we're talking about. It would have been laughable, if the whole thing weren't so....(insert your own adjective here). In concept, I'm in complete agreement with the obvious. We all need to be "doing business the same way" in the cockpit. But this last change we initiated on Sunday (number 6) is so painful, and downright regressive, that it is pathetic to watch. There are at least a dozen ways to screw this up, and when the glass cockpit guys come onboard with this, you'll see what we're all griping about. I truly hope we can do better than this. And it does not have to be worldflight MGL, but there has got to be a better way to skin this cat...or we may see some of our Buds get scratched.
Fraternally,
Chuck
MEM DC-9/A

 

Word on the street today says that the Airbus takes over the Delta Shuttle by this summer.....there's a lot of PO'ed New York/Boston guys.

 

Alfaromeo,
I have to agree with Nuguy on this one. KW is really a class guy, and has done an exemplary job representing the pilots he works for. Many times when ONE of those same guys might have deserved being thrown to the wolves, he'd be the last to "go after" a guy, or with the very worst, hold his tongue. I don't know what the issue is that he'd resign, but it must be something of substance. It just does not add up that THIS guy would cry "I'll take my marbles and go home". Not in character by a long shot. Ask around from some of the Buds you have at the (former) north side, whose opinion you respect, and I think you'll be hard pressed to find many, if even one, who say otherwise.
Respectfully,
Chuck

 

Interesting. In the 10 years I've been here, That is exactly the way it's done. I can't think of a captain I've flown with who doesn't write it down on the howgoezit if I forget or am busy doing something else.