ACL,

Not rsponding directly to your above post, but the whole Pilot vs. Doctor issue in general.

The Medical profession restricts access and limits those who qualify for entry. A 22 year old cannot take a six month course, pay his dues for a year or two and then start cracking chests, whereas a 22 year old can go to a fly by night academy, get his ratings, fly as an FO for a year or two and then fly as a Captain - competing directly against a NB Captain at a major with 20-30 years of experience.

Perhaps ALPA should have thought about this before endorsing a 750 hour waiver.

Scoop

 

I do not argue that.

On the 750 hr waver, there is some rationale behind it. There was a thread on that a few weeks ago. Simply put, 750 is sustainable, whereas a 1500 hr limit would get knocked down rather easily in 10 years or so. Making one get a college degree along with 750 hrs is one way.

I would love to have a Association that could restrict access. This may be a logical step towards that.

In regard to competing with us, yes, it is competition, and selling more seats to our regional subsidiaries does nothing to help that.

I beleive that if the consolidation that is on the horizon occurs it will be very difficult for new entrants (airlines) to make it in to this industry.

There are a few things that airlines and ALPA can do to help to finally rationalize this industry. Will it happen? Who knows, but I do have a few years to find out.

 

This can be while on long call though, correct? Also, did anybody know how much would be on top of guarantee? Would the first duty period be considered today or the entire trip?

 

First you can get an IA on LC if you are legal for whitlow. That means if you came off a trip, got your required rest and can complete the IA withing the 16 hrs you can do it. That is very difficult.

The first day is on top of guarantee just like a gs.

 

Cool, thanks.

 

Also if it is a trip that has Flag operations, Whitlow does not apply. IE International. I have done a trip like that in the past. Domestic is the animal I described above.

 

Pilot v Doctor, you know the one thing Doctors have that we don't have is non-governmental Certification Boards run by professionals within the field.

 

If I GS a trip while on reserve & the 1st day of the trip is a day off, does that mean the 1st 2 days are straight pay above guarantee?

 

1500 hours is sustainable.

And, Better to have the rule in place now and back off it later if required. Plus, the rule is better for the entire pilot profession in the long run.

Wasn't someone just saying we need some barriers to entry?

Unless your last name is nostradomus, I don't put much stock in your guess about pilot availibility and requirements 5-10 years from now. I plan to be living on the moon by then.

 

This whole discussion of "restoration" vs. "pattern bargaining" is going to be one the key issues facing the MEC in the next few years. When the Delta MEC initiated our plan to gain value from the merger, we saw the next step was to have a strong and profitable enterprise that could afford higher wages. It looks like that is going to play out in the next couple of years. The MEC will face a choice: they can start rebuilding the contract sooner by hitting some singles and doubles, or they can wait and try to hit the grand slam.

Obviously, the APA is trying to hit the grand slam and right now they are striking out. If we are going to short circuit the contract amendable date, then we will probably need to think more about short ball instead of long ball. If we wait until the end of 2012 to get into Section 6, then there will be a tough call between the profitability of the company, which may outstrip their competitors, and the rest of the marketplace for pilots. Pattern bargaining and the marketplace are important, but can an exceptional carrier provide pay and benefits above the marketplace?

Without getting into another fight, the key element is to get everyone rowing the same direction. The MEC will have internal differences within the reps and with the administration. Those differences should be fought but they should remain internal. The days of the scorching council emails have got to stop. The whole KW type poison pen letter has got to stop too. You simply cannot run an effective organization if you are constantly back stabbing each other (see the US Congress, both parties, for examples). Also, my personal opinion is that the former NWA reps need to work on healing the damage their old MEC did during the merger and SLI talks. I am sure that accommodations need to be made from others, but many of the players that initiated these scorched earth tactics are still around and they should take ownership of their actions. This is not a blame game, but it is what we are dealing with and it needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later.

Finally, the MEC will have some really tough choices. There is a lot of anger and pent up demands in the pilots. There may be no way to satisfy those demands. Will they have to courage to actually lead and make the tough calls or will they pander like the APA has been doing and let the NMB send us to the woodshed? These are very difficult questions, but ones they need to start considering now.