"What?!?! You'll have to speak up...err, in ALL CAPS... DC-9 ears, ya' know...". Sure it's quiet. Even my wife is quiet after 30% hearing loss!

 

I don't know what kind of message you think it sends, but to me it doesn't send the message that I need to be grateful, and settle for less. It sends the message that we're still in Section 66 proceedings... so it send the message that it will require that much more of an improvement to make me feel like I'm even.

Money doesn't buy hapiness, but it sure helps when you're unhappy.

 

Yep. That message would be our scope is insufficient at all levels. 255 DC-9-10 replacement jets flying around outside our list, AS pillaging anything that touches the west coast at will and DL well below the AF/KLM/AI balance with no end in sight plus all the future JV dangers like VA and the Chinese carriers.

I'm also noticing a pattern of volatility emerging from the semi-company quasi endorsed rumor mill. CP's, LCA's and other folks in high(er) places are running the gambit from "impending hiring and awesome early outs" to "endless stagnation and be greatful we aren't furloughing...yet" and back again. Not saying the ones spreading the rumors are "in on it" necessarily, but they are getting their info from somewhere and those sources only give them what they want to give them knowing full well it will "leak". PsyOps 101.

Get hopes up, smash them to the ground. Repeat until no one knows what's going on. Finally settle on bad news at the critical time and the sheep will beg you to settle for less just to get it over with and avoid "the worst case" end of the bell curve of possibilities.

Would it be premature to identify this as the U. and D. in FUD from the age old playbooks of failed management teams that consistently run great airlines into the ground?

 

Although I disagree wholeheartedly with trip parking--how would it affect manning?

Any shady "trip parking" takes place after the bid is awarded, and thus, should not affect manning. Or am I missing something?

 

With trip parking, you can WS up to max pick-up THEN pick up something back from your "friend" from the swap board, up to FAR's.

If you pay close attention to reserve coverage in certain categories, it's pretty obvious that regular lineholders are doing the overwhelming majority of the uncovered flying. For flight-whaures, this is great news. From a staffing perspective, it's a disaster. Makes me sick.

Congrats on posting something without using the usual acronyms, btw.

 

Exactly correct.

Carl

 

Doesn't it allow guys to fly more than they otherwise could? And if so, doesn't that skew the numbers of required reserves and whatnot? It isn't the biggest factor in staffing but it impacts it to some degree. Not to mention its pretty shady. We have way too much to fight for than trying to preserve all the little micro empires like trip parking, LCA buddy bidding and the narcotic pursuit of touch drop vacations. That's a lot of fat concentrated in very, very few places. High cost : low benefit.

 

Our manning formula includes a factor for increasing pilots in category based (in part) on how many greenslips are awarded in category.

So, if pilots can circumvent the monthly ALV + 15 line limit, by parking trips, to pick up more time, then un-parking their trip, resulting a line far above ALV + 15, well, that trip is no longer in Open Time, and doesn't need to be covered, by a reserve or by a Green Slip. Thus no increase in manning, in fact, a decrease is warrented, as even the reserves are not flying very much.

If every pilot is flying just 7.5 hours per month above ALV+15, that equates to about 1,200 less pilots needed to fly the schedule. If you are in the bottom 10% of your category, expect to be displaced to a lower paying category.

Or...just fly 75 in a higher paying category...the job you save could be your own.

 

A lot of the abuse could be fixed simply by eliminating the swap board. I know that statement fits into some people's plan like a cold, cold wind blowing through and wiping out the stuff they've gotten addicted to. But the reason we had to go to the board in the first place was that Sawp with the Pot had become completely useless due to the abuse of Reserves Required formulas by the company. So the unintended consequence of having a poor system to swap with open time, has been to allow pilots to fly much, much (much) more than max pick-up.

A good Swap with the Pot, with rational restrictions, would keep everyone honest at or below max pick-up, and wouldn't allow those that whaure for the flying to add insult to injury by trashing the staffing.

I know this very idea infuriates a bunch of people, but at some point in your career, you've got to look around, realize your friends are turning tricks, with white stuff on their nose, and you've got to wonder if it wouldn't be better if we could get our dignity (and our staffing) back.

 

I had a comment that I thought complemented your question until I read scambo's post and was reminded of the reality...

... we're a ticket broker. We can offer service on Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection by any one of several lowest bid airlines, we also offer service on Alaska, and AF/KLM, and Skyteam. It can't be more obvious. We're stub hub. We don't own the stadiums, we just sell the tickets. As in delta.com > Delta Air Lines.

Intriguing post.

Now I must go google - counter psyops.



That's not Bar btw because he wouldn't have been the catalyst behind himself being displaced. The reaction may be identical though, but it's not Bar.