Our house or passenger satisfaction is a direct correlation to the abysmal express product and the flying it performs. When express touches over half the passengers we carry the burden falls on them quite often.

I do hope United can recognize the failings of express jet, bring some flying back to the mainline and make sure we don't hire from express jet pilot group.

This guy is quite the comedian! So, you're main complaints are what exactly? That the flying can't be staffed? That MUST be the pilots' fault. I'm sure if you volunteered in your free time to pick up some XJT flying for pennies, they'd greatly appreciate your experience.

If you honestly think it's the RJ pilots' fault, you clearly haven't spent any appreciable time seeing what the scum of the operation, in your opinion, has to deal with.

Have you ever seen one baggage handler loading all the checked bags and gate-checked bags? I have. Have you ever had to call 6 times to get your lav serviced because it was overflowing from lack of attention on the three previous hub stops? I have. Have you ever had to beg for ice or commissary on a 30-minute turn and be completely ignored? I have. Have you ever had to wait to board because a gate agent was busy boarding another flight? I have. It must be a nice view from your 767 throne where support staff kiss your toes while we all fight over the scraps.

04-21-2014 | 03:39 PM

#5743

makersmarc

Gets Weekends Off

Joined: Oct 2008

Posts: 355

Likes: 0

From: OH CA - Retired

Can't you guys recognize flamebait/trolling when you read it? Jeez, we got more important stuff to complain about.

04-21-2014 | 04:12 PM

#5744

Squawk87

Gets Weekends Off

Joined: Jan 2013

Posts: 145

Likes: 0

From: PA34-200

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartender

The most common thing I hear in Atlanta is "I wish we never bought XJT". It's time to cut them loose. They are like a cancerous tumor.

Troll level: Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat!

04-21-2014 | 06:04 PM

#5745

Nevets

Banned

Joined: Dec 2007

Posts: 2,934

Likes: 0

From: EMB 145 CPT

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartender

Quote:

Originally Posted by crflyer

Because who in Atlanta bought XJT?

Both airlines would have been better off separate. This management and the rest of the operation is in WAY over their heads.

LXJT would be out of business by now and we wouldn't be dealing with their shenanigans.

Out of business? Don't think so. UAL wasn't going to let their largest feeder disappear. If it wasn't Skywest, it would of been someone else. What shenanigans are you talking about anyway? You blame pilots for poor management?

04-21-2014 | 06:58 PM

#5746

RgrMurdock

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Joined: May 2011

Posts: 996

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I know I'm thread drifting a bit here. I asked a question previously about smart pref which is the PBS system being entertained by expressjet. Anyone that has any experience with this... does the real time bidding give an incentive for people to try to change / modify their bids at the last minute? Or are people generally happy with what they see? I know this is a small percentage of pilots because you currently utilize the program for build up / composite line holders.

04-21-2014 | 07:31 PM

#5747

freezingflyboy

Gets Weekends Off

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 4,047

Likes: 20

From: 7ER B...whatever that means.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RgrMurdock

For the record, relief/composite/buildup lines as well as all reserve lines are currently being built with SmartPref. So currently 20-25% of L-XJT pilots are using SmartPref.

The only incentive I can deduce for bidding late is for the guys that just want to be a dikc. If your seniority will hold it, it can hold it, whether you bid the minute after SmartPref opens or the minute before it closes. There's no gamesmanship to be had, near as I can tell. Now, if you're the kind of guy that gets a hard-on from blowing up other people's bids at the last minute...well then...maybe you need to evaluate what's going on in your life and your mind that makes you want to act that way.

When I weigh the pros and cons, I keep trying to relate SmartPref to line bidding and traditional PBS bidding. With line bidding, it doesn't matter when you or people senior to you bid because if your seniority will hold it, it will hold it. Same with SmartPref. Difference is sometimes with line bidding you get surprised if people senior to you "bid down" or forget to bid. No surprises with SmartPref as it's a "live bidding environment" (company shenanigans aside). The advantage with SmartPref is that if someone senior to you does come in and blow up your entire bid, you will see it and have the opportunity to tweak your bid and hopefully salvage something that will work for you. Not so with traditional PBS, or even normal line bidding, when you think about it.

04-21-2014 | 07:41 PM

#5748

RgrMurdock

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Joined: May 2011

Posts: 996

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I hear everything you're saying. I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here. If you did bid early, and then you receive 5-10 emails that your bid just changed, wouldn't that give you incentive to go and try to fine tune your bid to make it look like you wanted when the instant bid award came out? Times that by 100's of people and things can get pretty crazy. Again, I'm just trying to play devil's advocate and assume the worst case scenario. Has this system not been implemented just because of the craziness of the merger? Is it because of the vacation bid low on the ASA side? Even if it is because of the ASA side not wanting it, I thought this system was in place well before the merger but possibly was not considered to go live with the whole expressjet side? Why was that? I'm not trying to argue for one side or the other. I'm just trying to gather the facts here.

04-21-2014 | 08:09 PM

#5749

freezingflyboy

Gets Weekends Off

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 4,047

Likes: 20

From: 7ER B...whatever that means.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RgrMurdock

Is it possible? Absolutely. But so what? Same thing could happen with hard line bidding or traditional PBS too. You just won't know it. Worst case scenario: Guy #1 changes his bid last minute and blows up #2. Guy #2 goes in and changes his bid to his plan B and blows up #3. And so on and so on. Could that happen? Sure. Now, how often does that happen? Rarely, if ever that I've seen, probably because I'm mid-level seniority for relief/reserve line bidding and also because most guys aren't jerks just to be jerks. They bid what they want and are done with it. Remember, there is NO bidding system in the world that is going to fix being junior. SmartPref does tell you how many bids senior to yours have been saved but that doesn't stop someone senior to you from changing their bid last minute, for whatever reason. But you know that if only 1% of bids senior to you have been saved, your confidence level should be low. But if 99% of bids senior to you have been saved and the bid closes in 20 mins, your confidence should be higher that what you see is what you're gonna get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RgrMurdock

Has this system not been implemented just because of the craziness of the merger? Is it because of the vacation bid low on the ASA side? Even if it is because of the ASA side not wanting it, I thought this system was in place well before the merger but possibly was not considered to go live with the whole expressjet side? Why was that? I'm not trying to argue for one side or the other. I'm just trying to gather the facts here.

I'm not sure what you mean by "system not been implemented"...

SmartPref IS a thing. It has been how relief lines and reserve lines have been built for over a year now. The story of how SmartPref came to be and how it was implemented is convoluted and shrouded in company/union politics and there are probably folks with more and better background than what I can tell you. Suffice it to say, it was basically snuck in on the junior pilots as way for the company to save money and for the union to protect the senior pilots. It ended up not mattering anyway, because now the company can't or won't build lines with more than 12 days off so the point, at least for now, is moot. Just my opinion.

Now as far as how it relates to the merger, again, probably folks out there that can tell you more than I can. But from my perspective, at the time of the merger, ASA had their system they like and XJT had line bidding for all pilots. ASA had their "vacation low" deal and XJT had their "trip touching". On the XJT side, the company and the union had been kicking around (but had not implemented) PBS for a long while as a way to cut crew costs and improve efficiency without making it an overt pay cut after signing the cost-neutral deal with United. All that was well before the merger was announced. Now SmartPref vs. Flightline is just another battle in the standard whizzing fight between unions trying to protect turf during a merger.

04-22-2014 | 03:50 AM

#5750

Captain Tony

Line Holder

Joined: Mar 2010

Posts: 1,967

Likes: 0

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyguy94

LXJT is going to cease to exist in June? I will report back in June and let you know how it's going. Your rumors are false and your generalization of LXJT is ridiculous

We have received some questions from pilots that indicate there is misinformation in circulation about the content and results of the meeting on Wednesday. The facts of the meeting are as follows:

· ALPA presented the Company with selected information from the polling data regarding pilot perceptions of the condition of the Company, pilot opinions of management, and general expectations for a new JCBA.

· The parties discussed shortcomings of previous communications efforts and how each side intends to better explain the process and the outcome to pilots.

· The parties discussed current operational problems and contract compliance issues. The Company acknowledged that the pilots need to see results in these areas and is working to make that a reality.

· ALPA clearly stated that concessions of any kind in the JCBA are not acceptable.

· The Company acknowledged that improvements must be made to the failed agreement; a reorganization of the failed JCBA’s overall value would not work.

· The Company asked to begin negotiations as soon as possible.

· The parties committed to continue the negotiations process without delay.

· The parties mutually agreed on the June dates for exchange of full proposals..

While a waiting until June to continue is not ideal, several important factors contributed to this decision:

· Developing an opening proposal is a complex and important task. Openers set the tone for a negotiating process, and just like a first impression you only get one chance. Because we will be developing new proposals and not just rehashing the terms of the failed JCBA, this will take more time.

· The online survey of the pilot group is still in progress, and proposals cannot be developed until analysis of the survey is complete. If you have yet to do so, please take the survey now.

· The two MECs have yet to meet together to discuss specific JNC guidance for negotiations and to determine a single position on new JCBA issues. We will not present openers to the Company until our positions have been vetted and approved by both MECs.

· There is currently a recall vote in Council 176, and the XJT MEC strongly believes that a decision on openers must be delayed until that process is complete so the pilots of 176 are properly represented.

What part of this disputes that your reps refused to meet until June?

I was at that meeting. Yeah. Your reps giggled, texted each other, surfed the internet, and generally refused to engage. Wood did all the talking . CG and DA fooled around like high schoolers in the back of the room in social studies. Then suddenly when the mediator and company asked for meetings the first and last week of May, they insisted they had to wait until the recalls were over because they had no authorization. CG started in with his "no one wants a merger" crap that he spouted off the first time we met the mediator in April. Then Wood had the June meeting moved to BOS because he has personal issues to attend to then and that's where he lives.

That spin and propaganda your side put out may save face with you guys, but it isn't the whole truth. The truth is that your side is about to screw us all.

When someone throws a bag of money on the table, you take it. You don't say maybe I'll form a committee to determine a future date when we might be willing to talk about taking it.

Last edited by Captain Tony; 04-22-2014 at 04:11 AM. Reason: autocorrect fail