word302

How are the captains feeling about this deal? It would seem if you give all the money to FOs, there is nothing to get the company back to the table to sweeten the pot.

snackysmores

Most don't like it, many will still vote yes though to take the money and the 4.2 min daily degree, and hope the deal isn't good enough and they will come back to the table later. We'll see.

mightyflyer

Iceman310

I'm hearing a lot of negativity out there about the new LOA. I think it'll pass but the more I talk to people the more no's I hear. Maybe it won't pass. Any thoughts? Snacky, what are you hearing?

snackysmores

More of the same, I think if it does pass it won't be by a huge margin like the company expects. Wouldn't be surprised if it fails by a small margin either.

DashAviator

OK, I'll bite. I think this TA will pass by a pretty wide margin, at least 75% YES to 25% NO. There'll be the usual 20% of the pilot group that will sit on the sidelines and not bother to vote.

In my opinion, this TA was meant to accomplish two objectives:

(1) Improve FO pay, especially for new FO's on the first and second year scales.

(2) Allow the company to effectively recruit new pilots. This benefits the pilots as well: Less time on reserve and faster movement up the seniority list.

This TA has certain limited objectives. It was NOT meant to be a big cash grab for the senior people, nor was it meant to fix all the problems in the crappy 2016 contract. Every pilot on the contract will get a $15,000 bonus, the newer FO's will get a significant pay raise, and those of us that stay in the Q400 will get a hard minimum daily rig of 4.2 hours. Can you say YES? I did!

snackysmores

We could have won more back from the company. We probably will when this doesn't work the way they hope it does. That's the main argument the no voters have. The jets are ours, they aren't going anywhere, so why not improve some of the sh!tty things we're stuck dealing with now rather than later.

I believe our 5th jet is getting modded in OKC right now.

DashAviator

Thanks, Snacky. I agree with you - I suspect that this TA is just a "band-aid" fix for some of our current issues.

I have already voted (and voted YES) on this TA. On the other hand, I would never try to talk someone out of voting no on this agreement. We all have our own priorities and expectations, and it's important for me to be able to hear all sides of the proposed agreement. I would ask everyone to please VOTE. Don't be one of the 20% or so that sits around and complains, but doesn't vote. This TA is not very complicated. It takes about 10 minutes to read, and another 30 seconds to vote. Consider it an investment in your future.

Iceman310

This is a quote from an email sent to all AS and QX AK employees...

"Perhaps as early as sometime next year, the Q400s will be replaced with E-175s that will work well in ANC-FAI and, with their greater range, we’ll be able to link these airplanes and their crews more efficiently with the Lower 48 network when the aircraft need to be rotated. Bottom line is that regional flying will likely stay about the same and mainline flying will see a modest increase in departures as the freighters supplement the existing pax frequencies in most markets. The exact plan is still being worked on and we’ll provide more details as soon as possible." From: Joe Sprague, SVP, External Relations

Key word, REPLACED. Jets are coming and the Q400 is done in the state of AK.

DashAviator

That's interesting. I wonder where those E175's would be based. Given the range of the Embraer, it's quite possible that we could use it for passenger operations between Seattle and Anchorage, which might eliminate the need for an Anchorage base.