I always take my patches off so when things get out of control you can tell the strippers you're mechanics.

#1 Any of my peers at CAL know if travel benefits are retained during a furlough?

#2 Has the company ever offered voluntary furloughs in addition to the reduced lines of flying before a mandatory furlough?

I have to find it, we spent 2hrs on it this very issue at the ALPA Leadership Convention in VA, 3 weeks ago.

FYI, I dry clean all of my stuff, and my shoes are always polished, always shaved and always have neat hair. I am too pretentious to not look my best in my uniform ;)

Military guys have to drink in uniform, taking the time to change clothes really cuts down the amount of time you can spend in the bar.....
and only wearing one set of clothes for the day (s) {depending on how good the weekend is :-) } is good for the earth.....less laundry makes AlGore happy.

Except for him, Algores more of do as i say kind of a guy vs a do as i do role model

Also, in the military we get paid by the day, not by the hour. A flight suit is a work uniform so technically since we're still working (most of the time chicks) while at the bar (after flight ops of course), we need to be in the proper attire.:D

Can't answer #1, but for #2, yes.
IIRC, I was told by CAL pilots that #2 is well received at CAL and many pilots take it due to having side businesses. I think that post-911 furloughs at CAL were minimal because of a liberal leave policy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by HercAC http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/im...s/viewpost.gif
I'm with you on the uniform issue. If nothing else, we should take pride in our appearance as well as our profession no matter how bad things are in the industry. Chances are if you look like a dirtbag you probably aren't far from it.



I'm pretty sure CALPilotToo just called me a dirtbag. Now my feelings are hurt.

Just to clarify the military flight suit and cammies issue....Marine Corps and Navy are not allowed to eat, drink or be merry in a uniform out in town. This is a AF only thing. Also, if you live in a military town, the locals don't want to see you in or out of uniform because they are tired of you stealing "their girls." The Top Gun days are gone....

Interesting... on a side note, the only time I have ever seen people in Topless Establishment in uniform they have all been Navy bubs. Generally speaking in the AF you are not supposed to be out tearing it up in uniform, on-base is cool of course, that is if you are one of the few people who still frequents the clubs... I am sure it varies base to base and service to service. Personally I never went out drinking on the town in uniform, I always changed first, you generally have more luck being a pipe layer from Beaverton, Oregon than a pilot... Agreed, Top Gun days are long gone!

Andy:

No disrespect intended, but you know more about CAL than I do, and I'm a Captain here. Guess I better hit the books. Honestly speaking, no disrespect intended.

What is illegal under RLA: During negotiations neither party can change the status quo. If pilots picking up OT prior to negotiations, then suggestions from union pilots to not pick OT would be illegal (changing status quo).
To suggest a fellow pilot not pick up OT when NOT in negotiations is legal. This causes much confusion.
Example:
The Delta case scared alot of the union labor atty's because it DID make it to court. Many of the labor atty's working for the unions seem to have the OPINION that it would thus be ruled illegal in a court at any time. The ABX case was strongly on the side the pilots to not do OT or JA and 6th District Federal Appeals Court agreed that this ban was not illegal because they were not in negotiations. Hope this helps. Pilots and unions running scared again...

We should've followed UPS's lead and had that language added to our contract.

Quoted from Freighter Captain on the cargo forum "I also am thankful for part of our contract that says we can legally call an OT ban if UPS were to announce a furlough, BRILLIANT! UPS would be furloughing in '08 in my judgment if not for this clever language."

I wish I could say the same.

See my response to that post. You don't need that language IMO.

No I didin't call you a dirtbag. I was simply asking a question about the professionalism of wearing a flight suit while drinking in public. This was due to the thread talking about being professional and wearing a uniform. It's all related. can't pick and choose. I'd rather see a pilot holding their hat as opposed to seeing a pilot in uniform drinking. But hey, that's just me.

No worries. The reason why so many pilots have side businesses at CAL, as it was explained to me, is because of all of the hard times that they went through. I don't know if you've read 'From Worst to First,' but it paints a pretty good picture of the end of CAL's darkest days. Most of the employees weren't sure if they'd have a job the next day.

My airline interest isn't restricted to CAL; I follow most of the airlines.

Despite some people have a negative outlook, if I was at CAL I would be very pleased that their management is being proactive............

LifeNtheFstLne,

You could also throw in there those extra 50 pounds guys have,hit the gym once in a while, their ties only go half way down their gut. Dressing and looking nice is all about self pride. Guys at SWA still talk about the hat and that we should wear it, but their leather jacket looks like its been run over by a truck.

What's all this chatter around CAL today about us picking up some of the ATA 757's? Seems awfully quick to announce something like that. Then again, we do have an active rumor mill here... Anyone else heard that?

I heard that we do want to get our hands on them quickly to increase our international abilities. I am sure they are cheaper to get and available immediately.

The 4 757-300 are officially ours via Boeing. They're sitting in PHX and will be retrofitted soon.

Not trying to downplay the very unfortunate shut-down of ATA, but just passing on some news.

I'd like to see the ATA and Aloha Pilots get first shot at our next classes. Sorry SkyBussers but you are definitely not welcome.

I am not Aloha or ATA but I would love a shot at those! And I am definitely not Skybus:D

I think your already in the pool aren't you?

Hope you get on here soon !!

I realize a lot has happened this past week, and I have been off for the last 5 days. Have you seen anything officially posted from the CAL "higher-ups" in regard to the heavy 75's mentioned above?? Like you, would love to see us get more of the stretch B757's for the East coast and LAS markets.

With fingers crossed, I hope the info comes from the cauldron of truth, and not a bad speculative rumor!

Depending if your glass is half full, or half empty....Possession is 9/12ths, 6/8ths, or 3/4ths of the game. The eighth delivery of the B737-900ER was proof of that last week:D

Why would someone discourage people from picking up in opentime, as I read earlier in this thread? Im kind of new to this so sorry for the ignorance.

With fuel prices headed up does CAL have a saavy fuel hedging program?

The past few years have seen our pilot staffing increased a bit, but in order for the airline to be properly staffed, it's best for pilots to help their buddies or pick up time from pilot "advertisements". As long as pilots pick up open time, the company sees no reason to hire more pilots. Working 14-16 hour days due to low staffing is not fun and after a few weeks you're just plain burned out. It's nice to have a few extra pilots to carry the workload.

We currently have one of the most fuel efficient fleets in the industry. Now if we could just get ATC on board...........:o

Because the more open time that is picked up by existing pilots, the less need there is for new pilots, i.e. you.

Also this week:

CAL announces MAJOR spending to improve IAH terminal. TO THE TUNE OF $1.2 BILLION dollars to be split with the city of Houston.

Also this week: Still not enough money to pay me more than $30 an hour.:p

Rally in June....

There goes that blended rate... Not such a good deal! But seriously, still happy that the deliveries continue. :) Hopefully these are better than the last batch of -300's from ATA.

Yeah it called Express Jet and Colgan.

Express Jet is slowly losing their flying because they are NOT having the cost savings they were originally used for. Fuel is their downfall too.

The larger the planes the higher the blended rate goes up...........so it's a BETTER deal. The 757-300's are considered "heavies" so that would help push the rate higher. Am I missing something here?:confused:

ewrbasedpilot,
Unfortunately, under pos 02, 757-300's were excluded from the widebody category even though they are heavy.

Don't forget: the more pilots they need/hire, you move up in seniority possibly holding a line, or UPGRADE as things move!!!;)

A LOT of pilots don't see it this way. "Short sighted" Not to say picking up ONE HERE OR THERE is bad, just don't get crazy!!!
The best are the one who do it when there are pilots on the street paying COBRA for their kids...
OK, OK, don't get me started...:mad:

I tried explaining this same thing to a scab the other day, it was like arguing with a brick wall. I apologize for insulting brick walls.

You sir, are correct. Although I was told that there is some sort of ruling about that and it was never enforced. This I believe puts the blend at 70/30 now. ewrbasedpilot should know this stuff. Not his fault, there is a disconnect in our pilot group between the various fleet types - which explains why things get voted in - i.e. our crew 'rest' on the 756 in coach. (If it doesn't affect me, why read about it?) IMHO, we need far better communication to EVERYONE this time around so we get what's best for the entire team.

And why are there Colgan Air guys sleeping in our crew lounge now, when they won't even let me sleep there?

Apology accepted!:p

We won an arbitration that put the 757-300 into the heavy category only to have Dickwads Panarello and Stivala exclude the ruling for Contract '02.