Long time lurker, finally have to post.

Norwegian is one of the biggest threats the industry has faced in many years, yet the apathy is incredible. The emails ALPA sends are nice and detailed, but many of the guys I fly with at my major get so many of them that they just go straight into the trash. ALPA also seems to be doing little to organize a sizeable event in DC on May 12th that will gain attention. A well organized event needs to have transportation from airports, hotel rooms and commitments from every single member that can attend, need to be present for this to be effective. The industry is about to be turned upside down and yet few care.

Why is ALPA not calling EVERY single member to draw attention to Norwegian?

Why is ALPA not effective at organizing a well run event in DC?

 

A better question to ask would be, how has ALPA allowed regionals to grow to the current size over the years? Why did ALPA allow regionals under their representation to sign concessionary contracts, only then to gain flying from other ALPA represented regionals?

None of the flying should have left the mainline anyway. While Norwegian is a threat, an even greater threat to our careers has festered unabated for two decades. The regional business model that is.

 

If every single union pilot stood in front of the White House, how would that change a treaty with the European Union? Ireland was specifically included in the treaty. The treaty that we are now so opposed to is skewed in our favor to start with. NAI will be approved and we should have been preparing for the past 5 years, not putting our heads in the sand. It reminds me of the fight to keep the flight engineer.

We have 3,000 regional pilots who would get a 300% pay raise or more if they flew for NAI. That is how this problem was created, and working to eliminate that potential pilot pool would have been the way to prepare. Legacy pilots would rather look down upon these pilots rather than include them in the fight for fair wages.

 

^^^ and ^^^ I think Disco and North just hit the same nail on the head.

 

You people need to get past being ****ed about the regionals!! You are about to watch something unfold that will make the regionals look like a great idea. Good lord some of you are dense. If you are currently at a regional and hoping to fly for a major this will ruin any shot at a good major airline career you can hope to have. By telling Alpa to shove it you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. If this decision does in fact hold, I would not rule out considering a career change if you have the means. It's going to be that bad.

 

^^^This. The counter will be cut-rate wages at the legacies that few will be interested in.

The next response? Enter MPL with minimal skills and almost non-existent language proficiency.

I foresee not doing much travel by air in retirement.

 

The regionals killed our incoming supply of pilots which will lead to their demise. Long term, the regional model is unsustainable. The only reason why it lasted as long as it did is because of age 65 and the majors not hiring for 10 years.

NAI is not a threat to all of our jobs, just our international flying. Most pilots in our country are never going to fly internationally as a captain for a legacy carrier anyway. That is part of the reason why most pilots don't care. I do care as I'm projected to retire top 5, but I am in the minority it seems.

The fact that a 787 captain will make less than a 2-3 year 717 F/O at Delta is pathetic. How a regional guy could be excited about that raise is beyond me, especially when they force said F/O to move overseas to do it.

 

NAI being a threat to international flying IS a threat to all of our jobs. Take the international flying from the Big 3, and you have a WHOLE bunch of very senior pilots who will be moving down to the domestic ranks. Those pilots displace current domestic pilot, who in turn have nowhere to go. If you're a regional pilot hoping to move up, you have nowhere to go except NAI making sh%t wages with an abysmal contract.

And it's not even just the Big 3. JetBlue looking at the 321NEOLR? Forget it.

 

Of course, it doesn't help...at all...that ALPA has shown itself to be fairly ineffective in protecting it's members' interests in times past which, in turn, has created a fatalist/resignation attitude among a significant percentage of it's membership. ALPA certainly has not done itself any favors re: it's tepid representation of regional pilots over the years.

It's really quite simple. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Airline mgmt understood that and created the regional airlines with the goal of forming 2 pilot groups (mainline and regional) who compete against each other.

Hey presto! So much for APLA, which now had (and has) a conflict of interest in representation. Which side does ALPA take in issues between mainline and regional pilots?? Hello whipsawing pilots groups, new mgmt leverages for contract negotiations against pilots, etc. etc.

Nothing significant will change until this ^^^^^^ model is destroyed and there are only mainline pilots in 121.

Until then, all battles are simply delaying engagements in an industry that is racing to the bottom as fast as it can get there.

(Disclaimer: This ^^^^ is not an argument to do nothing and that is not what I am advocating. It is simply an observation. Thanks.)

 

Ahhhhhhh I see. So those guys who never got hired at DELTA etc should never go to NAI because that will hurt YOUR EARNING potential? Got it.


(I'm not a fan of NAI) but you guys make it seem like It's easy as pie to get hired at Delta and you shouldn't go anywhere unless it's Delta etc


GMAFB