Things Going Sideways
 

PSA Airlines Petitions City to Defer Rental Payments Amid Plummeting Air Travel
https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/n...nes-lease.html

Dayton digs their heels in, commits to furloughing all 723 pilots they have notified. Open time pots are full, some reserve grids are red most of (if not the whole) month, and they're paying out the a$$ for hotels, moving fees, and relocation costs.

So, their way to navigate a crisis is to:

• eliminate cheap junior staff
• force more-senior pilots to over-credit into premium pay
• Likely wind up with significant October Junior-Man pay
• Relocate more pilots than necessary through forced-displacement, thus paying excess in hotel fees
• Likely create a ton of TDY's to cover red grids, shelling out per-diem left and right

At the same time that they're so desperate to conserve cash-flow that they have asked Dayton to defer payments for rent by a year (in exchange for a longer lease term). Something doesn't add up. I have a hard time believing that not a single person in Dayton has ever been to business school or has such acumen.
At what point, because such point does exist, does it make sense to reduce your furlough count to avoid some of the above referenced costs? A five-year captain is more expensive than a two-year captain. A year one FO is cheaper than a year three FO.
To me, it almost looks like they staffed us predicting that we would have taken PBS, and thus, less pilots would be needed to cover the grid.
Management is exhibiting wildly erratic business policy, and none of it makes sense. We often joke about the "big picture," but at what point to we admit that Management doesn't know what they're looking at?

I sat reserve for the past 5 months and the only reserve assignment I got was an out and back. Rest of the time was spent at home, doing nothing. I’m not that senior either. You have a ton of guys getting paid 75hrs to do maybe 20 hrs. Looks like they want to go back to the old ways of getting reserve guys right up to 73ish hours and suddenly scheduling would stop calling.

I will say, with the downgrades I’ve been flying my rear end off, or sitting hrv nonstop.

I get your point though, I don’t see them being able to cover a winter IROP with the staffing we have and it seriously brings into question our long term viability with the decisions they make. I also think it’s BS they can just TDY people to avoid declaring critical pay.


also perdiem at 1.70 an hour or a 80-120$ hotel room is much cheaper than the employer contribution of payroll taxes, hourly rate at 90ish an hour, employer insurance contribution, etc...

Edit- details

I’m not sure it’s a PSA level problem. I think it’s bigger than that.

https://i.ibb.co/B4JcVVs/4-B5009-FB-...210-D383-E.jpg

gotta remember, PSA management takes their marching orders from big brother in Dallas.

Well fwiw there’s at least one very large, very green reserve grid for October

Piedmont was just awarded a massive block hour increase in CLT. 2,000+ hours I think. There are older legacy CRJ700s that are coming up on heavy checks and very well could be parked to forego the upcoming expense of maintenance.

I think the signs are pointing to PSA parking more airplanes... So it won’t be that understaffed for the flying when it’s all said and done.

Not true. PDT and Mesa are both down for October and November, while we are up. Look at airportal for proof of that.

I'd say it is much more likely that we were overstaffed due to rumoured possible pre covid futures.

Post covid, initial recovery was supposed to be a two week shutdown with a measured return to normal.

Politicians selling fear and other hypochondriacs pushing the agenda, delayed recovery has pretty much tanked 2020 - we'll see post election whether we elect a fear monger or not.

FWIW - Florida governor lifted restrictions on restaurants, restaurant I took my date to last night was overflowing and packed to the gills, just like all my commuter flights...

he didn’t say when. If they were just awarded it, presumably it would be for November but more likely December.

Absolutely true. We can’t staff the flying they originally allotted us. So others will do it.