Shocking, can't blame him though, he is probably just stressed out. He has done a lot of hard work for us pilots. I wonder what this is going to do for negotiations, its probably going to stretch them out even longer now. There have been a lot of resignations in our alpa lately. I think people are just worn out. For those of you who dont know, He is our MEC Head at pinnacle.

 

I am really curious what happens over the next month or so... I am almost expecting a fedex package from Uncle Phil...

 

Plz to explain; I am n00b.

 

anyone care to enlighten me as to what this could mean?..Higney if you can PM please...thanks for the help

 

PHIL WILL SPEND 30K SENDING AN OVERNIGHT FEDEX LETTER TO EVERY PILOT STATING HOW WE NEED TO LOWER COSTS TO STAY COMPETITIVE BLAH BLAH BLAH AND HOW MR GORDON AND ALPA HAVE KEPT THIS AIRLINE FROM BECOMING "SIMPLY THE BEST" BLAH BLAH BLAH OH AND DONT USE THOSE APUs

 

GUYS GUYS SETTLE DOWN,,, its not that big a deal. I think its a good idea he stepped down. I think HE did a wonderful job as our MEC chair. Not once did he give in to the pressure of management. The reason i said that it is a good idea is that you can only push someone so much before they just finally say WHATEVER and give up. I personally think he was approaching that point, realized that we still needed someone that would not take sh!t from management, and saw it in our best intrest (and his) to step down. i don't think this will extend negotiations any further than they were going to be in the first place. Wake did an excellent job, i am proud of him, and i think he made a good decision to let some fresh people pick up the fight where he left off. And as anyone who works at pinnacle knows,, there is not one pilot here willing to settle for anything less than a GOOD contract!!

On a side note i just listened to the conference call and it is exactly what i said would happen. "We need to get a contract soon so we don't lose the planes to NWA" hahahaha FOOOLLLSSS. the date is already past, so what is nwa going to go retroactive now if we sign a contract in a couple days???? HE LL NO!!!!

 

Found this article up in the Star Tribune. I can see why he is stressed and tired out!


Pinnacle may lose planes to Mesaba
A lack of a labor deal between Pinnacle and its pilots means Northwest has the right to take away regional jets.
By Liz Fedor, Star Tribune

Pinnacle Airlines and its pilots union failed to negotiate a new contract by a Saturday deadline, which could prompt Northwest Airlines to begin shifting 17 regional jets from Pinnacle to Eagan-based Mesaba.

Phil Reed, Pinnacle's vice president of marketing, acknowledged Monday that by missing Northwest's labor-deal deadline, Northwest "has the right to take back three aircraft per month."

Reed said that talks between Pinnacle management and the pilots union have been going on "in excess of 18 months."

In December, Northwest reached a long-term services agreement for Memphis-based Pinnacle to operate 124 Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs), which seat 50 passengers. The agreement further stated that Pinnacle could fly 17 additional 50-seaters for Northwest, but the big airline would have the option of removing those airplanes if Pinnacle didn't negotiate a new agreement with its pilots union by March 31.

Northwest is expected to close its purchase of Mesaba in the coming weeks, and the Minnesota-based regional carrier already has federal certification to fly the 50-seat jets now operated by Pinnacle.

Wakefield Gordon, chairman of the Pinnacle branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), said Monday that no talks are scheduled and the two parties lack agreements on key money issues, including wages, health care and retirement benefits.

"This is a $340 million deal over five years," Gordon said. "We were $20 million apart at the end, and they couldn't come up with any more money to close the deal. They are going to risk the loss of 17 aircraft for that amount of money."

Pinnacle employs about 1,200 pilots. Recently, Reed said, Pinnacle has had to cancel some flights for lack of flight crews because so many Pinnacle pilots have left the carrier to accept jobs elsewhere.

"Pilots are not getting cheaper in the regional industry," said Gordon, who added that 30 to 40 Pinnacle pilots per month have left for other carriers.

A Northwest spokesman declined Monday to say whether the airline intends to remove planes from Pinnacle's fleet.

But there are a number of reasons that Northwest could view Mesaba as a logical home for the planes.

Currently, there are 16 pilots on Mesaba's payroll that are flying one 50-seat CRJ for Northwest. Two years ago, Mesaba geared up to operate 15 of the CRJs, but Northwest halted delivery of those planes after Northwest filed for bankruptcy. In 2005, Mesaba President John Spanjers estimated his carrier's workforce would grow by 300 people to accommodate the new flying.

Now, Mesaba is getting ready to take delivery of three dozen CRJs that seat 76 passengers. Mesaba will be Northwest's sole operator of the 76-seat CRJs.

The cockpits for the 50-seat and 76-seat CRJs are similar, and the pilots who fly them get the same license from the Federal Aviation Administration. So it would not be difficult for Mesaba to shift pilots from one CRJ model to another.

"Mesaba, like any other regional airline with certification for CRJs, is competition," said Pinnacle's Reed. "However, we've always been confident in our ability to provide a high-quality, low-cost product."

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709 • [email protected]

 

Yepper... that about does it- doesn't constitute the yelling though.. I don't expect Wake's parting to change much of anything- but I do expect a few weeks of nothing, then mgmt trying something, that will more than likely just **** off the pilot group more (is that possible? )... This will be entertaining as it goes on, personally I think mgmt will realize that attrition will not slow until they get a contract, more flying wont come til they get a pilot contract, and the company will suffer until a contract comes. I just read a research report on Pinnacle airlines- ticker PNCL and they are VERY flush with cash. A $20M difference is more like an investment at this point. The pilot group is the base of this "liquid" company and without a good base the rest wont stand. The pilot group here is great and very united, but the company will only start crumbling from the top down if mgmt doesnt invest a little in the company. I have not been here very long, nor do I claim to be an economist but this makes no sense by any terms. The only thing Phil can get by 17 planes running off is roughly $40M in his pocket. The company is not short on cash, and due to that fact the $40M in revenue is like a disability check- its good to have and you dont need to do anything for it, but it doesn't help your progress. PCL has Colgan as its baby, A contract with the 9E guys can let Phil devote his time/money to colgan and other projects. With 139 planes and a contract and ASA with big daddy NW 9E would be on autopilot for some time, huge revenue stream, and steady profits which keep the stock price up and keeps PNCL holdings competitive for all bids for other flying. I have absolutely no quams about other flying, including Colgan or trying for delta flying, etc. But a contract with scope in writing goes a long way. The only way to staff growth is at least an industry average contract. Dragging out this contract makes no sense on any side of the fence. Phil is a large shareholder, by losing 17 planes he will lose alot of personal cash. Check out this link of who is at risk to lose money. Uncle Phil has thousands of shares!
As a shareholder myself I hope the street has the same views as myself. On paper this company looks great over the past year- hense the stock rise from the low of $5.72... Over 3x where it was a year ago.. timing is everything!