Future at ASA
 

I'm just curious what people on here are thinking about the future of ASA?

Will the ALPA guys tear it apart and really let "Option 4" run it into the ground?

Will management give in and sign and allow their pilot to be relatively fairly compensated for their hard work for the past 5 years?

Will JA consolidate the companies? (Not sure the legalities of this, but would make for an interesting discussion)

What do you think of the request for ALPA to allow ASA new hires get a pay increase prior to a newly signed contract? (Yes, Only New Hires)

Yes I know the questions are biased from the start. I am curious what the o'so'nteligent voices of the APC forums have to say on this.

I think they'll turn out just fine.

In the end that is.

And maybe that is the local boy talking.

I'm neither an alpa guy nor a company man, but I believe ASA has no future beyond two years, regardless of the contract outcome.

I concur with John. ASA maintenance is already being merged with SkyWest (based on a talk by Jerry Atkins (CEO) in March 2007 with our new hire / upgrade class). He wouldn't merge the pilot groups because ASA is union, and we're not.

I spoke with Brad Holt (Chief Pilot) last month, and he mentioned that they could still combine the pilot groups, and then we'd all have to vote on a union. He pontificated that all the ASA guys would vote ALPA, and the majority of the SKW guys would vote NO. He inferred there wouldn't be ALPA.

SkyWest is taking planes from ASA now. I flew one the day before yesterday, and fly one tomorrow. The merger is taking place, piece by piece.

Nothing here in ATL other than rumors from the mechs. The rumors run the gamut. The best I've heard is "Delta is taking us next and merging us with the Comair mechanics to create a DCI maintenance"

Hate to say it, but Brad is being typically management optimistic. While I feel the current ALPA drive will fail, you still have 40-50% of Skywest pilots supporting ALPA from the last drive. Add that to the ASA pilots who will vote 90% in favor, and you'll get a strong majority for ALPA. This is why Jerry won't simply merge the groups. It's a gimme for ALPA.

That said, "ASA" (we know it's really Skywest, Inc) refuses to address our scope issues, stating that the best job protection they can offer is "preferential hiring at Skywest, only if Skywest is hiring". We are asking for current percentage of Skywest Inc flying, and current number of -700 airframes locked in as a minimum number to be flown by ASA pilots. The company's refusal to address scope seems to suggest that they intend to do away with ASA before this next contract expires.

Skywest took 4 planes. Then they stopped transfering them because it cost over $100,000 per plane to transfer everything over and do a C check. This was announced on the last conference call.

The next transfers will be retirement & reward where an ASA -200 is traded in to Bombardier for a Skywest -700 or -900.

The RJs are scattered all over all the DCIs now, you can no longer tell who's plane it is by the tail number Comair flies ones that end in EV, SK, BR, and CA. Skywest is the same. However, y'all did get all of the -900 orders that had been earmarked for ASA in ATL. If we settled last year, you would not fly a single -900 in ATL now.

ALPA is hardly "tearing it apart". ASA has operated without a contract for almost 5 years. Management had a window of opportunity to sign (for managment), a good contract. Regionals are now hurting for pilots, ASA can not find enough pilots, yet is still negotiating as if the date were 9/12/2001.
ASA has been run by a bunch of incompetent morons since the George and John days. More than once I have heard a reject from Braniff and/or TWA say "Well, this is the way we did it at Braniff/TWA." So, how the he!! is TWA doing now days??? Or Braniff?? Do a good job at ASA and you are bypassed. Screw up, and you get promoted. Heck, when I got there ASA did not even have anyone running the ramp. The place was a free for all with EMB and ATR props spinning and passengers wandering around from airplane to airplane trying to find the one to MCN. I even had to return to the gate once when I was taxiing for departure to Panama City, FL. We had a passenger going to Panama City, Panama. Don't ask me how the lady made it through the gate.

so if ASA goes away, ATL residents will have very few choices. Kind of Ironic, the busiest airport in the world has the least amount of choices.

Haha...I think you're missing the point, old boy.

Skywest will pick up the flying...the pilots that want jobs still will have to go to a non-union Skywest. Otherwise- Seeya.

But I don't think ASA is going anywhere.

but if Skywest picks up the flying, won't there be a greater chance of them packing up and leaving ATL as a base? ASA was HQ'ed here, but Skywest in SLC. I am probably full of BS, but that's what I feel could happen. :confused: I dunno actually. lol

Someone has to do the flying. Skywest has an agreement with Delta to provide feed in ATL. If for some reason, and I can't think of one, they decide to break that agreement there will be a long line of carriers waiting to take their place. It's over 700 flights a day.

Skywest airlines does not have an agreement to fly 700 flights a day in ATL. ASA prior to the sale to SW had a contract which was modified to say that ASA would get 80% (I'm pretty sure on the percentage) of all DCI flying as long as they met certain objectives. The flying that Skywest airlines is doing in ATL is "additional flying" that Delta put up for bid. It could have gone to Xjet, SW, or ASA or Bill & Teds excellent adventure Air (my money was on them!) The only way that ASA is going away is if they fail to secure contracts with Delta or someone else. All regionals are having problems getting pilots right now......

Do you really think that if ASA shut the doors all 1700+ pilots would go apply at Skywest as $19 F.O.s?

Hell no! you would lose 500 to 600 pilots overnight who simply would not do it. They couldn't afford too. They would take non aviation jobs that paid more or go to other airlines who would go out of their way to absorb them (in part because they are an ALPA carrier)

The pilot shortage (for crap jobs, and for the records mine is a crap job) is actually putting the ASA pilots in the drivers seat.

Our management has been coming to our recurrent ground classes for months telling us that if we have worked here for more than 7 to 8 years we should be looking for a new job (Tutt and Hall). They want to get rid of us and replace us with a newer, cheaper (kool aid drinking) work force. The union response to the pilot shortage was simple. Take care of the pilots you have and you won't need to hire so many.

Stick

Things are starting to get kind of interesting!!! don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing though. but it's interesting.

I was told that ASA would be guaranteed 85% of DCI flying in ATL (provided certain performance numbers where maintained). I don't know that 85% included an ASA/SKW combo or if it had to be specifically ASA. Anyway my point was to answer the other guy's question about what would happen to people who depended on ASA to fly them to commuter cities out of ATL.

All i was saying was that if all of ASA's planes spontaneously combusted today somebody else would be flying pax to Valdosta tomorrow. When Eastern went away American's didn't stop flying to South America they just started flying to South America on American Airlines instead. (AA picked up the lion's share of EAL's SA routes if memory serves.)

What an easy concept to grasp. Not sure why airlines (Not all airlines) want to run their outfits like a retail store in the mall.