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Old 01-06-2008 | 05:58 AM
  #1131  
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From: 1st year pay for the 3rd time
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Originally Posted by CptRyn
Anybody hear of an announcement Tuesday? I know how rumors of announcements are made and nothing ever comes, but didn't know if anybody else heard it.

And I know this question has been asked, but if the 4K hours being cut Comair or spreadout through DCI?
The following is based 100% on speculation and the rumor mill:

Yes the reduction was supposed to be spread out over all of the DCI but, expect Comair to take the bulk of the hit due to contracts with the other carriers.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 05:58 AM
  #1132  
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From: 1st year pay for the 3rd time
Default Question for you line holders

How much does your QOL improve when you hold a line?
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Old 01-06-2008 | 06:15 AM
  #1133  
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From: Displaced FO on reserve forever
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I have held a line in CVG for 2 months now. I am not home as much. When I was on reserve I didn't even fly or sit a ready reserve for a month and a half. However it is nice that scheduling cant call you and mess with you. You know when to show up and when you are coming home. An you get about 15 hours more pay. So to answer your question, it improves QOL in some areas but now others.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 06:19 AM
  #1134  
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To answer 3 of your questions:

1. No one knows for sure if 4000 hours is our share of the sacrifice in DCI flying or if 4000 hours is the total block time to be spread out amongst all DCI carriers. One person says one thing, and one says another. I have RG next month and I'll ask the question directly then if we don't have a definite answer before then. I remember reading (sorry I can't remember where or provide a source) that DL was parking CHQ's E-135s sooner than projected. I believe they have 15 flying for DL. Someone from CHQ correct me if I am wrong on that, please. 15 airframes is quite a lot of flying certainly more than 4,000 hours worth, so CHQ will be sharing some of the pain, albeit short lived because they are supposed to be getting more 170s/175s shortly. Not sure if that has changed yet, though. So perhaps 4,000 hours is our share of the cuts.

2. QOL improves exponentially when you get off reserve. I sat CVG reserve for 2 years to the month and once I started holding a line, it was like a completely different job. No checking in with scheduling, no waiting on the pager to go off or phone to ring, no more sitting 6 ready reserves per month. The only time you talk to scheduling is during a displacement or reassignment; and even then if you play your cards right, you don't even have to talk to them. There is a good trick to self-notification with SBS anytime you want if you see a change or modification -- just check out and then check back in. I do that all the time (and I did it all the time on RSV) with no problem. Just check out, get notified, and check back in. Voila -- no talking to scheduling. Now, I must say that sitting RSV in CVG is a world of difference from JFK because you actually do fly on RSV in CVG and break guarantee -- including deadheading to JFK to fly JFK trips while JFK reserves are just sitting around doing nothing.

3. As far as an "announcement" coming on Tuesday -- if you hear a rumor here at Comair which is followed by "...and they'll announce it on Tuesday..." you can rest assured it's pure b.s. I've been here almost 4 years now and I've gotta tell ya, I have heard it all here. Everything from opening DFW, ATL, BOS bases, the Muellers buying us back, buying JetBlue/Being bought by JetBlue, Mesa buying us, Republic buying us, CVG closing all together (which may happen in a DL merger), getting E-170s (around pay freeze time in early '05). I could go on and on and on.

Take it for what it's worth. Comair really isn't all that bad if you don't hang around the crew lounge and listen to the moaning and griping and complaining. Pilots really are their own worst enemy when it comes to rumors and low morale. I make it a point not to hang out in ops just for that reason. The last thing I need is to hear something completely false that is going to ruin a 4 day trip for me.

Last edited by RJtrashPilot; 01-06-2008 at 08:45 AM.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 06:44 AM
  #1135  
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Originally Posted by RJtrashPilot
To answer 3 of your questions:

1. No one knows for sure if 4000 hours is our share of the sacrifice in DCI flying or if 4000 hours is the total block time to be spread out amongst all DCI carriers. One person says one thing, and one says another. I have RG next month and I'll ask the question directly then if we don't have a definite answer before then. I remember reading (sorry I can't remember where or provide a source) that DL was parking CHQ's E-135s sooner than projected. I believe they have 15 flying for DL. Someone from CHQ correct me if I am wrong on that, please. 15 airframes is quite a lot of flying, so CHQ will be sharing some of the pain, albeit short lived because they are supposed to be getting more 170s/175s shortly. Not sure if that has changed yet, though.

2. QOL improves exponentially when you get off reserve. I sat CVG reserve for 2 years to the month and once I started holding a line, it was like a completely different job. No checking in with scheduling, no waiting on the pager to go off or phone to ring, no more sitting 6 ready reserves per month. The only time you talk to scheduling is during a displacement or reassignment; and even then if you play your cards right, you don't even have to talk to them. There is a good trick to self-notification with SBS anytime you want if you see a change or modification -- just check out and then check back in. I do that all the time (and I did it all the time on RSV) with no problem. Just check out, get notified, and check back in. Voila -- no talking to scheduling. Now, I must say that sitting RSV in CVG is a world of difference from JFK because you actually do fly on RSV in CVG and break guarantee -- including deadheading to JFK to fly JFK trips while JFK reserves are just sitting around doing nothing.

3. As far as an "announcement" coming on Tuesday -- if you hear a rumor here at Comair which is followed by "...and they'll announce it on Tuesday..." you can rest assured it's pure b.s. I've been here almost 4 years now and I've gotta tell ya, I have heard it all here. Everything from opening DFW, ATL, BOS bases, the Muellers buying us back, buying JetBlue/Being bought by JetBlue, Mesa buying us, Republic buying us, CVG closing all together (which may happen in a DL merger), getting E-170s (around pay freeze time in early '05). I could go on and on and on.

Take it for what it's worth. Comair really isn't all that bad if you don't hang around the crew lounge and listen to the moaning and griping and complaining. Pilots really are their own worst enemy when it comes to rumors and low morale. I make it a point not to hang out in ops just for that reason. The last thing I need is to hear something completely false that is going to ruin a 4 day trip for me.


I agree with most points you mentioned however one does not need to hang around the crew room for aggravation and frustration.
Its the fact we have had 4 CEO's in 5 years all promising nothing but lies and their ability to move on once mission accomplished. In 5 years I have seen QOL and trips go down the toilet. Hotels have been relocated, payfreezes and paycuts. Downsizing of the fleet while others grow. No vision or direction in this company for these last few years with the lowest morale possibly since the strike. Many who have been here through the turmoil, meaning at least 7 years have a right to be frustrated and angered when everything fought for has not only been taken away but in a sense made worse by being slapped in the face by DL Management. Notice i say management not the pilot group. Comair is not even a shadow of what it used to be, that being said, the tenacity of our pilot group from the past (what is left) still provides a glimmer of hope for our future. Things may not be seem that bad for new pilots hired within the last 2 years or so but those that have withstood the wrath and uncertainty for the last 7 years and longer, I tip my hat for hanging in there.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 07:47 AM
  #1136  
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From: Heavies
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Originally Posted by cessna126
I have held a line in CVG for 2 months now. I am not home as much. When I was on reserve I didn't even fly or sit a ready reserve for a month and a half. However it is nice that scheduling cant call you and mess with you. You know when to show up and when you are coming home. An you get about 15 hours more pay. So to answer your question, it improves QOL in some areas but now others.

Yes but dont you live in CVG? So for you sitting reserve at HOME, you were home a lot more, but for someone commuting having a line will have THEM at home more..... from what i hear commuting on reserve you barely have anytime at home......
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Old 01-06-2008 | 08:36 AM
  #1137  
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From: Displaced FO on reserve forever
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I dont live in CVG. I live in Michigan. I held the L2, so reserve for me was at home too.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 08:43 AM
  #1138  
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Originally Posted by p1ayn
[/b]I agree with most points you mentioned however one does not need to hang around the crew room for aggravation and frustration.
Its the fact we have had 4 CEO's in 5 years all promising nothing but lies and their ability to move on once mission accomplished. In 5 years I have seen QOL and trips go down the toilet. Hotels have been relocated, payfreezes and paycuts. Downsizing of the fleet while others grow. No vision or direction in this company for these last few years with the lowest morale possibly since the strike. Many who have been here through the turmoil, meaning at least 7 years have a right to be frustrated and angered when everything fought for has not only been taken away but in a sense made worse by being slapped in the face by DL Management. Notice i say management not the pilot group. Comair is not even a shadow of what it used to be, that being said, the tenacity of our pilot group from the past (what is left) still provides a glimmer of hope for our future. Things may not be seem that bad for new pilots hired within the last 2 years or so but those that have withstood the wrath and uncertainty for the last 7 years and longer, I tip my hat for hanging in there.
This is my 2nd airline. Trust me when I say that things are not that bad here. I have been here at Comair long enough to know its proud history and while Comair today certainly does not resemble the Comair I started with a few years ago, all in all it really isn't that bad of a place to work. If things are that bad, nothing is stopping you from leaving. Not trying to flame, just stating a fact.

Last edited by RJtrashPilot; 01-06-2008 at 09:04 AM.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 08:45 AM
  #1139  
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Lineholder is where it is at. I got displaced off of a 27 hour trip and only flew 10 hours of it but got paid for the whole thing.

The only way for scheduling to mess with you is if you are displaced then they can screw with you but that almost never happens. As a line holder you know what you are doing 90% of the time and never mess with scheduling.
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Old 01-06-2008 | 09:30 AM
  #1140  
Line Holder
 
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From: CRJ-900/700/200 CA
Default Seniority list and flight time

We are today just below 1500 pilots at Comair. Maybe slightly more, depending on new hires in December (check JFK FO bid package for new pilots when it comes out). Your new seniority should be up around 150-160 numbers. Our attrition is around 25 per month. I checked the bid packages for C7C, C7F and CRC and, according to them, we had lost 24 pilots in December .Regarding the loss of flight time in February so is that normal. It will continue to slow down the next couple of months, just to pick up again in the summer.
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