they know exactly what they're doing and they do it on purpose. the 25 years of excellence is them paying themselves, certainly not taking care of employees. hk would buy robots and have them fly the planes if he could...or even monkeys. new world monkeys with the prehensile tails. but anyway, they know what they're doing...they're looking out for themselves and purposefully and repeatedly screwing over the employees.

 

i think some of you guys are a little extreme when you compare picking up open time to crossing the picket line. many quick to point and condemn.

 

Not sure where you got that from?!

 

I never said anything about new house of card falling. I never said he will have to kill his wife and Hulas to make it another day. My point for the last time is everyone will need to do what they have to do.

And once again I ask. Your point again is???????????????????????????

 

Maybe I'm missing someones point? Thats what I was reading.

 

Open Time compared to Picket Lines and Alter-Egos???

Come on folks, the open time issue is fairly weak.

Now if you can manage without picking up OT, great, you may save somebody a furlough letter.

But I know plenty of folks who live for OT, each and every month (not going to discuss the wisdom of that). I'm not sure I'd tell them that they are obligated to stop picking it up (when they've been doing it all along) and change their lifestyle on those grounds. It is pretty ridiculous to tell someone to go into debt, trade in a car, or downsize the home over something this nebulous.

The guys who are furloughed have other options...they can do whatever they want or need to do.

The guys who are NOT furloughed still have to make ends meet, and generally don't have the option to fly on the outside...they have to function within their corporate boundries.

BTW, I don't do OT myself.

 

As crappy as this sounds, it is true. I'd love to rip into you for that statement. But, stepping back three feet, it is just the way it is. However, this is human nature and isn't anymore prevalent in this industry as any other. People take care of self, family, friends, and the rest of humanity, in that order. Self comes first. People are nice and friendly to others when self is taken care of. But when self becomes put in jeopardy, all social veneers are out the window until it is restored. Harsh reality, eh? Regardless of the apparency out there in that sea of faces, only the tigers survive and even they have a hard time.

 

I can tell you for sure I'm not picking up Open Time. I'm single and don't have much debt at all (<$500/mo)

But for the guys out there who are married with kids trying to keep the family afloat, they have an excuse.

 

Open time sometimes is such a crap shoot anyway. That was once a lame excuse for the furloughed pilot cause. If you had furloughs in your company then to "show" management you needed to recall furloughed pilots no one would pick up open time. If your company doesn't have furloughs then "fo' get a 'bout it".

 

okay, last time... two points
1. If one is spending 100% of his income and increases his spending with each pay raise, don't expect any sympathy or help from those of us who are living within our means and putting some away for a rainy day.

2. Picking up extra time means the company needs fewer pilots.
Example: Company T has 500 pilots (250 CA and 250 FO). Each flies 70 hours per month. The company loses 10% of its business and needs to cut 50 pilots. 50 FOs get laid off and 25 CAs are rolled back. But unfortunately for the management, they are still losing money. The company starts offering extra time; 200 of the remaining pilots (a bit less than half the folks) pick up 3.5 hours per month. For every 20 of those pilots who pick up the extra time, another pilot can be eliminated (20 X 3.5 = 70). That means those 200 folks picking up extra time eliminate 10 more jobs, and (unfortunately for people like your buddy) FIVE more CA get rolled back to FO.

That is as simple as I can make it. If you still don't get the point, I guess I will go apply to be a street CA at GoJets. (It's good for ME)