Airline Pilot Central Forums - Are you kidding me Pinnacle?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by JetBlast77 (Post 523795)

I've had some bad experiences in the past but this week absolutely takes the cake. Went to pick my grandma up in detroit and watched
her pinnacle flight sit at the top of the J line for fifty (5-0) mins waiting for rampers. I have never in my life seen that. Then in another incident I was trying to jumpseat out east. I showed up at the gate 1.5 hours before departure repeatedly asking the agent to list me. 15 mins before she says she won't have time. I persist saying I've been standing there all this time. She calls ops and says sorry they can't take a jump seater. I had a long talk with the captain earlier and he said no problems or weight restrictions. She wouldn't let me back down to talk to him and shut the door in my face. I go to the next flight. Honestly the same exact thing happens. This time I go to another gate where the agent isn't busy and her to list me. She does then I go back to the gate and tell her I'm listed so whenever she gets time ill be here. She calls ops and even though there is 20 plus open seats, she can't take a jump seater. Door in the face and wouldn't let me talk to the captain again , even though he told me before it would be no problem. Do you guys really not question where a jump seater is especially when he meets you at the gate? I've been jump seating for many years and have never been treated this badly not even by mesa or go jet. I'm truly embarrassed for you guys. Wow.

Take action:
Angry Agent

I used to throw bags on the ramp for Mesaba in Dtw back in the day. There aren't enough people working there for one. 5 people 4 gates for example. After the first winter, my seniority went to the top 20. No one like working outside in the winter elements. Everone quit over the winter. On the ramp and gate, no one cared which company, 9e or xj, needed service - Poor service for everyone. I remember seeing airplanes out there for 40 minutes, but there were not enough rampers to go around. They hire at 8-something an hour now. The people I worked with were most interested in avoiding work at all cost... Pretty sure not much has changes

Quote:

Originally Posted by heywood (Post 524346)

I really think that you need to think before you start comparing 9E outstations and XJ stations.........Its a real pot calling the kettle black thing!!!!!!! We all have our short comings. Like bored said..... This isn't a Mine is bigger than yours competition.... Its a how do we fix the problem....thing!! We can fix the blame or fix the problem....but the majority of us on here really like to point!!!

I dont know what they are telling you guys over there at XJ... but they sure have you drinking the juice and you guys/gals are drinking it down.
DTW is worst run station I have ever been to, makes the old days at IAD and ORD look good.
But there is one thing you are right about... the WFS outstations are far worse then XJ or 9E could ever be.
And by no means here am I really sticking up for 9E, they are horrible stations too, like a previous poster said, when you pay someone 8$ an hour it makes them work just hard enough to keep there job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyingsioux (Post 524217)

While I dont disagree that the personnel may be a PART of the problem let me share this story from yesterday while doing out and backs from DTW. First turn back, parking on the outside, we got to the gate 10 minutes before scheduled block in. We're stopped with the brake set going on 10 minutes, when a Saab pulls up next to us, gets parked almost immediately. We were parked about 5 minutes later.
Next turn, again outside of the alley, we're parked with the brake set for about 5 minutes. A Saab pulls up a few gates away, gets parked within a minute or two. A few minutes go by and another Saab asks on ground if we can pull up so they can get by. CA says no go....zipper road obscured by snow, doesn't feel comfortable pulling up more. I call ops tell them we're blocking a Saab in the road and need to get parked...Within 2 minutes rampers come from the gate next door that was getting ready to push and park us. It may have been coincidental timing yes, but I had to ask myself; how much longer would we have sat there if we were blocking a 9E RJ and not a Saab.....food for thought

Part of the problem is that DTW ramp is staffed by zone. If you are one gate over from the zone the Saab is parking in then they will stand there watching you sit then park the Saab in "their" zone. When done they go back inside because as far as they're concerned (and the supervisors) your gate might as well be a different airport. And for $8/hr in this kind of weather you'd be probably taking the same attitude no matter what company was on your ID. If you think you have it bad here, go see the C.F. going on at A19 and A33 in MEM. It's a miracle the Saabs there ever move.

All you guys need to quit b#tchin. For 8 bucks an hour outside on a ramp in detroit you should be lucky to get parked at all.

All they need is a big mirror angled down so we can see where to stop, then we can get off and let all the angry pax wait around for someone to come out of the break room and take thier gate checked bags out of cargo before they run to catch a 20 minute connection in the A concourse. Those guys chose thier job, does it suck working outside in the winter, or course, but they are no better in the summer. Its still no excuse. $8 an hour isn't bad for that type of work, just chill in a nice warm break room till ops calls for the third time to tell you a plane is there, go thrash a couple bags and head back for the break room to catch some more MTV.

I've seen 9E captains bend over backwards trying to get jumpseaters on...and gate agents in Memphis--both XJ and 9E--are usually amazingly supportive of jumpseaters/nonrevs...I think it's a DTW thing...crappy city, crappy weather, high turnover= bad gate agents...MSP is full of helpful and educated peeps doing it for flight benefits and MEM is fully of people who have actually been around for a while...so DTW is always going to be a cluster for j/s unless they start staffing it with mainline/better-paid employees

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholasblonde (Post 525850)

I agree. I have never had a bad experience with trying to jumpseat with 9e although I've been bumped off due to weight restrictions on those CRJ200s. Every 9e pilots I've met have been friendly and I make sure they are treated the same way when they try to jumpseat on XJ. There are sour gate agents at DTW and MSP but most of them are NWA employees. Most XJ gate agents are helpful.

As far as rampies are concerned, enough said by others here. It's not unusual to wait 20 minutes for a park job at DTW whether you are XJ or 9e. I've seen tug drivers wait until the last minute to show up while passengers are waiting complaining why NWA does not take off on time. In fairness though, I've seen this at ALB, MSP, BDL, and MEM as well.

I have nothing but good things to say about Pinnacle flight crews. I've met some great people working for Pinnacle and I wish them the best in 2009.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiskey72 (Post 523841)

Captains,
Please take the time to make sure there are no non-revs / js in the boarding area. I try to go out on every flight and find out if there are. Usually on my flights, if there is plenty of room, I like to board them ahead if I can. Professionial courtesy. I know how much I hate sitting in the boarding area wondering.

As well, if someone has approached you, it's only common sense to make sure they made it on. I know things get busy, but I've never had an instance where I couldn't take two minutes to walk up the jetway to make sure we weren't leaving anyone behind. I always check the windows tomake sure someone isn't trying to flag me down. Numerous times I've had the door closed and someone ran up. Jetway was pulled and I still brought them on. ACARS you wonder, at least with us, once we register a push time, it sticks. If we open the door, it asks wether we have returned to the gate. I hit no and go on with my life. I've never ONCE been questioned by my company.

It's the holiday time guys and gals, let's help our fellow crew members out. We should be doing this year around, although right now it is more important than ever. With the changes in schedules, work rules and concessions we take, don't overlook the one benefit that is for us and could be the most important benefit we have.

Take the time, it's everyone's responsibility.

Thanks to all.
Whiskey

Great post Whiskey!!

I have only had to deny a jumpseater ONCE.

The only reason I did is because the friggin rampers had told me the exact number of PAX and bags we were going to have on board, and I had already told them to write down 2 less carry ons than what were actually on board so we could take the jumpseater right at our cutoff wieght limit. It was 2 days before Christmas and I did not want to leave him behind because of 2 lousy carry on bags... Well with IAD and all of its glory, the rampers come back up to me 1 min before pushback and make a change on the manifest telling me they had to add 8 more connecting bags to the count... We were already at the min fuel required to go, and if the ramper hadn't actually written the correction on the manifest we wouldn't have had a problem. I figured they were going to say they had a few less than they had said... figures I was wrong

I felt REALLY bad having to tell the guy we couldn't take him and to thank the friggin rampers for screwing it up once again in lovely IAD.

I always try everything I can to take as many jumpseaters as possible all the time, not just during the holiday season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebl14 (Post 525847)

Actually, $8.00 hour really IS that bad for the kind of work they are doing. Back breaking physical labor should pay somewhere in the teens or twenties, at least. The proof that $8/hr isn't enough is right there in front of our eyes, every day we go to work. Furthermore, in this day and age, the suggestion that those who don't like it should quit and find other work is laughably ridiculous.

People know how much they should be getting paid for a given job, and if their actual pay is a little, or a lot less, many people calibrate down their job performance to match their pay.

Management knows this, and the reason they don't do anything about it is that they have run their spreadsheets and determined that the present performance (and turnover) is good enough. Otherwise, they would pay more.