Uh Oh. Mesa just cancelled the note agrmnt
#81
IIRC, he has said as much publicly. But replacing 40 900's might be tough...as much as everyone wants to cut capacity, mainline LOVES 900's (mainline capacity, regional cost structure). I think the delivery slots are all accounted for a ways out so in order to replace the MAG birds, DP would have to do a deal with another regional several years in advance to allow them to obtain delivery slots. Or airways could buy the 900's themselves now and farm them out later...not sure they have the credit rating for that though.
#82
The reality was the MEC screwed up...they could have killed freedom without concessions (the lawsuit was already in progress).
Hindsight is an interesting thing. I would not have been optimistic about the outcome of a court fight between a union and an employer that would definitely be heard at some point by a far-right judge appointed by Reagan or one of the Bushes. Other non-union alter egos have continued to exist to the present day. Freedom is now union.
Compared the rest of the industry it is highly concessionary. The mag pilot group had OJ between a rock and a hard place...and that opportunity does not happen every year. He had a host of critical issues to address and was not in a good position for a protracted contract battle. But the 418 handed him a Hanuka present...he got an industry-leading contract (from management perspective) without a fight!
Hanuka or Hanukkah? "Hanuka; a blessing of interisland jet airliners commonly performed on special occasions in Hawaii."
I disagree with your analysis of the bargaining position of the MAG pilot group and of the new contract. Under the RLA, bargaining proceeds at a snail's pace and no union can speed this up. While Mesa was bargaining with the pilot group, the space between the "rock and the hard place" widened as the economy tanked. Airlines switched from hire to furlough and JO's staffing problems disappeared overnight. The Mesa MEC had to weigh gains for the pilots versus containing costs to preventing further furloughs.
In a tough economy, the new contract is not at all "concessionary", it contains significant work rule improvements.
The pilot group's collective self-respect and backbone are lacking. I left because I was afraid of exactly this happening...another cave-in. I actually wanted to stay and go on strike just to exact my share of pain from OJ. I thought a strike was guaranteed....glad I didn't stick around for that.
I detect no shortage of backbone or self-respect among my fellow pilots. You have spoken about leaving because you feared another "cave-in", yet here you say that you left thinking a strike was "guaranteed". I do not want to split hairs but I am guessing you left for a variety of reasons. The options for making a lateral move to another regional airline are much more limited now.
Maybe you guys will do better in two years, but until then you don't really have any bragging rights.
I am not bragging, because the only role I played was concerned member. I am pleased with the result and I think our MEC and LEC officials have done good work in tough times.
BTW, how is the implementation coming along on that new contract? Did OJ hold up his end of the bargain in a reasonable time frame? PBS is going to hurt real bad with OJ pulling the strings...
Block or better and cancellation pay were effective pretty much right away. PBS comes online in April. Time will tell if it "hurts real bad" or not. I am not living in fear.
I'm not bashing anyone, and I don't want a bunch of people unemployed...I wouldn't waste my time on that. I am sharing my experience and perspective in hopes of educating entry-level pilots and mesa FO's that there are much better alternatives (when hiring resumes). I would of course like to see OJ out of this industry...he should be running a telemarketing boiler-room, not an airline. Or maybe in an orange jumpsuit
"Much better alternatives"? You spend a lot of time negatively describing a company you left sometime ago. Things are not perfect, but have improved. This is largely due to the hard work of the MAG pilots. Regional airline pilots are undercompensated across the board. I think the differences between regionals are not all that significant in the long run. I know two Express Jet furloughees that cannot say enough bad things about that company. I appreciate you for not wanting to see lots of people unemployed.
#83
#86
Mesa is not an airline at all. It is a small jet provider to larger carriers, and not a very good one, either. If they cannot provide small jets to other large carriers, it's light out. Update your resumes, and have a survival plan.
#87
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Posts: 182
#88
Exactly! I wouldn't want to be at the bottom of ANY airline seniority list right now. Where's the next hiring boom???
#89
None of our mainline partners own any of our airplanes.
You must be thinking of the 8 -900's we once operated for Delta, which WERE owned by Delta. Thus their ease in "giving" them to 3 or 4 carriers inside 6 months.
#90
Um, no. Compared the rest of the industry it is highly concessionary. The mag pilot group had OJ between a rock and a hard place...and that opportunity does not happen every year. He had a host of critical issues to address and was not in a good position for a protracted contract battle. But the 418 handed him a Hanuka present...he got an industry-leading contract (from management perspective) without a fight!
We took a few baby steps towards the rest of industry, but with the exception of PBS, I wouldn't call it concessionary. The fact that it was baby steps towards industry standards is why I voted no. We needed a lot more than we got.
Things we needed and didn't get:
1) Pay raise
2) Duty rigs
3) Trip rigs
4) Increased days off for line holders.
We didn't take a pay cut, no decreased line value, no decrease in days off. PBS is the question mark, and we'll know how it is in about 4 months.
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