Divide and conquer works for union busting. It works for whipsawing during contract time. From our perspective it sucks, but like crew scheduling always says, "its legal".

 

If PDT or PSA were sold to a contract regional that would be different but if Airways decided to hire all the Mesa guys, then they should go to the bottom because they would be coming into a wholly owned instead of joining with a contract carrier. Kind of a sweet deal for Mesa guys to start getting super seniority and a great pay raise just because their airline got bought by a "better" one.

 

I don't think that a contract carrier should have the same rights that a wholly owned should have. The only reason any contract carriers have gotten US Airways business is because they undercut what a wholly owned could do.

 

I'm pretty sure part of the "undercut" is having the capability to get/add aircraft. PSA doesn't have a profit margin, and is carried as a direct expense on the LCC books. However, for PSA to add aircraft and people, it takes money and the financial strength to shoulder the risk. There are no contractual minimums. When things slow down (08-09) the AWAC, RAH, etc are drawn to down to the mins and the w/o's are there is the cuts have to go deeper. The w/o's furloughed and went to under utilizing the aircraft and people. When things ramp-up they can respond by increasing the utilization while maintaining a higher margin. At some point, they have to give flying back to the other Express carriers because the w/o's are maxed out. To give the w/o's more flying means that LCC is on the hook for more training and labor costs, whereas they can tell the others, "Here are 1000 more block hours" and all they have to do is pay the bill. They don't have to worry about the cost until the flights are completed.

Think of the w/o's as shock absorbers -- they are the flexible option when the flying is increasing and or decreasing.

 

Somehow I thought you'd say that.

 

dashtrash300,

If you follow that logic then I can paraphrase your own statement;

The only reason any wholly owned carriers have gotten US Airways business is because they undercut what mainline could do. You see? Blame can be shared by all.

I suggest you begin thinking outside the box and stop being a pawn to the whipsaw. Why spend our time looking for someone to blame like the major airline pilots for relieving their scope, the wholly-owned pilots for creating a B-Scale, the contracted outsourced pilots for working for the lowest bidder? What have you accomplished? The list goes on and on. Meanwhile airline industry managements laugh all the way to the bank while promoting an unsustainable business model.

The rules of the game are currently being controlled by major airline managements and nowhere is it written who the designated rule maker will be. This is a free country and it's time we take our jobs back. Instead of buying into the management sponsored blame game, try being a little constructive and begin looking for a path for all pilots to be hired into a company that isn't designed from the start to undercut.

winglet

 

the ego is strong with this one.

or is it a case of SJS?

 

PSA and PDT are very different from other contract airlines. We can only fly for US Airways and we don't have the job security of being able to fly for Delta/United/American. If US Airways goes bust then we do to. What should we get in return for the greater risk? I can't think of any benefit of working for a w/o. US Airways will not buy Mesa's 900's. AWAC might. So it doesn't really matter what people think about a merger with PSA/MESA/AWAC/PDT cause it isn't going to happen.

 

All I am saying is that PSA and PDT are wholly owneds which should entitle them over Mesa or AWAC. Just because Mesa is going down doesnt mean their pilots should get my job. Harsh I know, but it is the truth. I have already be furloughed once and believe we should get all the pilots from PDT and PSA back before we start picking up the people floating in the water.

 

Actually, my friend, it is kind of written that way...... Legal precedent being what it is in this country over the past 20-30 years has created an uneven playing field. Think of Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection. Most majors went Ch. 11 after 9/11 and totally shredded contracts. Managements walked away with millions in bonuses and compensation. Huge arbitrations went in favor of companies, etc.

There is very little that can be done right now. The courts are not labor friendly, to say the least. Neither has any administration in well over 20 years been even remotely labor friendly.

The best hope pilots have is the fact that there is something of period of lean pilot hiring (I am loathe to use the word 'shortage') coming over the next 5 years. Everyone knows pilot retirements will be large in number. And there are very few student pilots at the moment. The laws of supply and demand work here.

But to another subject, I can't believe someone said that 'divide and conquer' doesn't work. The situation we are currently in is exactly the result of 'divide and conquer'. Look at Comair. They were big and powerful. Then they struck. The regionals have never been the same since.

The case to watch right now is Spirit. Very, very, very important case for pilots all over the nation right now. They need all our support.