News for today. Regional Airline Association
05-01-2014 | 04:35 AM
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 474
Likes: 0
From my other post:
They are trying to steam roll congress with minimal flack from pilots themselves and their unions. You all know what their grand plan is, don't you? They will push for lower hours AND/OR push to allow foreign pilots in. Wait till Aug hits, then you will see them parking more planes to foster panic so that the public will then start screaming to the congress/senators while the owners sit back and laugh. It will get pushed through, one way or another. Plus you know they are greasing the politicians through their PAC's. Yep, hell of a system we got.
Let's face it, they (owners) are better organized and count on lazy pilot unions and pilots too tired from long days and commutes to lift a finger to fight them. Want proof? Go to the Regional Airline Assoc website, and look for the lobbying info. Then go to your union webpage, and look for their lobbying info.
All the union has to do is post the names of the congressmen with emails/fax/mail and a simple form letter, post it to their pilots, and hit send. How hard is that?
In fact, where the hell are the lobbyist that the unions are bribing? They should know about this stuff and be keeping union leaders "in the know", who should have already sent mail to the pilots regarding this.
Makes you wonder if the unions are doing all they can with the dues they collect, or if they are not paid off by management to do just enough to look like they care.
They are trying to steam roll congress with minimal flack from pilots themselves and their unions. You all know what their grand plan is, don't you? They will push for lower hours AND/OR push to allow foreign pilots in. Wait till Aug hits, then you will see them parking more planes to foster panic so that the public will then start screaming to the congress/senators while the owners sit back and laugh. It will get pushed through, one way or another. Plus you know they are greasing the politicians through their PAC's. Yep, hell of a system we got.
Let's face it, they (owners) are better organized and count on lazy pilot unions and pilots too tired from long days and commutes to lift a finger to fight them. Want proof? Go to the Regional Airline Assoc website, and look for the lobbying info. Then go to your union webpage, and look for their lobbying info.
All the union has to do is post the names of the congressmen with emails/fax/mail and a simple form letter, post it to their pilots, and hit send. How hard is that?
In fact, where the hell are the lobbyist that the unions are bribing? They should know about this stuff and be keeping union leaders "in the know", who should have already sent mail to the pilots regarding this.
Makes you wonder if the unions are doing all they can with the dues they collect, or if they are not paid off by management to do just enough to look like they care.
All through RJSAviatior....in particular GJet and proprunner....
ALPA IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Click the link above to see what your "lazy" union is doing. Who's sitting there, front row, (yesterday) saying over and over to people in the Aviation subcommittee that it is an ECONOMIC problem and NOT a pilot shortage? Lee Moak is. That's what your ALPA dues pay for- the head of the largest pilot union sitting in front of the PEOPLE THAT MATTER, in front of the SUBCOMMITTEE THAT MATTERS, telling them that the profession is in turmoil, that there shouldn't be flags of convenience, that standards shouldn't be lowered, and that pay needs to go up. He TELLS THEM that. Click the link and watch.
Notice that Moak of ALPA is invited to those meetings. Not the APA. Not USAPA. Not the IAM airline division. Not SWAPA. Not the SkyWest pilot council. Moak is there, representing us. And this isn't the first time if you have been paying attention.
It doesn't end there. Don't you think Moak has the ear of the very important members of that subcommittee? Hearings like these are "dog and pony" shows. The real business gets done behind the scenes. Moak knows the players (notice the camaraderie he shares with the subcommittee members). They know him, and he knows them. That doesn't mean ALPA gets everything it wants. That doesn't mean ALPA can stomp its feet and cross its arms when it doesn't get its way. It means we can INFLUENCE what's going on. That's what you pay for with your dues money.
Premade form letters, easy point-and-click-and send e-mails are nice, but quite frankly, pilots couldn't be bothered to even do something that simple.
05-01-2014 | 05:05 AM
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 474
Likes: 0
Further, IMO, the 1,500/1,250/1,000/750 rule isn't going to stand. The hour limits are arbitrary, brought on by inefficient government regulation of a problem that the regional airline brought upon themselves. The regionals were doing STUPID things when it came to pilot hiring, they couldn't police themselves, so they got slapped with a piece of admittedly imperfect regulation.
However, I don't think the regionals are going to find a "cheap" solution to their problem, either, if they are allowed to hire lower-time pilots. I would suspect that some sort of (expensive) "ab-initio" program or highly structured airline cockpit training programs will come about that would be paired with the training one normally receives to obtain private, instrument, and commercial pilot certificates. I'm thinking a "Lufthansa" type program. It will probably cost 10's of thousands of dollars, involve more training in complex aircraft and advanced simulators using airline "techniques and procedures," and at the end of the program will qualify a graduating pilot to sit in the right seat of a regional airline cockpit.
But it won't fix the regional's problem. Even if a program such as this is developed, and it did lead straight to a regional airline cockpit for a reduced flight hour pilot, it's still going to cost a chit load of money, someone is going to have to pay for it (who? us or them? both?), and this profession has STILL lost its luster. The regionals are either going to have to raise pay so that new pilots can afford to go through this type of program and make their loan payments, or pay for most or all of such a program themselves. Either way, effectively it is a "raise" for the regional airline pilot, paid for by the regional airline industry (and hopefully NOT by a government grant as desired by the regional airline industry).
However, I don't think the regionals are going to find a "cheap" solution to their problem, either, if they are allowed to hire lower-time pilots. I would suspect that some sort of (expensive) "ab-initio" program or highly structured airline cockpit training programs will come about that would be paired with the training one normally receives to obtain private, instrument, and commercial pilot certificates. I'm thinking a "Lufthansa" type program. It will probably cost 10's of thousands of dollars, involve more training in complex aircraft and advanced simulators using airline "techniques and procedures," and at the end of the program will qualify a graduating pilot to sit in the right seat of a regional airline cockpit.
But it won't fix the regional's problem. Even if a program such as this is developed, and it did lead straight to a regional airline cockpit for a reduced flight hour pilot, it's still going to cost a chit load of money, someone is going to have to pay for it (who? us or them? both?), and this profession has STILL lost its luster. The regionals are either going to have to raise pay so that new pilots can afford to go through this type of program and make their loan payments, or pay for most or all of such a program themselves. Either way, effectively it is a "raise" for the regional airline pilot, paid for by the regional airline industry (and hopefully NOT by a government grant as desired by the regional airline industry).
05-01-2014 | 05:15 AM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 420
Likes: 0
05-01-2014 | 05:21 AM
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 420
Likes: 0
I'll be seeing Frank this weekend when he comes home and I'll be sure to express my opinion on the issue and my opinion about BB. Scumbag ring a bell! He actually said the navy pilot can do it so why not let a kid fly. Well, here's on reason! The squid will only plant himself not 50 to 100 other folks. Plus he can eject when he f's up.
05-01-2014 | 05:45 AM
#18
On Reserve
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 18
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Letter to congressman and transportation committee sent. Please send letters about our actual situation. Clog their inboxes with responses, but please be professional so we are actually heard and not dismissed as union thugs. I like a good rant, but I would actually like to see our pay go up.
05-01-2014 | 09:29 AM
#19
Bracing for Fallacies
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,543
Likes: 0
From: In favor of good things, not in favor of bad things
Yes!
Thanks for sharing this information. I think it may not be a bad idea to also write to congressmen not on the Aviation Subcommittee.
Excellent! Thanks for taking the time to make a difference!
Yes, send something that is professional, and I think concise and to the point is important, too. These people do have a lot on their plates.
I think citing a few pieces of information from the recent GAO report on the pilot shortage myth would be good supporting evidence to points made in a letter/email.
www.gao.gov/assets/670/661243.pdf
Write.
Your.
Representatives.
Please
Letter to congressman and transportation committee sent. Please send letters about our actual situation. Clog their inboxes with responses, but please be professional so we are actually heard and not dismissed as union thugs. I like a good rant, but I would actually like to see our pay go up.
Yes, send something that is professional, and I think concise and to the point is important, too. These people do have a lot on their plates.
I think citing a few pieces of information from the recent GAO report on the pilot shortage myth would be good supporting evidence to points made in a letter/email.
www.gao.gov/assets/670/661243.pdf
Write.
Your.
Representatives.
Please
Last edited by block30; 05-01-2014 at 09:42 AM.
05-01-2014 | 09:49 AM
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
They can lower the ATP requirements to 100 hours if they want. Does this mean you have to take the job? Nope. When you think about it, being a regional FO is a crappy job even if they gave it to you with no training at all! It's Starbucks wages with much worse working conditions. As a Trans States Alumni I speak from experience.
The best lobbying effort available to the industry is Families of Continental Flight 3407.
http://www.3407memorial.com
The best lobbying effort available to the industry is Families of Continental Flight 3407.
http://www.3407memorial.com
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