Shut. Up. Do you not have anything better to do on a Saturday morning than waste 15 minutes typing this garbage? People are specifically requesting to table this contract measuring contest that has plagued this thread for the past month.

Are you bitter towards TSA because maybe they screwed you over in the past? If so, get over it. I haven't loved every place I've flown for either but you don't see me, and countless others, on other threads bashing those places and puffing our chests out. Move on.
http://img.allw.mn/content/2013/08/29131547_528.jpg
YOU'RE LIVING IN THE PAST MAN. LIVE IN THE NOW!!!!!!!!

How about we move on to some juicy rumors about when this new Delta flying announcement is coming? Maybe the one in the STC the other day that we're only hiring hooters waitresses for this new flying?

This guy gets it. Reserve at TS is awful!!! We have a few cheer leaders on here who get all butt hurt when we talk bad about TS. There is huge room for improvement. I have a feeling it will be addressed when negotiations open next year. Everyone who is on reserve now will be off then, but lets not forget about the problems and make a change for the future pilots coming on board.

Your beef isn't with me...I didn't start the contractual comparisons. I merely commented on them, which anyone is free to do. Further, I simply pointed out that certain aspects of the TS contract are not as great as some like to believe. FAR 117 covers the basic work rules, but other sections need serious improvement. I'll point out that I also stand up for TS and TS management when such a position is appropriate. In fact, I promote TSA to pilots looking for a good "first" place to work, because it is that.

The obvious question you'll ask next is why am I on here. Two reasons: I once worked there, and still have friends there, so I like to stay aware of what their future is/isn't, and two, because this industry is so intertwined, I believe that we all have an interest in what is going on around us at both the regional and mainline levels.

I agree with you. The reserve rules are pretty awful.. Airport reserve is the worst.. As a whole the company is a good place to work at but reserve definitely needs to be fixed next contract.

TSA getting 15 airplanes to fly for AA.
 

Reserve rules does need some work.. One thing I would like to see it a limit on last scheduled day. It should be mentioned that if you are volunteering on reserve, you will make good credit. 10 hours at the airport sucks, but you'll credit 90-100 hours.

The contract is above average for 50-seaters. Remember that it was signed in a tough time for the 50-seat market. Negotiations will start up again this spring, and there will only be improvements to the current one.

Once again awful compared to what? Mainline? Of course it is. All regional contracts are awful when it comes to reserve because in general people don't spend a lot of time on reserve and improvements in this area tend to be a low priority in negotiations.

Keep in mind Centerline is a Comair guy and that is his reference for how bad this contract is. Go look at the reserve rules at Republic, Mesa, and a few others and come back and tell me how bad this contract is.

I once worked at a company that required you to check out at the end of every trip and junior manned people with reserves sitting at home. Expecting to have a couple of days off? Tough they can put a junior man on you when you check out while they have 10 reserves sitting at home.

Like I said. Is this contract perfect? No it is not. Could it be better? Yes it could. But it could be a hell of a lot worse too, which is something some of the Comair folks here fail to understand sometimes, including On Centerline.

I'm not defending anything. All I am doing is getting the facts out there presenting a realistic view of this company. I don't trash it, but I don't pump sunshine either. A certain minority of Comair guys like you have done nothing but whine since you hit the door, instead of being glad you actually had a job. Everybody here knows things could be better here and are working to improve it. But it could be a hell of a lot worse too, which is something the Comair whiners never want to admit. Be happy you are at United and worry about what's going on there, and leave us to improve this place as long as we are here.

I'm not saying, nor will I ever, that TSAs contract doesn't need improvements. Hopefully the pilot group will have their chance at that in 2015.

In the big picture, the regionals are what you make of them. Get in and get out if the industry allows it. If you're at a company for 3 years making 40K per year with a bad 401K, how much does that really lose you if you end up at UAL for the next 30 years? For a career guy at TSA, sure I understand.

The DAL comment was loaded with sarcasm, by the way. I'll pass on the postcard... Hawaii isn't my cup of tea. I get excited for Grand Rapids and Peoria overnights. Have a beer for me though. I'm sure we can at least agree on that.

Been here a year and a half now and not once have I've ever been excited for a layover at grr or pia

Sarcasm - 1. Riverside - 0.

Hey you've got the Hibachi place in GRR and Fresh Market in PIA...:D

Kat is correct: I am former Comair. Further, I am former "bad" Comair and former "good" Comair. That is, I was there before the strike when the work rules were almost non-existent and the contract was shorter than a high-school novella, so rest assured that I know how bad it can be. I lived it.

But...I also know how much better a regional can have it, and this is especially true for reserves. The problem is that most pilots are not on reserve, and those that aren't tend to focus on life as a line holder. We all tend to forget that we can wind up on reserve for a multitude of reasons: the company shrinks, your base gets smaller, you upgrade while still junior (or maybe even get junior-manned into an upgrade), etc. Reserve done right will do two things: it will entice senior guys to bid it, and also make it as commuter-friendly as possible. For the company, anything that reduces sick calls is a savings.

These are not impossible achievements, and they matter to all of us. One thing that all airline management teams do is the same thing that all union management teams do, and that is study each airlines' contracts/work-rules. The closer they are to each other, the less of a wedge they can drive, and the better our chances for what should be the long term goal of establishing true brand scope and/or flow programs.

Other items like a better 401(k) should not be viewed as "major vs. regional" issue either. No matter which carrier you fly for, you still need to retire. At TS, I flew with a captain who had been there for most of his career, and was by all accounts a pretty savvy guy with money. He was near retirement, and disclosed to me that he had saved $500,000. That sounds like a lot at first, but in reality, you can't retire on that. Again, there are multitude of ways to correct this, but the fact is, it needs to be fixed at ALL regionals. Again, the more that the gap can be closed, the better, though it will never be as good at the regionals because their pilots focus more on hourly rates.

That "whining" from the Comair pilots at TS (and other regionals) is not just because of the companies themselves. A lot of that was frustration with such a weak MEC. The MEC at TS is tepid to the point that even some of the management don't hide their contempt at times. Weak union leadership is something that comes back to the pilot group as a whole, as well as to ALPA National for not providing more fire-power and back-up. It's frustrating to see a lack of fight.

Yes, the Comair guys made noise, and I'm sure at times it grates, but the TS pilot group and MEC should view that not as a problem or a threat or an irritation, but as resource. They've started to do that, as evidenced by the fact that the new MEC Vice-Chair is former CMR.

He's now a chief pilot

That's good for you guys. He'll be a good one.

Can someone link to the cba or PM me since simply saying is better then others or needs improvement is a little vague.

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Who is "ours?"

We just get cancelation pay although you have to watch it because they may not pay you, 100% DH Pay, health insurance is outrageously expensive you get laughed at when you go to the doctor, 401k is a joke. Even if you plan on going to delta, you still need a good 401k here, it's your retirement. Pay is basically the same as other 50 seaters plus or minus a dollar or two. No secret there. 11 days off on reserve. It could be worse.

Remember how excited we were when that "we reached a TA" email came out?

I miss 2011 bro...

nafrench, you're apparently new to APC, and I assume new to the airlines/121 world. You would need to be able to read the contracts side-by-side in order to compare them, and the truth is, unless you're aware of the potential holes that the company can see to violate the contract, you won't really and truly understand them...let alone be able to judge them. And that says nothing about stuff that is written in complex legalese that only a lawyer could love. On top of that, you need to have some idea of the history each company has with a) violating the contract in general [they all do this to a degree, sometimes out of genuine necessity, and sometimes out of desperation that they themselves have created], and b) violating certain sections.

It's easy to read something initially and say, "Oh, that's pretty good," and not realize that there is a gaping whole somewhere waiting to be exploited. That's where the input of people who actually work there may help you understand what you're truly getting in to. And even then...nothing in this industry really makes sense until you live it.

Thanks minimwage for the info. I'm mostly wondering about the reserve, scheduling, and seniority sections since I've found those to be among the most important for protection and most likely to be exploited by company. Of course the whole thing matters but especially scheduling effects you every day. I guess there is not much to see in compensation since there is 100% cx pay. I think I've read that paragraph before and it seemed pretty solid.

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The only reserve protection is 11 days off. 3 golden days off. The rest is up to them. Airport reserve as well. Basically they own you on reserve, you only have 3 golden days where they can't be touched by scheduling. The work rules were written with supposing of you not spending a lot of time on reserve, for some it has worked out that way.

6 golden days off.

as one of the many Republic (S5) pilots leaving for the CQFO program(along with Flyinggreasemonkey)...I'm throwing the dice and giving up 2.8 years of seniority for a substantial pay increase and Left seat time. (and hopefully a DFW base)

We will be in the first CQFO class so hopefully we don't even see the right seat.

I'm making $35.53 right now and will top out at $36 and change in a few months or I can make $44 right seat and $62 Left seat plus the advantage of living in base is the deal sealer

Do you know how many are in class?

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around 20....as high as 30 per class

You may see the right seat initially, but I doubt it will be for very long.

While that may be true, With the projected growth one can only assume upgrades will be pretty quick for the most recently hired

That's what I said..

Whoops never learned my left from my right!

When did the CQFO program officially start? I have a lot of friends at Endeavor and Envoy that are interested but say they are hiring for FO not CQFO now.

Dec. 3rd is the first class

then Dec 16, Jan 3, Jan 16

everyone who is CQFO qualified will be one
if not you will be an FO

Welcome all new waterskiers!!

It's not a CQFO "program." No one is "officially" hired as a CQFO right out of the gate. New hires are hired as an FO and as we need, which we will, CQFO's then they will be classified as such. That's when the blended pay takes place, etc

Hopefully that clears that up.

Got it. Thanks for the replies guys

At the interview we were hired as CQFO's and will train from the left seat . only one person at my interview was hired as an FO because he wasn't qualified yet .

As someone in the know I can tell you CQFOs do all their sim training in the left seat and then basically do 3 takeoffs and landings right seat. That should speak volumes as to how the company planes on using the CQFOs.

What are the minimums?

TSA getting 15 airplanes to fly for AA.
 

3500 TT and 1000 121 SIC