Another one leaving
A letter from one on the way out.
I am writing to officially tender my resignation from Omni Air International. I appreciate you allowing me to rescind my previous resignation. I used the time since to do some thinking about my future at Omni and what that might look like.
While on the surface it appears the company has good intentions as far as the negotiation of a new pilot contract, it doesn't take much digging to see that isn't the case. Jeff Crippen's letter to the pilots was very appealing and the website he and the company created looks really nice with graphs, charts, and pictures of money, but these are simply flash to obscure what lies beneath - a weak offer.
Neither the letter nor the website address business class travel other than to condemn it, while it is one of the most important issues to the pilot group. I have been subject to the abuse of the Omni travel department for nearly seven years. That abuse will not continue for me. I have to ask a simple question, why is it that Atlas can provide it's pilots with business class travel but Omni can't? The answer is Omni can, it just refuses to.
When I first started at Omni, I was scheduled to work 18 days per month, often being held out longer than that. Today, almost seven years later, I am still scheduled to work 18 days per month and still get involuntarily held out longer than that. How can Omni expect to appeal to current or new pilots (to replace the current pilots who are leaving so rapidly) with a future like that, and with no scheduling incentive for longevity? Our competitors work their pilots fewer days per month and cannot hold out their pilots for four extra days like Omni does because of whatever unfortunate circumstances arise, whether it be a maintenance problem or Omni's inability to adequately staff its fleet with pilots due to attrition.
The previous two items are of great concern to the pilots. Let's look at something equally concerning but much more simple - the Known Crew Member Program. The pilot group has expressed interest in KCM since its inception, yet the company refuses to let us participate, making Omni one of the only remaining airlines not participating. At first the reason was due to cost, but the pilot group agreed to pay for the expenses. Why would Omni deny its pilots access to such a program when it costs the company nothing? Omni's behavior in this matter exposes how it truly feels about its pilot group.
Even more troubling than these issues is the recent exposure of the company's lack of trustworthiness. I am referencing the proposed Based Crewmembers LOA. Mr. Crippen's response to a question asked by a pilot on the new website about the LOA was clearly an attempt to deceive the pilot group into believing the LOA would only affect pilots flying "light category aircraft". Luckily our union was able to outline not only the very real possibility of based operations for our current aircraft, but also Mr. Crippen's blatant and intentional misdirection and flat out lie. In fact, the LOA does not mention "light category aircraft" at all. Do you think we have forgotten the Madrid TDY?
How long will Omni continue to resist the imminent improvements which are needed to bring the pilot's compensation and quality of life to industry standard? How many more pilot's will it lose while it drags out negotiations to try to save a few dollars? How many more trips will Omni turn down because it can't staff its aircraft with pilots? Only Omni leadership has these answers and I wish the best of luck in its future endeavors, whatever they may be.
Sincerely,
Another Captain