I don't think Joe is a guy who would play the rumor game. Im sure it's his best guess.

Zero Cat III? I had one on my UOE second leg.

Yeah I remember that email.saying 0 is positive. i put test pilot on my resume that day also.

I agree smaller bases will suck for everyone not living in them. Just look at the Allilegiant and breeze bases where 2 guys are senior and everyone else is stuck for xx yrs till that person retires. Bigger is better.

 

DSM was a joke. Pick any city…it doesn’t matter. If bean counters want to reduce hotel costs…what’s to stop them from making every city with more than 10 hotels a base? Nothing in our CBA.

 

Besides it being another TX base - not sure why anyone would be surprised with AUS being the next base. I've probably had more overnights there in my 2 yrs on property than any other outstation.

Also would not be surprised if SAN is announced as one of the smaller bases and will become the primary SOCAL base once LAX is drawn down - most likely after the Olympics. They've already expressed interest in drawing down LAX by a good amount. No love lost there either.

 

yeah 0 CAT 3’s. Did a Cat 2 into DEN one day but we broke out at 150’. Life of a PMer that tries to stay on the west coast…not much for bad Wx.

 

Stupid? Back in the 70's they said the same about a startup airline that served only three cities in Texas, all about 45 minutes flying time away from each-other.

 

Pretty sure every airline was a startup at some point. And none of them have 3 bases in the same state, let alone within 45 min flying time of each other. Should prob try and be more like the airlines making actual money and less like the idiots throwing darts at a wall to see what works. Read the latest PM Flt Ops memo on how they’re reinventing how the NFP does their job. Pretty sure no other airline is reverse engineering the PM’s job into a 10 pg memo and DL.

If a squall lines hits TX this spring and takes out all 3 bases at once, I’m gonna laugh when they throw out CWA messages begging for people to “help out”. Let’s add ELP and LBB while we’re at it. Maybe even HRL.

 

First we did this to ourselves. Poor PM by mostly Captains got us to where we are today. Additionally, the new procedures look to be a mix of Skywest and Airtran stuff, and mostly industry standard. I does look super wordy, but not difficult - if this was how we did it from day one, nobody would be complaining now.

The primary driver of a new base is APL/pairing construction - geography doesn't isn't so much a factor. They will take a whole year of more efficient pairings and worry about 1-2 days of bad weather when it comes. At least with 3 bases in the area and many pilots they will be able to find many people to "help out" especially if they use the language where they can adjust the premium multiple.

 

I came here to remind everyone that a new AUS base, especially geographically close to your current Texas base, does nothing for the 2,000 pilots currently based in DAL/HOU except greatly lower your seniority. If you live there, sure, it's a no brainer, but even then, opening smaller bases means less people who want them can hold them. BNA was textbook how a base should open. Build it up quickly and while lots of hiring is happening.

A new AUS base isn't going to draw from OAK, there will be greatly reduced numbers in HOU and especially DAL. Also, lots of open time trips start and end with a DH day only to AUS. That 6.5-7.5 goes away when they can originate pairings there.

I am just saying to be careful what you wish for. The company has shown us over the last 2 years that they simply don't care about our quality of life.

 

Funny, I have heard nothing of the sort. People love to hate on California, but that one state generates more revenue than any other for this company. There is a reason SWA is fiercely protective of their turf there. LAX is what it is. People love to fly there despite it being an awful airport. 5 carriers run hubs there without any of them controlling the market. It isn't going to change.

 

DH on both ends to and from the same city? Sounds like a unicorn trip. DH only on day 3? Well that pairing still originated in the other base…and still will if that’s how they STC it.