Amazon Flying
 

How is the company going to staff any of this flying?! I really hope management reads these forums because there is no way it’s gonna be sustainable unless they get a new contract and make it a done deal in the next 5-6 months.

The only reason many of us stay here is for QOL. If they are gonna rock our schedules with hardly any days off and massive block/credit loads, I’m out. Say goodbye to seeing your family too because I guarantee you the trips are gonna go from 1-2 days to mostly 5-6 days.

With the exponential hiring of pilots by the majors coming next year, I find this really hard to believe it will work at all. Unless of course they are going to open up their wallets.

The sad part is if it does not work , all these new guys coming here are going to be screwed when they loose the contract and we have to furlough 150+ pilots.

Can’t leave boxes for a night, let alone a season in Mexico.

The only way it will work is if they give us competitive wages and work rules, stat. They’re not going to be able to staff the place primarily with MSP locals like before, so they’ll need industry standard reserve rules, commuter policies, long call, etc. The next contract will have to be a blockbuster or people will leave in droves. In the last two months, they’ve already lost more pilots than they’ve hired, and a lot of new hires are coming here on a bet. It really could go either way.

I think the pilot group is in a good bargaining position since the company has already agreed to the Amazon flying. Hiring at the majors is going to be in full swing right about the time they want to get the Amazon birds online. OC is pushing pretty hard for a competitive contract, but he doesn’t wield the check book. I’ve also heard he’s threatened to punch out if that competitive contract doesn’t happen. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

Welcome to the Amazon whipsaw... comprised of Atlas/Southern, ABX/ATI, CargoJet, yourselves, and soon enough Mesa.

This doesn’t end well for any of us. Know what you’re worth and fight for it.

Amazon is living off of the regional whipsaw model. No one wants to do the amazon flying and they are currently running their current carriers into the ground. What you make as a 737 CA at one of these cargo carriers is close to a current RJ CA. Good luck Sunny. With hiring in full swing at mainline and LCC, you will only be able to staff this flying with Gojet and Skywest leftovers.

My guess is we won't be getting "a new contract" all this has been set in place using the existing pay scales and days off etc...
if i'm wrong and we do get "a new contract" my first vote will be NO.
#cautiouslyoptimistic

There are certainly a number of variables to consider with this new development for new hires at Sun Country, but the first thing that comes to mind is:

1) having to switch back and forth between assigned day and night trips on
minimum rest, which could be either 10 (117) or 8 (121 - cargo) hours of rest,
depending on which rest rules SC thinks should apply. The sleep deprivation
and decrease in the days off and QOL will get old real quick.

2) When SC can't attract the pilots due to poor pay, benefits, and QOL... senior
schedules will drop to the contractual minimum of what... 12 days
off is it???

The flying will be done part.117. It will be blended in with the current passenger/ charter flying sun country already does.

Sure it will, until you can't staff it under 117 rules.

They have to operate under Part 117, since they are a certificated Part 121 passenger airline. The only way they could avoid Part 117 rules is to spin off the cargo side and operate that entity on a separate Part 121 cargo airline certificate. Don’t think that is going to happen.