How's the DENTK looking now?
 

So, my understanding is the TK renovation is waaay over budget. So much so that it would have been cheaper to build from scratch in ... Houston.

I was just wondering if anyone knows where the proposed IAH site was and if it got flooded by Harvey. I assume it did not. But if so it makes the decision to keep the TK after all seem a little better... and a lot luckier.

Building anything other than a gazebo with a diving board in Houston would have been a mistake. This latest storm (and associated wide spread and colossal flooding) has been predicted by climatologists for years. It was only a matter of time. Of course it could have just been 'fake news'.

I highly doubt the "build from scratch in Houston" comment. There have been some hiccups fo sho. But why not ask McCasky? He ends all his updates with a "please contact me with any questions". Give him a shout/email if you want to know.

I doubt he knows offhand if the IAH site got flooded, which is what I'm curious about. Since the airport seems to be in decent shape, I expect that any site nearby probably would have escaped major damage as well. I'm not about to ask for a full postmortem cost analysis of the TK decision in light of the hurricane, that would be way above my pay grade. I'd much prefer to travel to the TK for training anyways, and will have the chance to do so soon enough.

You can put a handful of sims anywhere in the country for less land cost, better hotel availability, and better amenities than the old IAH location. I don't know anyone that left the IAH facility and was impressed. A sim building can be built anywhere. Why concentrate on only two cities that are in rapid growth mode?

I certainly wasn't impressed with the old IAH facility. I believe Houston's proposal was for an all new facility, to include dedicated lodging. The competition was between IAH, DEN, and ORD (correct me if there were others). I believe IAH and DEN would have been by far the lowest cost options. I was happy that TK won it, at least initially.

I know a way we can add a bunch more Bus sims at DEN plus a bunch more gates! (and still be smaller than AA or DAL) ;)

My first time (in a long time) visit to TK last year for 737 MVLOE. While waiting to check into hotel, a couple of IAH based 737 guys were *****ing up a storm about having to travel to Denver. They went on and on about how a snow storm could shut down DENTK and how could they not have built in Houston. I said what if a big storm shut down Houston and they said that would never happen. :cool:

Because the existing facility in Denver was big enough to house all the sims and was already owned by United, with enough land for expansion. This decision was a no brainer. I'm amazed they chose it!! Took them long enough.

The first time I ever wore an asbestos suit for a PC....enjoy Tragic Kingdom!

You're special little sunflower ain't ya?

I'm in IAH now. The airport Marriott has huge fans blasting throughout the building trying to dry out carpets and the elevators are unusable to access rooms. The hotel is swarming with Military staying here to help with recovery.

I imagine much of the city is in a similar state of disrepair and will be for some time.

But is the lady with the burritos there? :D

"Those are good burritos, Walter"

Roger? Is that you?

That worked out well.

I had a short layover a few months ago...carpet smelled like it had been damp since 1995. Here's hoping the city rebounds quicker than the carpet.

The hotels at IAH TK suck, so does the doubletree at DEN TK, they are both old, smelly, outdated and overrun with old white dudes in polo shirts, shorts, white new balance kicks with sox pulled up to their knees crowding the breakfast buffet.

Bwahahaha :D

Yeah, but those CAs there did buy my beers, so I won't judge how they present themselves.

"Shut the **** up donny!"

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LOL!!! .... Huh? Sorry, not in on the joke. Don't know if the TK budget overrun rumor is true either. I heard that one the last time I was there, so it has as much currency as all TK rumors. :rolleyes:

HFS! I just watched that movie yesterday and would never have caught that joke if I hadn't. The Dude abides indeed.

The Dude imbibes.


https://i1.wp.com/www.lebowskihousto...03/bridges.jpg

Screw that! That just makes it more difficult to move hotels when United would inevitably go cheap on lodging and violate the CBA. The history of UAL owned crew hotels is pretty dismal.

I'm surprised anyone have more than a passing moment's thought to a good atKnresolution when we can't even get a van ride to our training hotel.

I dunno, my expensed uber black rides from DEN to the Doubletree are always quite nice.

+1

Filler filler filler

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Same, it's really quite simple.

But you must be proud of the 737 training in IAH.

Which was a joke.

Trained you.
Just stop with the back and forth. It's annoying. Just let it go.



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Let it go? It's already GONE (IAH). It's just an empty hangar now. ;)

That was the absolute worst training I have ever received at an airline. It was embarrassing and I'm glad its in DEN now.

How's the DENTK looking now?
 

I know. We do training in Denver now. Been there. It was nice. Training was good. Went home. Rinse repeat. Some CAL guys gotta say some snarky remark about dentk. Then some UAL guy has to respond in kind and then it turns into a circle jerk. Just move on. These are the good times.


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This ^^^ :)

No it was pretty much train yourself and sort out the "tecsidures" from the 500 different instructors.

Well, not to be a jerk but more to try and refresh the memory of the old farts and to promote dialog and to educate the half wingers and Marvins,

Times were also pretty good when we -

Enjoyed Deadhead travel in First Class,
Had a lucrative Pension,
Had Vacation Override, ("can you say more time at home"?)
Paid MUCH less for Health Insurance,
Got paid MUCH more per hour when adjusted for inflation and COLA,
Bid actual lines and didn't have to deal with QOL life sucking PBS, ("can you say more time at home"?)
Could actually trade and or drop trips,
Had the Big Dump,
Had Trip and Duty Rigs with teeth, ("can you say more time at home"?)
Got paid more for training,
Enjoyed crystal clear and SIMPLE payroll accounting,
Understood FIFO and your spot in the stack,
Could EASILY Non-Rev, (often in First and for... bupkis!),
Didn't have to deal with AMS and Pilot Pushing, (did someone say, -"Captains Authority"???)
Weren't taxed on a whole MESS of stuff like we are now - at the behest of MU.
etc.
etc.
etc

Yes...I am a cranky malcontent. But, before we all start willingly and gleefully smoking what they're offering while patting ourselves on the back, let's not forget what we used to enjoy and HOW it was wrested away during the giant Ponzi scheme that was our "bankruptcy". Tell me, where did that last big avoided pension payment money go? Yes(!), things have improved. But lets not relax our sphincters and lose sight of what we once had. And of what the recent retirees fought so hard for AND WON when times were merely ordinary and MU wasn't the juggernaut that it is today.

There are apples, and there are oranges. I prefer citrus myself.

;)

Too many go straight to pay rates in contract desicion..... these are the places we really need improvements.

There is a lesson here (really 3):

1. When management takes it, they take it all, and they take it quick. If they say the "B" word - the bankruptcy word, or liquidity shortfall, or whatever hocus pocus snake oil they are selling to scare the super junior into voting scared and the super senior into voting for their pension; remember, it goes quick, and it goes fast, and you likely work the rest of your career to get it back.

2. When and if the union tries to get it back, it will only do so in an incremental fashion.

3. PBS is not "Preferential Bidding System." It has nothing to do with it. It is a trip assignment and manpower de-confliction system. It puts butts in seats. PBS is not like PBJ. PBJ is great. PBS is not. It will always be a give-back to management to have PBS on property, therefore the union should always start negotiations with a 750 million dollar credit. That's what it is worth to management in efficiency and staffing on an annual basis.

Mako,

Your posts are generally a wonderful light in a sea of tough-guy-forumitus.

This particular post... were you referencing any C2000 stuff? Because that contract IMHO was an outlier and not a sustainable contract to be referenced for future negotiations. I, and I think many others, would rather leave some money on the table, but keep my pay up during economic down turns, rather than choke the golden goose, and lose it all when said goose loses consciousness a la David Carradine (too soon?)

I get the company can come after a sub par contract as well during recessions, but I think many of us are still acutely aware of being duped by management and anti-labor governments and would stand firmer next time around, especially if the contract wasn't like C2000 and the recession wasn't the worst since the 1930s.

FWIW

If you didn't stand firm the first time, what spine did you magically grow since then?

"Tough guy forumitis".... maybe the problem is you and your lack of confidence that's easily intimidated by those with conviction.


Good post baseball