You're giving me flashbacks to the Tumi roadshow.
"We don't think that the company will do that." - BH

 

I foresee an LOA 6 months after contract implementation to deal with still unfilled CA vacancies.

 

Oracle?……..

 

Personally I do not see the AIP fixing the problem at United. WB FO looks too attractive by comparison.

More flexibility for junior NB CAs will fix it.

Ability to bid for (and be awarded!) fewer reserve days and a lower guarantee, but add the ability to pick up on days off.
Ability to bid for (and be awarded) lower LPV for junior lineholders.

Put another way, if Jr NB CA can have similar time off as WB FO, the attraction goes way up. A more satisfying job, fewer time zones/backside of clock issues.

It might be frightening to implement such changes as they require additional manpower.... but mark my words: It will fix the problem. If you can choose the right balance of time and money, doing a job you enjoy, life is wonderful. But a fat paycheck for too much of a grind..... we are seeing the results of that today. Attitudes to work and life balance are shifting.

 

On the surface this sounds better than what we have today. But make no mistake, not a single item in the bullet points could be considered industry leading, let alone the group of them collectively. This will not fix the staffing issues United is facing - it just won't move the QOL needle far enough.

And new hire captains? What the hell did we gain in order to concede that??

 

What a ridiculous thing to do, to not show where in the limited AIP language your belief is founded but to lean on hyperbolic non-sequiturs. Did Bill Gates put a microchip in the CA upgrade too? (You see what I did there?)

 

The freeze will be 3 years. Deep freeze so they won't be able to move up, down, or sideways. They'll be subjected to guidelines no other UAL pilot will.
​​​​​​​This isn't spelled out in the bullet points but you can hear it for yourself if you make a call and ask.
The bullet point specifically says that any UAL pilot can bid CA as long as they meet the FAR minimums. So if these unfilled CA positions show up in a new hire class drop and these positions are the only thing left, they will be forced into these spots. Whether they want them or not. That's where the forced part comes from.

Not saying it's enough to kill a deal, but it's a bad idea. Instead of further addressing the things that make these spots go unfilled, all they'll have to do post TA is force folks into these spots. Forced into the seat and forced to be reserve for their two years in the left seat with no option to bid off.

 

yes but they still need to meet the hour requirements set forth, they don’t just go to captain school day one. I think if anything it shortens it a few months from a year where it’s currently at. It happens at delta all the time

 

They won't go to CA school day one. I wasn't saying different. Their bid position will be CA and they will serve as FO's on that fleet for 350 hours. Aided by a consolidation line so they might get to 350 quicker than current. Once they get the 350 they'd go back to school for their bid position.
That's why I think it would go junior in a new hire class. For those that have the option in the drop with their seniority, why not just bid right seat and then go left after probation if they ultimately want the left seat? They'd avoid all of the restrictions that a new hire CA would carry for three years. I think these positions could end up going junior in a class to the folks that don't have any other categories fall to them.

 

Yep. And I don’t think it’ll end up getting forced. Between the reserve rule improvements possibly enticing people already on property and plenty of go-getter 30 year old RJ captains that probably wouldn’t mind immediately making 250-300k a year.

and if it does? I mean that sucks but so does getting stuck with a cross country commute to a terrible schedule in the right seat like it did for new hires ten years ago. So does getting stuck on a WB to commute to global reserve right now. I wonder if they’ll get the free year of positive space for first upgrade. That alone takes away quite a bit of the sting.

I’m not for leaving the probies for dead in contract negotiations but I’m also not particularly concerned about the slight possibility of new hires getting forced into the left seat in indoc.