I sense a degree of frustration so please, never, ever let a bulletin board lead you to think it might represent some sort of mainstream or majority opinion about any issue. They don't.

Taken in the context of a combined Continental/United pilot group of 11,000 or so pilots, one only has to look at the relatively low participation rate to understand that postings represent individual opinions only, and are not of a sufficient number or random nature to represent group opinion or to be statistically significant.

Me personally...I'm thrilled. I've worked and lived long enough to finally see what it's going to be like not to have to lug around 35 pounds of paper only to use five to seven small sheets for most flights. I'm generally in favor of most tech improvements whether aircraft or support equipment.

Just remember my opinion doesn't mean cXXp either on a bulletin board. At their best, they're good for disseminating information. At their worst, these things have a tendency to turn into sandbox fights on a pre-school playground.

 

I apologize for my tone, and please don't let me being a bumhole keep you from contributing. I get hyper sensitive to comments suggesting I should be happy or satisfied with the scraps the company occasionally drops. It's really too bad that we've become as jaded a group as we have, but after getting railroaded for a decade straight, the rose colored glasses are off. Hopefully we get a decent contract someday and I'll be able to look at things with a little less anger.

I will let you know how the iPad integration goes once we get familiar. I see potential there with wifi in the future. Hopefully the bean counters do to.

 

Sometimes it's just better to say nothing...

Like this time....

 

OK since there has been a bunch of bashing here I will add my two cents or less:

First I believe the iPads are a great idea and have found their time at UAL/CAL. I welcome them with open hands.

Now for you paranoid types out there.

I have over three decades at UAL as a pilot and really could care less if they tracked my where abouts to the lavatory because I have nothing to hide. But, remember the iPad they give you is company property. This means if you send emails of a personal nature that include harassment of others and or the over throwing of UAL management or fill it with P**n you can be disciplined up to and including being fired.

The point is the Company owned iPAds are not being giving to pilots for person entertainment (although there is nothing wrong for doing so in a limited way). They are provided to improve your work place and the efficiency of operating UAL Airplanes.

Paranoid, afraid, and do I think these should be refused until I get a contract? No, no and let's see do I want my life to be any harder than it has to be????? No it's OK to get the tool to make my life a bit easier at work today!

 

I can see by the replies on this board that we are our own worst enemies. It is obvious that many of you do not go to union meetings. If you can't go to the meetings, your reps are a simple phone call away.

For those United guys that welcome the IPads:

What are you carrying now? Nothing. We have shipsets (which...BTW are NOT going away until we have a class 2 or 3 EFB). But you will be carrying an expensive electronic device around that YOU are responsible for. Just wait until it gets broken.

What can you do with it on your layovers? NOTHING none aircraft/company related. They have been blocked for personal use (even if you could, why would you as the the company can track/confiscate them at anytime). If you do turn them on...and the company has been trying to get ahold of you on your layover guess what? You have just been notified and there is a record of it.

They WILL NOT be used below 10,000.' (Gee....you would know that if you had been paying attention).

The "shiny toy syndrome" is alive and well. Maybe next year they'll offer us some really cool sunglasses or a new company pen.

Talk to your reps...find out why ALPA legal has been trying to turn this off.

 

Thanks for that.

The only way I am interested in this device is if it's MOUNTED in the plane. I have no interest in schlepping it around. And if it can't be used on the ground or below 10,000 were it is probably the MOST useful, then what the hell good is it?

At my last airline, you were REQUIRED to sign in on the company PC prior to flying your trip. This was a great opportunity for the company to "revise your trip" and you had NO say in it. Might as well have been on reserve. Guess what? You were also REQUIRED to sign into the company computer at the conclusion of your trip. You guys that run to catch a commuter flight or the UN bus....well tough luck. The company would use your "sign out" to assign you additional flying and junior man you into all kinds of crap. Think your current contract protects you from that? Perhaps, perhaps not. I for one don't want to find out the hard way. One only look at the onerous crap in the CAL contract to see what they want all of us to suffer with.

Don't like it? Too bad. Call the FODM, get ordered to do it and then grieve it. YOU LOST.

UAL has already shown that they love to manipulate their employees and spy on them.
No thanks.

Jeff has the ability to turn this place into a phenomenal place to work. So far, he has shown no interest in the worker bees. Think "SWA". I am ready to pull on the rope.

SHIPSETS YES, iPAD, maybe later. Keep your eyes on the ball and not on this.

James already carries all the electronic stuff he needs and doesn't need mother UAL to jerk him around any more.

 

I respect the opinions of those who would not take the iPad offered to them by UAl, but many of you remind me of a Captain I knew on the B727. He went on and on about how much better his "situational awareness" was using a steam gauges, HSI, RDMI, ADI, a single ADF, two VORs, an ILS and no auto throttles over we "cripples" in the glass fleets.

Well, a picture is worth a thousand cross checks (as long as one has the correct picture displayed) so I'll just have to be a cripple.

I also believe if I can take care of a 300 million dollar piece of machinery filled with people and freight I can take care of a $900 iPad.

Bring em on!

PS. No it's not some shiny new pen or pair of sunglasses and that statement is just a bunch of hyperbole.

Oh well my two cents taint worth two cents I guess.

 

Like I said before.....some just don't get it.

 

Your entire post in bold is not necessary to "get" your personal opinion. While it isn't SHOUTING, it is pointless emphasis and is negligible in advancing your opinion about Ipad/EFB's.

I'm a tool/technology guy. I like the idea. Some people don't. That's OK. Some people don't like anything unless ALPA blesses it. That's OK too. Some people don't like anythng that's Smisek's idea. Whatever. So be it. It's a big, multi-cultural world out there.

That's just my personal opinion.

 

Old Mistake-o,


So here is the plan. You get to choose, an iPad or a traditional flight bag. This is the rumor I heard. So the decision will truly be yours. Supposedly shipsets are going away. By the way, I believe the only contractual language regarding charts is that the company will make them available at no cost.

I am going to link something for you and tell me what you read and see...

United Airlines Invests in 11,000 iPads

If you can read the link you will see that the ipad will have a Jepp App. The picture if you can't read shows a ORD 20-9 page on the ipad. I think the issue with electronics below 10K is for mass usage by passengers. As you might have been able to read from other post ipads and efb's have been in use below 10K for quite sometime. But why should you be willing to interest yourself in facts when emotion works so much better for you?

This one time at band camp....Seriously, at a previous carrier we had to turn seatbelts. We had to manually record OOOI times and we stayed in crappy hotels. Does that mean the same is coming to UA?

Appears these ipads are wifi only. So how would the company be able to notify you outside of the airplane (if wifi installed) without being connected? They can still get you with the ACARS and other methods.

You remind me of the old coots that were afraid when we got ACARS with screens and printers versus the old 10 character units.


I do believe the current contract covers the requirements of reassignment. Just out of curiosity, how many times have you been reassigned in the past year?

So you grieve it and lose. Then that would mean the reassignment was legal.

As I mentioned earlier, if you are worried about being spied upon at work here is something that will keep you in the clear. DON'T DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL WHILE AT WORK.



Talking about yourself in the third person. Nice.

The Jimmy - YouTube