Is this standard for LUAL in slow months or is something else afoot?

 

Every year since 2001 and not a big deal. It ends up being about 60 pilots total each month, and not all take the full month. It affects less than 1% of the pilots. When looked at over the full year, it ends up being about .5%

Just because they offer it, doesn't mean you will get it. I asked for it a few months last winter and some months no one in my BES was given it.

So instead of some reserves flying 40 hours, they fly 60 hours and some other pilots get the month off.

If we were short there would be no furloughees being recalled.

 

LCAL has had something similar called Voluntary Reduced Flying (VRF) where we could bid for 7 or 10 designated calendar days off without pay during slow months. Got Christmas to New Year's off without pay one year. Totally worth it. Hope they offer it this year.

 

The sUAL 2013 recalls occurred in the winter/spring with the intent that the pilots would be online for summer flying. A company fat on pilots does not recall pilots. When UAL messed up the recalls the summer plan was reduced to meet the actual head count. There were not excess pilots and the director of Manpower Planning was subsequently fired as a result due to the significant loss of revenue.

Back in late '09 when the final round of furloughs were happening the list was fine tuned down to single pilots as the last pilots were putting in their requests for voluntary furlough. When the merger was announced six months later UAL certainlly didn't have >400 extra pilots for the summer flying. Pilot shortages, particularly on the 320, were problems each summer during 2010, 2011, and 2012. The 2013 recalls were an attempt to avoid the same mistake in 2013. Ooops.

 

But Cadet, what about the "extra" pilots L-UAL has. You've certainly seen the hitler video by now that explains it all.

An airline only need 4,700 pilots. Anything over that is "extra".

Especially on a 747 or 777 (which NO ONE wants to fly). At any given time two of those pilots are sleeping anyway, so they are "extra".

Dude its Math 101.

 

Yup.

IMHO, it's comical that anybody that has worked for either CAL or UAL would think that management would keep an extra 400 excess pilots sitting around. If in doubt, just multiply 419 by $150K (pay/retirement/benefits per FO @12th yr) and that's the back of the napkin annual bill not counting training costs or other expenses. Now multiply that by several years for the amount of time that UAL allegedly retained 'excess' pilots.

The numbers get big quickly and our management is well known for its desire not to waste $$$ on things like employees that could otherwise go to bonuses.

 

VRF was eliminated from the JCBA.