A320 future in EWR
 

What's going on with the A320 in EWR? For a while it seemed like they were increasing staffing levels and now on this recent bid their going from 91 captains today down to 73 captains by May. I would think with the introduction of the additional 320s we are getting from China would increase flying. Anyone know what's up?

from the recent flight ops update:

EWR – The A320 flying in EWR is sharply decreasing due to the concentration of the 320 departures out of four of our hubs (ORD, DEN, IAH and SFO, which contain 80% of the hub departures). This means most of the A320 departures for in the NYC area are actually out of LGA. Our EWR base is properly staffed on this fleet, and will continue to provide the required staffing to operate those flights out of EWR and LGA.

I saw that and in one sentence the 320 is decreasing, and the next sentence the base is properly staffed.
IF you look at the bid packages it seems most flying is still concentrated out of EWR. Something doesn't make sense here?
So properly staffed would mean no more reductions? No?

Yeah not sure, going back the last three vacancy bids the min staffing has been 70, 72, 73. The Max number has decreased my guess is they feel comfortable with the staffing but they have left the minimum low to avoid backfills.

Possibly, but there are 5 or 6 back fills on the current bid.
Who knows what their plan is? I would surmise that they don't
Even know.

Big picture, per the flight ops update..
They are going focusing the Airbus hub flying out of DEN, IAH, SFO, and ORD. These hubs will be set up to do major reliability maintenance at night. More and more of the New York Airbus flying will be flown out of LGA. The February mix of EWR/LGA was 50%/50%. It improved slightly in March to 60%/40%, but their stated intentions are to sharply decrease EWR Airbus flying.

If you look at the staffing min max numbers going back about 18 months, they've gone from a min of about 100 captains to a min of 73. At the same time, they've grown the SFO Airbus captains from a min of 100 to a min near 150.

Not the best news for us New York Airbus folks, unless you live closer to LGA.

Yeah, I actually started thinking about an LGA crashpad since the changes have taken place. I haven't flown out of EWR since early January.

What about DCA?

So where are all the additional busses going?
They seem to be keeping the max around the high 80s. Do you think that number will slip to 73?
Thanks for the info.

Hard to say .. honestly, I'd wait until after the summer to make any big decisions regarding the Airbus and bases. The latest bid is supposed to be for summer staffing levels; thus, staffing after this bid will probably stay stable until September or October. Maybe by then we will hear more information from manpower planning.

To add to the conversation, I'm trying to get to lax on the bus. The latest bid doesn't have any vacancies in lax. Anyone know what the outlook might be for lax and the bus.

That number IS at 73 on the min max bulletin, 1605V, as well as the category summary from 1604V. Some of the bids OUT of the base from the prior bid haven't actually been consumated yet so the total number in the base for March bidding is higher. By June or so, the base will be at 73 captains, absent any growth bids. If anything, I'd expect the number to go even lower through attrition. Not a rosy picture, but it is what it is. I'm thinking there's a 757 left seat with my name on it in the not too distant future :).

On the FO side there is a reduction of 10 people from the march to April staffing report, also the current vacancy bid isn't showing backfills for people taking laterals. It looks simlar to what's happening in EWR.

Awesome news!! And I just bid over to the Bus from the 73 in EWR! --eye roll--

That's cause you went full retard, man. You never go full retard. :D

Hey, cheer up .. everybody loves going through training. :). Fifi is a great airplane; you'll enjoy flying her.

Had a MX issue on the Bus in EWR last week. Called up hub MX ready to push off the gate. The guy asked us to repeat our nose number and then says, "oh geez, you're a Bus. Thought you were a 73, in that case give me a minute." We were able to fix the problem, and his reply, "thank god!" Guess they are not real Bus familiar in EWR. LOL

Yes, it's not a 50 year old guppy. Leave your hammer and duct tape in the tool box.

50 year old guppy? I thought those were all parked to make the merger happen.

Even the new ones are 50 year old technology. They just have fresh paint, some glass and stretched beyond any normal design limits. It's a POS. After flying this plane I've learned the 737NG means no good.

I think the Recall buttons were recycled from 50 year old ones. And somehow, they found a bunch of toilet seats that won't stay up.

Waaaaa. You don't need your kneecap , hearing, or a place for your overnight bag.

Well played sir, well played.

Nicer PFD/MFD displays than the 30ish year old 757/767 though. I miss the 73NG in that one aspect.

Any thoughts on whether there will be TDYs this summer from EWR 320s to other domiciles with the surplus of F/Os?

Doubt it just look at the perge from EWR 320 on this bid alone. Also with only 7 Un-filled 320 spots system wide it would appear the 320 is nearing a staffed position......once everyone is trained.

Just wondering how many jump seats on the bus?
Thanks...

Deux chaises tres confortable.

And even with 4 guys up front with all their bags, it's way more comfortable than the guppy!:D

From a recent ALPA email:

*************For the forseeable future, NYC Airbus flying will be concentrated in LGA. If starting trips in LGA is not good for you, it is time to consider changing aircraft or base. *************

Just wonderful. Guess I'll be bidding Dulles.

Lets see how junior EWR 320 CA goes now......I'm not sure how much of an affect it will have seeing as how it used to be JFK 320 which was almost all LGA flying with a sprinkling of EWR.

Will be interesting to watch.

This rat fled the sinking ship. Some three month new hire is about to become a lineholder.

Message me if you want advice on how to get to LGA from EWR at 5 AM.

Probably have zero effect or, alternatively, make the list even more senior as the junior Captains are bailing. The majority (>90%) of the EWR 320 Captains are legacy United, and most of them live closer to LGA/JFK than they do EWR, particularly the most senior ones. For most, getting across the Hudson to EWR is painful. Further, why would they bid to the 757 that pays the same rate but adds 45-60 mins to their drive.

From my location in PA, LGA and EWR are about equal driving times so the shift doesn't directly impact me. The shrinking base, however, does, as my relative seniority has dropped all the way back to where it was 18 months ago.

Had a feeling that was the case. I didn't know how much new blood had come into the base over the last couple of years.