Possible New Fall Staffing Solution at ASA

[Flybywire44]

~30 furloughs are bypassing, Fall flight hours are not dropping off.

Solution: Rush PBS in by the end of August so ASA don't have to hire or run as many upgrades.

We all lost relativity by voting in PBS.

 

[resetjet]

Agree ^

 

[goahead]

Bypassing??? I thought if they didn't come back they were done. I agree WTF is the union doing bending over backwards for the company. 3 runs in like 2 weeks??? worthless, sure I'll be working this Christmas haven't worked one in 8 years.

 

[Abernathy]

Let's put it tihs way. Our MEC is not interested in the well-being of the pilot group. They are self-absorbed, and unless you are a reckless senior pilot, they won't do much for you.

It's also possible that they are just plain stupid. BH and CT are pretty intelligent, and they can play our MEC like a piano. A good piano. Like a Steinway. Or maybe a Yamaha. Yeah a Yamaha. Definitely a Yamaha.

Sigh. I wouldn't know. I don't play the Piano.

 

[sayrejm]

i had a thought that a lot of furloughs selected last class available as a loop hole to get around "be recalled or be removed" part of the contract. You get the last class, it gives you more time to think or wait for something to happen, and if it doesn't then you resign before your class starts. It is just a loop hole to buy more time.

 

[goahead]

Good thing they're not in control of our future QOL, wait oh man were SOL. When's the last time our master super duper MEC pres flew??????

Yea Yea, I know he's busy working for us right......

 

[asayankee]

There is absolutely no purpose to bidding on the SAME LINES 2 weeks apart. People will either not change their original bid or will bid something unrealistic compared to what they would usually.....either way it makes "re-bidding" on the same lines completely pointless.

The goal isn't just to learn how to use the FLICA interface....but to see the results and how you would fare against others. By making the 2nd and 3rd bid "cycles" essentially worthless, the whole exercise becomes a waste.

Thanks ALPA...go screw yourselves

 

[SPDBRD747400]

I voted NO on PBS!

 

[Metro752]

If you like what Age 65 has done to every airline pilot in the United States then you can help bring more results like that to your very own airline with PBS!

 

[goahead]

Wish I could vote no on our current association

 

[crj567]

Let's put it tihs way. Our MEC is not interested in the well-being of the pilot group. They are self-absorbed, and unless you are a reckless senior pilot, they won't do much for you.

.

I am pretty senior-and I am very pissed at these guys! Our current MEC has sold us all down the river! I am not a reckless guy-I really do think we should all be united against the corruption and graft we have seen from mgmt for many years. And PBS is just a sorry excuse for a reach-around...

I am truly frightened by the actions of our MEC of late-they completely let SH and CT break one off in our collective butts the last couple of years.... For what?! I am very fearful that we are seeing a few guys get very entrenched in power-to the detriment of our group. It sure as hell is starting to look a lot like the kind of crap Comair used to have .

-If any of these guys had any honor, they would fight for what is best for us-or just resign and be replaced with someone who would!!

 

[ZeroThRUST]

What happened to the 3 months of parallel bidding that was part of the deal?

The 3 months were often mentioned during both the roadshow sales pitch and other informal meetings in the crew lounge, recurrent, etc.

Perhaps it was part of the PBS presentation. Yes, it was Planned B..ll Sh..t!

 

[Flybywire44]

What is the real reason behind this push for September PBS implementation?

 

[crj567]

What happened to the 3 months of parallel bidding that was part of the deal?

The 3 months were often mentioned during both the roadshow sales pitch and other informal meetings in the crew lounge, recurrent, etc.

Perhaps it was part of the PBS presentation. Yes, it was Planned B..ll Sh..t!

VERY Good Point!

I remember all that from the road show as well! I have often complained that things were definitely given a very "optimistic"slant during this show..... If this doesn't come to pass, then I think we can call it an outright lie! It was made very clear to us that there would be at least 3 months of "parallel bidding." There was no gray area-no interpretation possible. The "parallel bid" was clearly promised to us by our union.

-These guys are on very thin ice. I have a feeling that implementation of this crap PBS agreement will be the last straw.

 

[OCP]

What is the point in parallel bidding anyway? Not if we hate it anything is going to change. We already voted it in.

 

[crj567]

What is the point in parallel bidding anyway? Not if we hate it anything is going to change. We already voted it in.

True-

But at least we could learn our way around the system, and maybe figure out some of the pitfalls we would need to avoid. This was a big deal to me-I still voted "no," but I never would have imagined that we would soon be doing this for real-with no practice.

 

[maxcackel]

The schedulers are getting trained on PBS. They can't believe we VOTED for this and are laughing at how screwed the bottom 60-70% are going to be.

 

[bigshooter107]

Did I miss an email? When does PBS start?

 

[goahead]

Email your reps, I know it's a pain in the but by letting them know how outright pissed we are is the only thing that might help.

 

[wms]

What is the point in parallel bidding anyway? Not if we hate it anything is going to change. We already voted it in.

ditto

 

[wms]

It doesn't matter what system is used. The top get what they want, the middle get nothing and the bottom gets hosed.

 

[Tarzan]

Did I miss an email? When does PBS start?

[FONT=&quot]PBS Training Begins Soon[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Scheduled to begin August 5th , the customized version of PrefBid will be enabled on your Flica account. PBS trainers will be available in the crew lounge to assist you with questions you may have about the PBS software and to offer assistance. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In the following weeks, three PBS parallel bids will be held on August 11-15, August 20-23, and August 28-31. It is essential to achieve near 100% participation from our pilot group in all three bids to give everyone the best training experience. It is imperative that you set your DEFAULT BID prior to the first bid. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Question:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Why are we conducting weekly parallel bidding vs. monthly parallel bidding?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Answer:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Bidding three times in one month compared to three times in three months invokes the law of exercise, and stresses the idea that repetition is basic to the development of adequate response; things most often repeated are easiest remembered. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]It is [/FONT][FONT=&quot]critical for you to be proficient with PrefBid prior to bidding for schedules in the upcoming holiday months.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Pilot PBS trainers will be available during the entire practice process to be an additional resource. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To help yourself ahead of time, please review the demo videos found on the Flica website main page. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

 

[Data]

It doesn't matter what system is used. The top get what they want, the middle get nothing and the bottom gets hosed.

Speaking of the top, where'd Commander Helms go, did he take a COMA or something?

 

[centralpilot]

[FONT=&quot]PBS Training Begins Soon[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Question:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Why are we conducting weekly parallel bidding vs. monthly parallel bidding?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Answer:[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Bidding three times in one month compared to three times in three months invokes the law of exercise, and stresses the idea that repetition is basic to the development of adequate response; things most often repeated are easiest remembered. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]It is [/FONT][FONT=&quot]critical for you to be proficient with PrefBid prior to bidding for schedules in the upcoming holiday months.[/FONT]

Real Answer: The company wants PBS live ASAP and ALPA is obliging them.

Who wants to bid 4 times in one month? Unless they have 3 different sets of pairing data, what good will 3 bids in one month achieve? If they use different pairing data for each practice bid, how will that be "parallel bidding". I thought the entire point of the parallel bids was to see the effects of your PBS bid vs. your normal line bidding pattern for 3 cycles. I distinctly remember them saying we would have one month of training followed by 3 months of parallel bidding in the PBS roadshows. What incentive does the union have to rush this?

 

[the palm]

Real Answer: The company wants PBS live ASAP and ALPA is obliging them.

Who wants to bid 4 times in one month? Unless they have 3 different sets of pairing data, what good will 3 bids in one month achieve? If they use different pairing data for each practice bid, how will that be "parallel bidding". I thought the entire point of the parallel bids was to see the effects of your PBS bid vs. your normal line bidding pattern for 3 cycles. I distinctly remember them saying we would have one month of training followed by 3 months of parallel bidding in the PBS roadshows. What incentive does the union have to rush this?

I say the quicker we get this thing going the better. We voted for this thing overwhelmingly so it must be better than what we have now. We have a month to practice with it. Thats all I need.

Get this thing online now! Bye bye integration. Bye bye red arrows. Hello partial trip drops and first come first served open time.

 

[601Pilot]

Email your reps, I know it's a pain in the but by letting them know how outright pissed we are is the only thing that might help.

Yes, email the reps and let them know how pissed you are at this development. We can stop this now, but it will take some work from the pilot group. If the company wanted it this quickly, then they should have expedited the work on their end.

ALPA also forgot to tell you that the pairings that will be used for the parallel bids will be fictitious pairings which follow the LOA; not the actual pairings for September. What good will that do? I can build a great schedule if I can make up the pairings!

 

[777forever]

I say the quicker we get this thing going the better. We voted for this thing overwhelmingly so it must be better than what we have now. We have a month to practice with it. Thats all I need.

Get this thing online now! Bye bye integration. Bye bye red arrows. Hello partial trip drops and first come first served open time.

Free beer for this man! WELL SAID!

 

[centralpilot]

ALPA also forgot to tell you that the pairings that will be used for the parallel bids will be fictitious pairings which follow the LOA; not the actual pairings for September. What good will that do? I can build a great schedule if I can make up the pairings!

Actually, on further thought, it kinda makes sense to use fictitious pairings for the practice bids. I doubt the PBS system would give good solutions with our present pairings (high % of 4-days). If that's the case, there is no point to practice bidding parallel to normal line bidding as it would be comparing apples to oranges. Gripes retracted.

 

[Dannone]

I spoke with one of the Alpa guys today. We have been below 60% four day trips for a year according to him. The way it was explained it is not 4 day lines but trips that is maxed at 60%. Also, he said the point of practice bids was to get to know how to use the system, not to see what you will hold. The company is now laughing at us. I don't trust them or Alpa. Good news is that I have heard of 3 junior FO girls getting hired at Delta. Such a joke!!! The whole industry is fubar!!!

 

[sswanson]

"No Asa Alpa" group is formed on FACEBOOK. 38 members so far and at least 1 is from our MEC I know you will figure out who it is. Take a look