Contract Dispatching

[SierraPapa356]

as to the above post, I was Referring to the Politicians of course..

The ADF has put out its statement on this matter..

FAA decides to add "Contract Dispatching" to its earlier published 2009 NPRM while they claimed back in 2008 they were not interested:
On January 12, 2009, the FAA issued and published a noticed of proposed rulemaking on training qualifications, service, and use of crew members and aircraft dispatchers which ADF responded to 2009_NPRM_Response.pdf.
Now the FAA is attempting to push through "Contract Dispatching" as part of its newly published SNPRM with just 60 days to respond!
"Considering Contract Dispatching was not part of the original NPRM in 2009 and FAA also wrote a letter to us the stating they were not pursuing this in 2008, FAA_Response_to_ADF.pdf why such a urgency to add this?" Joseph Miceli, President of the ADF asked.
ADF has concerns with the FAA's urgent need to outsource FAR 121 dispatchers to the lowest bidder as part of it's latest published SNPRM putting America's flying public and world wide travelers at risk.
"Aircraft Dispatching is not like getting a bid to have your aircraft overhauled outside US soil" states Joe Miceli, "and you think the FAA would have learned from all those third party maintenance fines it has recently handed out". "Contract Dispatching can only compromising Safety, Operational Control, and Mutual Trust between the Captain and his/her FAR 121 Licensed Dispatcher and should NEVER be allowed as an option with this SNPRM".
ADF urgently suggests that ALL FAR 121 licensed Aircraft Dispatchers, members and union leadership respond to this SNPRM with factual informational and also write or contact you local elected state official on why this issue should not be allowed to continue!
ADF will send it's official comment to the FAA's SNPRM issued and reach out to the Congressional Aviation Sub-Committee insuring all parties are aware of this surprise addition to the original 2009 NPRM.
Members of ADF please know that your leadership and its board members are committed to having YOUR VOICE HEARD! ADF and it's membership pride itself on the highest single level of safety and continue to fight this and other attempts to lower the level of safety to the lowest bidder!
Sincerely,
Joseph J Miceli
President-Airline Dispatchers Federation

Hope they are successful in stopping this addition to the rule..

I am glad the ADF put out the 1st word on this I and am glad to be a dues paying member. I know others will follow that I need not mention here. What ever your personal feeling we all need to get everyone we know to send in comments to stop this rule. If allowed your career as you know it will be over in less than ten years. I hope that we have a labor friendly President that would not allow such a bill to be passed, if so vote him out! If 1/4 of the Dispatchers employed by US carriers were out during a shift the public would become very aware of the role the Dispatcher plays in safety of flight. Just saying......

 

[homerjdispatch]

Wrote my Senators and congressman... How do I comment on this?

 

[SierraPapa356]

http://www.regulations.gov/#!searchResults;cp=O;rpp=10;po=0;s=aircraft+dispatchers

try this link

 

[CRJDispatchKid]

Boycott Jepps...use Lido?!

 

[propsarebest]

Once you get used to it, LIDO is ONE MILLION times better than Jepp...

 

[Kohflot]

There's an important thing to remember here. This isn't about Jeppesen. They're a good company, and we can hardly blame them for seeking more business.

Some other company would be in support of this if Jepp wasn't.

 

[SKC]

Once you get used to it, LIDO is ONE MILLION times better than Jepp...

Which Jepp program are you comparing? You ought to see Dispatch Control. Quite a bit better than Ops Control if that's what you're using.

 

[propsarebest]

I meant their charts/plates. And LIDO is less than 1/3 the cost too.

 

[airbrush]

Jeppesen

Since there is at least a chance that this could be the future of our profession, is there anyone here who has experience working for Jeppesen or knows someone who does? It would be interesting to get a sense of how they threat their people, especially pay scales (since this is a cost-cutting measure after all), and whtever else they can share.

 

[Kohflot]

It would be interesting to get a sense of how they threat their people, especially pay scales (since this is a cost-cutting measure after all), and whatever else they can share.

I don't work for them, but know folks that do.

They pay well.
They have a nice HQ with a cafeteria and all (we have a few wheels of death).
At present, their dispatchers work part-time from home.

 

[MaceyHold]

Jepp treats it's people very well. All of their dispatchers are ex-121, and have, on average, 12-15 years experience. Some are retired 121 from the majors, several were hired when their local airline was bought by a regional, and others just left their 121 carrier for something different. Previous experience varies from line dispatcher to SOC Duty Manager to SOC Director. There is a wide swath of different backgrounds in the group.

Starting pay is very good. Dispatchers work for it though. A 10-hour shift doesn't have much down time. There are a handful of customers, but they fly all over the world. They each have their own rules and policies, so you have to stay sharp. A lot of the dispatcher's time is devoted to planning trips weeks in advance, then dispatching them on the day of flight.

Overall, a happy group of employees, with very good experience.

 

[homerjdispatch]

Jepp treats it's people very well. All of their dispatchers are ex-121, and have, on average, 12-15 years experience. Some are retired 121 from the majors, several were hired when their local airline was bought by a regional, and others just left their 121 carrier for something different. Previous experience varies from line dispatcher to SOC Duty Manager to SOC Director. There is a wide swath of different backgrounds in the group.

Starting pay is very good. Dispatchers work for it though. A 10-hour shift doesn't have much down time. There are a handful of customers, but they fly all over the world. They each have their own rules and policies, so you have to stay sharp. A lot of the dispatcher's time is devoted to planning trips weeks in advance, then dispatching them on the day of flight.

Overall, a happy group of employees, with very good experience.

of course, if they are bidding to take away from majors, that all goes downhill real fast!

 

[Pull To Guns]

Starting pay is very good.

"Very good" means different things to different folks. Actual numbers would be much more helpful if you know them.

I have noticed that between us dispatchers, we are reluctant to discuss exactly what we are paid. I don't know why that is. It would seem if we shared this info, it would help the whole community and save us time in job searches. We could eliminate and expose the $13/hr release mills.

That is where WDFF was so valuable. It was a central source of info, but our lack of interest sank that. I don't get it. Are we afraid of getting fired if we divulge what our employers are paying us, or just embarrassed?

 

[Pull To Guns]

of course, if they are bidding to take away from majors, that all goes downhill real fast!

HJD, you are correctomundo! Jepp will sell to the majors and regionals that they can do it cheaper than an in-house OCC. Start-up release mills across the country will attempt to underbid Jepp and the race to the bottom begins.

Just like when the majors outsourced flying to the regionals (and I am a regional airline sympathizer). Once this outsourcing happens, you can't put toothpaste back in the tube, its a done deal.

Pessimism is not my nature, but I see choppy waters ahead.

 

[MaceyHold]

"Very good" means different things to different folks. Actual numbers would be much more helpful if you know them.

Fantastic point. So what does "Very good" mean to you?