A Pinnacle captain with some balls

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

I don't work for your airline so I don't know the extent of your problems. But I have been in similar situations. I do the best I can do to help things work. Just sitting there and taking a delay because "that's the only way the company is ever going to do anything about it" is wrong. Write an IOR (Irregular Operations Report), call your chief pilot, call your Vice President of Flight Operations, call your Chief Operating Officer. Contact the people that are able to make changes and make them. Don't just sit there taking a delay and not doing anything about it. Find out who can effect change and start working at it. Often people higher up the chain don't know that there are problems. You have to let them know. Sometimes nothing changes but I try to do whatever I can to make things run smoothly and efficiently for the passengers I'm flying. You are a professional. If your company isn't acting that way then at least you can.

 

[surplus1]

I have some dumb questions.... what did airlines do before pilots had cell phones? What happens if the pilots don't happen to have cell phones or are out of signal range?

Here's another dumb question.... why did this airplane not go back to the gate and get whatever was needed instead of sitting somewhere on the airport?

There's something missing in this story somewhere. Does this CA really have big balls or is it a small brain?

 

[DoinTime]

I don't think that anyone should have to use their personal cell phone for company business. In this particular situation though when the crew knew that someone wanted to talk to them via telephone they SHOULD HAVE RETURNED TO THE GATE and made that phone call. Holding your passengers hostage for your own personal little vendetta is EXTREMELY unprofessional.

 

[405]

4738

The crew spent about an hour talking to dispatch and CLC VIA ACARS after blocking out about a weight and balance issue. I agree that pilots shouldn't have to use their cell phones for company business. My opinion is this entire event could've been solved in about five minutes if the crew had gone back to the gate and called dispatch or CLC when the problem was noted.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

Yes.... I agree with TARP and I like the analogy.

If I worked for a company who actually gave a crap about my well-being on ANY level, I would bend over backwards to help it succeed and we would all be happy.

Right now, the love of flying is the only sustaining quality most airlines provide to the pilots.

If making some pax 15 minutes late here and there makes a point and improves the QOL, you bet your ass I would do the same thing. Management doesn't listen to the pilots, so maybe it would listen to some complaining customers????!!

Nothing unsafe or wrong about what that CA did. In fact, it was perfectly safe and by the book. Nowhere in anyone's OP Spec does it say that you have to use your own personal cell phone to call dispatch.

Thank you. Exactly to the point.

 

[PCL_128]

SkywestCJRpilot, that kind of mentality just doesn't work at Pinnacle. Upper management knows the problems, because we've been telling them for years. They simply don't care. Why should they when the pilots will bend over backwards to get a flight out on time? The Pinnacle management theory is simple: do as little as possible and spend as little money as possible and treat your employees as poorly as possible without losing the air service agreement with NWA. It really is that simple with these guys. Safety comes second. Treating people right comes a distant third. One of our executives was renowned for musing "Why are we hiring so many pilots when we can just junior man and extend the pilots we already have? If we can take them down to 7 days off, then let's go for it!" As I said before, working with the company is not an option.

 

[sf3boy]

The crew spent about an hour talking to dispatch and CLC VIA ACARS after blocking out about a weight and balance issue. I agree that pilots shouldn't have to use their cell phones for company business. My opinion is this entire event could've been solved in about five minutes if the crew had gone back to the gate and called dispatch or CLC when the problem was noted.

And there it is. When an airline can not staff properly and run their operation as it states in the approved manuals that they are always shaking at you and daring you to disobey while in recurrent, don't be ticked when I taxi my little plane back to the gate and shut em down. If the airline wants to look like fools for their operation, that's their problem. Me, I go back to the gate and let the "professionals" handle their own mess (this is an aside about XJ Saab ops in MEM). And no, my own personal property is not for use by my employer...for free. I'm here to make money, not friends.

 

[AvroJockey]

It's Not About the Money!

You guys are bickering over money when you’re missing the real issue with this event, safety!

The fact that they failed to communicate with their dispatcher is a grave safety and legal issue. If the dispatcher is not answering ACARS messages because they are too busy, then there are not enough dispatchers, and the airline should not be operating 121 revenue flights.

Now is doesn’t sound like they tried Delta/Atlanta Radio, though I don’t know if it’s within the scope of 9E operations, but this is a great way to stick it to the man. Delta radio is not cheap! Every time you use it, it cost an airline like 9E hundreds of dollars. If the dispatcher doesn’t answer an Atlanta Radio call, then I would disclose these shortcomings to your POI. If your POI doesn’t address the problem (because it doesn’t seem like he’s been doing his job at all, given recent events) then go to the regional or national level. As a Captain or FO, you have a responsibility to do this!

Yes, I’ve used my cell phone in certain circumstances to complete the mission, but I know and the respect the company I work for, and it was the easiest and quickest way to get things done.

 

[av8er2]

Don't use them.

I agree, don't use them. If they want us to , then pay us. I am so tired of being taken advantage of and given no respect.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Agreed - These crap airlines take from their employees every way that they can. Days off, pay ( playing with block times ), sleep, any opportunity to eat a meal & you end up putting your certificate at risk just to get some damn flights over with so you can get back home for your measly 9 hours reduced rest.

If someone wants to draw the line at their cell phone - more power to them.

 

[Markm1811]

DCA Dispatching. I was there

Ok.. I will come out.. I was one of the dispatchers here that night and we were in contact with the crew for over an hour via ACARs. We did not ignore nor miss any of the calls that came to us.. We asked the crew to Batphone us and they told us that DCA has no batphone working.. Dont underestimate what the dispatchers and CLC did without knowing the facts. With the station on the phone screaming, Tower on the phone complaining and 3 of us working on the issue that caused this problem we did as much as we could do from memphis . Its all in the MGL closeout people.. Too many flights to launch.. yup. too many PC issues .. yup.. too many fingers pointing at the SOC... yup..

So much for teamwork... You 9E frontseaters know how to get the facts...

over and out.
Midnight Brit..

 

[405]

What everyone has said about 9E being understaffed in dispatch is right on. We have two dispatchers that were promoted to different positions within the company and one that is leaving for another company. So there's three people with some sort of experience gone from the ranks now. These experienced people will be replaced by three people who have zero time sitting in this office trying to keep up with our workload. We have a lot more new people in there now with very little to no experience at all doing this job. Most of my day is spent helping the new people that don't know the little intricacies of dispatching at 9E along with keeping up with my own flights at my desk. I'm not saying I know everything there is to know in there but I've been here for almost five years and I think I have a pretty good grasp of the concept of getting a flight on it's way when something weird comes up.

Why this crew didn't go back to the gate to get this problem fixed is something I don't understand. There's no point in keeping passengers on the plane for an hour and a half while the Captain, Dispatch and CLC figure out a problem. Like I said before it would've taken a five minute phone call to figure this out. The problem this flight had brings up another issue I have with 9E: Our crews need to be doing their own weight and balance calculations and quit relying on CLC so much.

 

[Rook]

I'm sure that the company will come out with an AB about W&B being done manually from now on.

And Mark my man, we know youse guys in MEM are understaffed so don't take it personally. And I hate to monday morning quarterback the CA but if he didn't want to use the cell phone there's a holding pad behind the banjo in DCA, I would've just parked there, gone into ops and tie up the phone there until the issue was solved...or just wait in a pad watching the minutes tick off. CHA CHING!

 

[405]

To 9E crews

If you have a question about something in the SOC, PM me. As always, you're more than welcome to come to the SOC anytime you have questions or just want to take a look at what we do (or attempt to do). I'd be more than happy to show you around.

 

[JimNtexas]

I have a little retail business, nothing like an airline of any size. I do have employees.

If an employee uses his or car or cell phone to solve a business problem, I gladly reimburse them and thank them for their trouble. In fact, I sometimes chew them out if I find out that they DIDN'T ask me to reimburse their direct job related out of pocket expenses.

I don't do this because I'm Santa Claus, it's just good business. The cost is minimal compared to the cost of problems that would otherwise go unsolved. And I don't have jet planes full of customers sitting around with engines running!

I'm not being factious. Surely even regional air line pilots can file for and receive reimbursement of cell phone calls that reduce flight delays!

If they can't, then I don't blame the Captain for waiting for the company provided system to work. A company that can't trust a jet pilot to make a phone call is just too dumb to live.