A Pinnacle captain with some balls

[TIS]

That was stupid of the CA. Aren't we in the business to move people from point A to point B?

No, the company is.

If you don't like something the company is doing you should take it up with them at an appropriate time.

I'm quite confident they have. I'm also quite confident no one at that company, in business to move people around, was listening.

Don't get in a pissing match and punish the people in the back.

Fine, then pick up the mesages and respond to them as probably every manual on the subject of company operations says to do.

If what you posted is correct then that shows a lack of class.

Yup! It sure does. A company that relies on its pilots' personal expenditures to help float their less-than-adequate operational scheme has no class!

 

[TIS]

BOO HOO!!! You have a responsibility to the people in your care. Like I said, take it up with the company but don't punish the passengers. Am I the only who thinks this is an outrage?

Again you pin the happiness of the passengers squarely on the actions of the crew but that just ain't all there is to it - and with 15,000 hours you KNOW that!

It may well be an outrage but the pilot was WELL within his rights to decline to use a form of communication that is a) probably illegal once the plane is underway according to their own pre-departure briefing, and b) generates a cost of operation to be bourne by the company, not it's employees.

A company with some class gets its ducks in a row. This one clearly doesn't - at least not all the time - and therein lies the outrage sir. Leave the pilots out of it. They're just doing their jobs.

 

[TWA Dude]

If you use your cellphone for business purposes it becomes tax-deductable.

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

I was curious how much I used my cell phone for calling the company for work last month. I looked on my statement and I called the company for work related issues (maintenance, dispatch, etc.) 53 minutes. That amounts to $4.51 last month for my cell phone plan. Now it sure would be nice to have the company pay for that. But had I spent 10 minutes getting out of the cockpit every time to find a landline phone or waited 10 minutes for an ACARS message instead of just using my cell phone then I would have spent 3 hours and 20 minutes of my own time, and almost all of it in the cockpit at the gate not with the main cabin door closed making money. I consider the $4.51 well worth it for my own savings of time. What do you want? Do you want the company to pay you $4.51 a month in cell phone expenses? If so they'll negotiate something else in return which will cost you much more. Pick your battles. Cell phones expenses aren't it.

 

[PCL_128]

What do you want? Do you want the company to pay you $4.51 a month in cell phone expenses?

No, I want the company to fix the root cause of the problem. The problem here is that the company is not answering messages that are being sent by approved means. The dispatchers are so overworked and understaffed that they can't handle all the flights that are thrown at them each hour. Our computer systems used in SOC are so old that they sometimes crash several times an hour. The cell phone minutes isn't the issue, the issue is an entire support structure that is practically nonexistent. The only way to fix that is by taking delays because of it. Without that, management will just turn their back on the problem and gladly accept the "help" from the pilot force. The pilots have to do more than our fair share at this company to keep things running smoothly. It's time for managment to shift the burdens where they actually belong.

 

[redbook]

cell phone expenses are a real and legitimate expense. Trans States, despite our current problems, will reimburse pilots for the minutes used in company business. Just submit an expense report and you are paid. I think you guys might be just assuming you are not going to get reimbursed at other airlines.

 

[PCL_128]

Just submit an expense report and you are paid. I think you guys might be just assuming you are not going to get reimbursed at other airlines.

It's been tried. Management at Pinnacle does not reimburse for cell phone expenses.

 

[jayme]

SkyWest does, according to a captain I just flew with.

 

[Flying Illini]

Ok, lets look at this from another perspective. The passenger. If I knew that I was sitting in an uncomfortable, hot, metal tube for 1.5 hrs b/c the pilots wouldn't use 2 measly cell minutes because "it's the principle of the matter," not only would I be writing a letter to management about it, I would have volunteered my phone to get us on our way!

Ok, company approved avenues didn't work, you can sit and play disgruntled airline pilot, OR you can get your phone, make a phone call and quickly explain the situation, then hang up (1 or 2 minute phone call) then wait for your ACARS message.

I agree, you have to draw the line somewhere, but if you have to use your cell phone for company business twice a month, then so be it. If it's being abused by the company, then it's a problem, but you could have had 50 happy pax, instead you have 50 unhappy pax.

Just get the job done.


Oh yeah, I sometimes have to use my cell phone in Canada on business. The company didn't use to reimburse us, though they do now. But it's a flat rate and it doesn't cover my entire plan. So I guess, calls that have to be made in Canada, still come out of my pocket, oh well, it's got to be done to get the job done and to keep the customers happy.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

There's a few that can't seem to get by the cell phone issue. I don't work for Pinnacle, and thankfully where I work this is rarely ever an issue. But like PCL said this issue at Pinnacle apparently goes much deeper than simply using a cell phone. It is a staffing problem that needs to be fixed. If people keep going on a limb to "get the job done", then why should the company ever be motiviated to get their act together?

 

[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.