ABX furloughs

[ABXbooger]

Hvydriver, first off thanks for the support. At ABX, we have allowed the company the leisure of junior manning weeks in advance by way of a letter in your at work mailbox. They cannot charge you a sick day if you call in sick because it is already a day off.

Bottom line is that if a guy doesn't want to fly he can get out of it. Problem is, too many people look at it as HUGE MONEY and can't bring themselves to do it.

I suggest we return the favor and project weeks in advance when we will not be coming to work. Don't know how they can look at a schedule 3 weeks from now and know that between now and then nobody will pick up that trip etc.

 

[J3CubDriver]

It makes me sick and laugh at the same time to hear how OPF ban doesn't work. Remember 1997. Remember guys many of us have flown for other airlines and OPF bans do work. Sacrafice a little in the short term for future gains. I can't help that some of you need 5-10 days OPF to break even. Who's fault is that! You may have to sell that corvette, but how about the furloughed hostage that can't make his house payment. It's time to be a team and work as a team.

 

[ke4lir]

It makes me sick and laugh at the same time to hear how OPF ban doesn't work. Remember 1997. Remember guys many of us have flown for other airlines and OPF bans do work. Sacrafice a little in the short term for future gains. I can't help that some of you need 5-10 days OPF to break even. Who's fault is that! You may have to sell that corvette, but how about the furloughed hostage that can't make his house payment. It's time to be a team and work as a team.

Thanks J3CubDriver, the house just went on the market. Wish you all the best!

 

[DC-9er]

I was actually more ticked at the jab at senior pilots. So they're to blame for the ANA schedule?

ANd it always jerks me when, until this morning, the first DC9 guys to b!tch about the open flying were ALWAYS the ones too junior to get ANY. Yes, I mean you, B.W. and you, R.W. Now they're the ones who'll get the JM calls.

 

[ABXbooger]

no, I'm not saying they are to blame for the ANA stuff, but the people who seem to be trying to derail not only the 23 days stuff but the whole ANA deal are so senior that there would be almost no conceivable way they would have to do it. That is why I think they want to do it, just on their own agenda.

I have never bid one day of OPF, or sold any vacation, it's been a moral issue for me since I spent 2.5 years on furlough. We still have guys on furlough from 2000.

 

[AV8OR]

WOW, JM weeks in advance? That's incredible. Apparently poor planning on their part DOES constitute an emergency on your part.

We at AStar of course will fully support any legal job action.

 

[Sporto]

I was actually more ticked at the jab at senior pilots. So they're to blame for the ANA schedule?

ANd it always jerks me when, until this morning, the first DC9 guys to b!tch about the open flying were ALWAYS the ones too junior to get ANY. Yes, I mean you, B.W. and you, R.W. Now they're the ones who'll get the JM calls.

That's the spirit 9er! Now if only we can get 600 other guys and gals to commit we might have a real impact. Never the less, My family and I thank you.

 

[Box-Hauler]

I was actually more ticked at the jab at senior pilots. So they're to blame for the ANA schedule?

ANd it always jerks me when, until this morning, the first DC9 guys to b!tch about the open flying were ALWAYS the ones too junior to get ANY. Yes, I mean you, B.W. and you, R.W. Now they're the ones who'll get the JM calls.

Wow,
And this is why we have no unity. I know I could hold open time, I choose to live below my income level. I choose family and friends over whoreing myself out for 4.5. Is it too much to ask for 1 or 2 months of no opf and vacation buy back.

I guess you will be sending all your opf money to the guys on the streets to pay for their toys.......you know food, shelter, health insurance. The really cools stuff..........

I learned in kindergarden right and wrong. Maybe you should audit the class.

P.S. I have always bitched about the opf flyig from this group of pilots, whether I was senior or junior.

 

[GoABX]

Just to be clear, we are in status quo and we will conduct no job action.

Several members are realizing that it is morally unacceptable to do the work of another man, when pilots are being forced out work because the company claims there is not enough work to keep them on the payroll. This is a personal decision.

Additionally, constantly changing one's circadian rhythm makes this job extremely challenging. So when your schedule unexpectantly changes due to being forced to fly when you were expecting to be off; it makes sleep planning and management impossible. Eventually exhaustion and fatigue set in. Hopefully no one pushes safety in fear of management reprisals. When a pilot judges himself to be too fatigued to safely perform his duties, it is a personal decision. The company can't tell him he is rested and the union can't tell him he is tired. Both would be wrong. It is a personal decision.

When I heard the bad news I thought here we go again. But I have been surprised by a larger number of senior overtimers who have pledged to stop doing things that facilitate the layoff of fellow workers.

For those on the fence, it is never too late to do the right thing.

I think one of the reasons this time might be different is that many pilots feel the company violated a trust. Given the high frequency of junior manning and the company's reliance on people flying open time; there is no arguing that the airline is not under-staffed. There has been a lot of going the extra mile over the past 4 years so ABX could save money and look good for DHL. The pilots were also pretty open minded on creative ways to make ANA work. Now, in the 11th hour of negotiations and ANA kicking off we get a punch in the stomach. A lot of goodwill was killed in one day.

 

[two(2)%]

When I heard the bad news I thought here we go again. But I have been surprised by a larger number of senior overtimers who have pledged to stop doing things that facilitate the layoff of fellow workers.

.

Let's just see where our friends The Penquin and Erich Hartmann stand on this issue shall we? Please stop rationalizing furloughs as a rite of passage just because it happened to you in the past. As long as the nifty fifty entitlement sentiment exists, our young gazelles get slaughtered.

Somehow at least 95% of the membership must adhere to this concept. The problem is that some in our group may observe others who wouldn't normally obtain overtime basking in their windfall and the whole self-imposed ban goes to scratch.

 

[penguin22]

Blah,
Blah,
Blah.

Butt Out, RHOID.

You're not part of this group, quit pretending to be

 

[penguin22]

Just to be clear, we are in status quo and we will conduct no job action.

Several members are realizing that it is morally unacceptable to do the work of another man, when pilots are being forced out work because the company claims there is not enough work to keep them on the payroll. This is a personal decision.

Additionally, constantly changing one's circadian rhythm makes this job extremely challenging. So when your schedule unexpectantly changes due to being forced to fly when you were expecting to be off; it makes sleep planning and management impossible. Eventually exhaustion and fatigue set in. Hopefully no one pushes safety in fear of management reprisals. When a pilot judges himself to be too fatigued to safely perform his duties, it is a personal decision. The company can't tell him he is rested and the union can't tell him he is tired. Both would be wrong. It is a personal decision.

When I heard the bad news I thought here we go again. But I have been surprised by a larger number of senior overtimers who have pledged to stop doing things that facilitate the layoff of fellow workers.

For those on the fence, it is never too late to do the right thing.

I think one of the reasons this time might be different is that many pilots feel the company violated a trust. Given the high frequency of junior manning and the company's reliance on people flying open time; there is no arguing that the airline is not under-staffed. There has been a lot of going the extra mile over the past 4 years so ABX could save money and look good for DHL. The pilots were also pretty open minded on creative ways to make ANA work. Now, in the 11th hour of negotiations and ANA kicking off we get a punch in the stomach. A lot of goodwill was killed in one day.

excellent

 

[HeavyjetDC8]

Nothing wrong with vacation buy back as we all get the opportunity to take it for ourselves, but too much OPF being inequitably distributed on a seniority takes all basis causes many problems.

Unfortunately we do have several whores in our midst prepared to put paycheck over quality of life and like pigs slurping at the trough they're going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming from what they believe to be theirs.

It's always been a problem here which at times becomes more apparent than at others. Ex Air Midwest (senior few) forming an alliance with PFEs (flying mechanics) against a majority who have little in common with either clique. I'd like to see an end to OPF and a real term pay rise which isn't based upon flying overtime trips. 15 days a month is enough, 23 in Japan is a joke but not one to be laughed at.

Two individuals with horrible training histories showing marginal competence have just been put into the right seat of the DC-9; they're taking jobs away from real pilots. Our ( your?) union went to bat for them.Think about that and look at where the bulk of OPF is going and you'll get the big picture.

 

[two(2)%]

Butt Out, RHOID.

You're not part of this group, quit pretending to be

I never claimed I was part of the nifty-fifty or for that matter, the golden ninety. I petitioned but my membership was denied because my career wasn't yet washed up as I was employed after ABX became a viable career choice but prior to being sold down the acmi river

I understand your trepidation on the OPF issue. Maybe 1224 needs a twelve step program to help those who want to quit but cannot. OPF anonymous. We could even have interventions for those who continue to abuse this apparent crack-like epidemic at ABX.

It's important to protect your seniority. Just try not to marginalize those underneath you.

 

[ABXbooger]

Super Proffer award is out. 14 of the 17 FO's coming from the 9 right seat. I didn't look much at the CA awards, but I did recognize several 9 CA's in there.

 

[GoABX]

At least 13 of the captains are coming from the left seat of the 9. I would have bet both seats would have gone much more junior than they did. Hopefully they will start to backfill the 9C seats and maybe even the 8 too.

 

[abxaviator]

Any word from today's Shareholders' Meeting?

 

[abxaviator]

"We are pleased with our charter results during what is traditionally a soft quarter for ACMI markets," stated Hete. "The outlook for the remainder of the year is encouraging. We expect to deploy five more Boeing 767 in 2007 along with one in 2008 for a total of thirteen aircraft in this segment."

SIX MORE aircraft to fly ACMIwithin a year, yet we are overstaffed!?!

 

[SkyMiles]

They are going to add 6 767's but what about the end of the 8 sometime this fall and the rumors of parking 12 more 9's?

 

[ABXbooger]

Here is what our illustrious leader wrote in his last WIGO. Seems funny he is asking for us to "step up" and work with the company to help move in a new direction, then just a few days later, they insist that a cost cutting move is what we the company must have to excel.

I say we "step up" and do the right thing for our careers...tell management that moral boosters like furloughs aren't going to make this ANA thing work. Tell them that negotiating a good contract will enable us to really work with them and make us a player in Asia. The pilots are the ones that will make this thing great or a failure, not management.



Chief Pilot Perspective:

As pilots we’re used to having all available information before we step to our jet. We start with knowing where we are, where we’re going, everything in-between and even an alternate plan should the first plan not work. Most of the decisions during the trip are in our control or at least under our direct supervision. Business is much the same in a general sense.

In business you know where you are and where you want (or need) to go. The individual, however, as part of the larger plan, doesn’t have direct control over the decisions or the same level of detail as the pilot of their own flight. Just as in a flight, business decisions and opportunities must be acted upon in a timely manner because if you put everything off until you’re sure of it, you’ll get nothing done and the opportunity may be lost. That’s where trust and faith in the system come into play.

Sometimes, in order to take advantage of an opportunity, we have to take action without all the details which not easy for us pilot types. Over 20 years ago a few crewmembers signed up to fly the DC-8. Despite the uncertainty of training, schedules, and the like, this initial cadre of crewmembers pulled together to bring ABX into the "heavy" airlift market. With extreme professionalism they made that defining moment for our company possible and directly contributed to the double-digit growth we enjoyed during that time. We have another opportunity, of potentially greater proportion, to move ABX into the Global market by partnering with Air Transport World’s "2006 Airline of the Year" All Nippon Airways (ANA).

To capitalize on this opportunity we will have to act without every detail of information. Admittedly, we don’t have all the specifics for the startup of this operation, so we must work out of our comfort zone. But just as things worked out for the adventurous initial cadre in the DC-8, the system will take care of those willing to step up to make our global opportunity and growth a reality.

Are you up to the challenge?

That’s it for this WIGO

Work Smart, Work Hard, Have Fun, and Fly Safe!

Mike