ABX furloughs

[Clipperskip]

ABX losing cities

To answer the question, DHL is methodically transferring flying to Astar and thereby relieving ABX of route structure. Too many cities to list here but the latest to go will be PIT, GRR, TLH. Someone else could impress you with the actual number but I'm guessing we've lost close to 30 cities. As a result, ABX is having to take aircraft out of service and furlough crewmembers. DHL is within it's right as per the ACMI contract to reduce the number of aircraft it contracts from ABX, but it doesn't make sense when you consider ABX's performance.
The ANA flying is definitely a step into the International market but that is a separate ACMI contract that will live or die on it's own.
I don't know if anyone else has looked at it from this perspective, but the way DHL is shuffling work over to Astar has the net effect of settling their scope grievance via the back door. Interesting.....

To be perfectly clear... PIT and GRR (present ABX cities) are expected to become Astar through flights. TLH is expected to be turned over to a feeder as it was before, probably from JAX. I am assuming that BHM will continue on to LIT instead of TLH.

It will be interesting to see how the new announcement of relaxed US/China route authorities by 2011 will impact the possible future China ops by ABX. It is obvious that Mr. Hete wants our presence over there and in a big way. This could really be the start of something big. Too bad the DHL system turned out to be such a disappointment to us all. It appear to have such potential when the first announcement was made.

As far as Chief Pilot rhetoric about additional furloughs...It certainly is possible but let's remember something...This has been the first time in my 15+ years at the company that the pilot group has had any real negotiating power at all (ANA). I would surmise that this is an effort from flight management's side to attempt to regain some perceived leverage against our group. Lower the contract expectations is the game! Let's not fall for it.

 

[penguin22]

I don't know if anyone else has looked at it from this perspective, but the way DHL is shuffling work over to Astar has the net effect of settling their scope grievance via the back door. Interesting.....

Interesting, yes. But I think its just a matter of money, not scope. Under Astar's current ACMI, DHL pays Astar whether they fly or not, so they fly em. DHL only pays ABX for what we actually fly. So we're the ones that are suffering DHL's service cutbacks.

 

[abxaviator]

The COF Award posted day before yesterday for 5/23-31 shows 24 guys bidding 30 or so days! Kinda flies in the face of the stated 7 guys in June.

 

[Bitter]

The COF Award posted day before yesterday for 5/23-31 shows 24 guys bidding 30 or so days! Kinda flies in the face of the stated 7 guys in June.

Several union honchos too....what gives?

 

[BoxesRus]

Several union honchos too....what gives?

E-Board types?

 

[LarryinTN]

The COF Award posted day before yesterday for 5/23-31 shows 24 guys bidding 30 or so days! Kinda flies in the face of the stated 7 guys in June.

Two points.

1. Nobody ever said anything about not bidding OPF in May.

2. The COF award report doesn't tell you WHEN they bid and were awarded the COF trips. Many of those trips, if not all of them, were awarded before the decision was made to stop bidding OPF. I know that at least two of the guys on that list tried to give those trips back but their schedulers wouldn't take them back.

 

[LarryinTN]

Please forgive me for my ignorance, but how is DHL killing ABX? Are they transfering flying to Astar, or forcing the rates down or what?

They are combining multiple flights into a single flight with through-stops. Astar isn't getting any new airplanes, they're just adding through-stops to existing trips.

The problem is that whenever they do this they lose the ability to make reliable morning deliveries in the terminating city because of the additional time it takes to make the stops. The ILN sort is already SCHEDULED to run the better part of an hour longer than it did prior to 2003. Once you add in the typical delays you have flights arriving at their terminating stations well into the morning.

 

[abxaviator]

Two points.

1. Nobody ever said anything about not bidding OPF in May.

2. The COF award report doesn't tell you WHEN they bid and were awarded the COF trips. Many of those trips, if not all of them, were awarded before the decision was made to stop bidding OPF. I know that at least two of the guys on that list tried to give those trips back but their schedulers wouldn't take them back.

1. Now that's what I call splitting hairs.

2. As I understand it, that is a list of trips AWARDED at 1200 on 5/23. It can be easily verified as to when each individual was awarded the trip. If one called scheds BEFORE the award to pull their bid, scheds would have no choice but to do so. If they let it ride until after the award, they get no credit for their "efforts" to drop the trips.

 

[LarryinTN]

1. I don't think that it's splitting hairs. The May OPF was awarded before the furloughs were annouced. A handful of pilots picking up May COF will make no difference at all to the company, one way or the other. The furloughees are even being paid for all of May. The hotline message made no mention of May, only June.

If someone wanted June OPF but is refraining from bidding any, it would make sense for them to pick up some extra at the end of May and to possibly trade any June vacation that they had planned to buy back for vacation later in the year when they might be able to buy it back.

2. The report shows all COF trips that report anytime from 5/23 through 5/31. It doesn't show when the trips were awarded. To find out when the trips were awarded you would have to look at the individual's schedule in crewtrak and see the history of the assignment.

 

[Sporto]

1. I don't think that it's splitting hairs. The May OPF was awarded before the furloughs were annouced. A handful of pilots picking up May COF will make no difference at all to the company, one way or the other. The furloughees are even being paid for all of May. The hotline message made no mention of May, only June.

If someone wanted June OPF but is refraining from bidding any, it would make sense for them to pick up some extra at the end of May and to possibly trade any June vacation that they had planned to buy back for vacation later in the year when they might be able to buy it back.

2. The report shows all COF trips that report anytime from 5/23 through 5/31. It doesn't show when the trips were awarded. To find out when the trips were awarded you would have to look at the individual's schedule in crewtrak and see the history of the assignment.

That being said, it's June or bust because there was no mention of July and OPFer's will be salivating.:bomb:

 

[freighthound]

2. As I understand it, that is a list of trips AWARDED at 1200 on 5/23.

Well you understand wrong. When they run the COF award for any date it shows the COF trips that were awarded and are to be executed after the run date and time. It has nothing to do with when they were bid. The COF sheet run on the 23rd at noon will show all COF awards that starts after 1201 on the 23rd regardless if they were just bid or bid back on the last Wednesday in April.

If you want people to stay unified be a positive input to the situation not go out and start throwing stones, especially if your facts aren't straight, and then wonder why people stop wanting to support your cause.

 

[penguin22]

If you want people to stay unified be a positive input to the situation not go out and start throwing stones, especially if your facts aren't straight, and then wonder why people stop wanting to support your cause.

Hey, nicely put. Wish I'd said that.


Anybody think they'll actually post the June open flying award? Does anybody know if they're required to?

 

[Sporto]

2. As I understand it, that is a list of trips AWARDED at 1200 on 5/23.

Well you understand wrong. When they run the COF award for any date it shows the COF trips that were awarded and are to be executed after the run date and time. It has nothing to do with when they were bid. The COF sheet run on the 23rd at noon will show all COF awards that starts after 1201 on the 23rd regardless if they were just bid or bid back on the last Wednesday in April.

If you want people to stay unified be a positive input to the situation not go out and start throwing stones, especially if your facts aren't straight, and then wonder why people stop wanting to support your cause.

You are correct sir.

 

[ABXbooger]

Deleted

 

[abxaviator]

2. As I understand it, that is a list of trips AWARDED at 1200 on 5/23.

Well you understand wrong. When they run the COF award for any date it shows the COF trips that were awarded and are to be executed after the run date and time. It has nothing to do with when they were bid. The COF sheet run on the 23rd at noon will show all COF awards that starts after 1201 on the 23rd regardless if they were just bid or bid back on the last Wednesday in April.

If you want people to stay unified be a positive input to the situation not go out and start throwing stones, especially if your facts aren't straight, and then wonder why people stop wanting to support your cause.

Hey, I'm not ashamed to admit when I'm wrong, I'm not fortunate enough to be among those who are never wrong; not the first time and won't be the last. Thanks for the correction, I would not intentionally spread misinformation.

Speaking of facts, it's not "my cause", but I stand behind my Union Leadership.