ACA Class Cancelations

[JTrain]

Re: J41 class cancellation

If anyone saw the rolling bid issued on Nov 1st, you may have noticed two J41 CA classes originally scheduled for Nov 2002 were pushed back to Feb. Don't know why this was done - possibly because of a backlog in J41 IOE or sim tng.

Also - somebody else mentioned UAL wanted ACA to keep flying J41s. Not so. If you read the Hemispheres column in Aug by a UAL VP in charge of the Express division, he gloated on the fact ORD was now an all jet hub for UAL, and also that IAD was the next UAL hub going all jet, coincidentally by April 04, which is also the date ACA has been giving us all along for J41 retirements.

Rumor mill also has it several (up to 15) J41s have been sold/leased to Origin Pacific, in NZ. This may expedite J41 retirement and account for class cancellation.

To all those in the J41 pool: Don't stress too much. Yes, it sucks, just keep the faith. They'll try to squeeze you guys in soon. There are a lot of RJ vacancies in the upcoming rolling bid. C y'all soon

JTrain

 

[SkywayFO]

Thanks for the Skywest info. This is what I put together, with that and the Bombardier site on CRJ orders.

ACA 121
AirWis 58
Skywest 55
=234
So there is 9 Aircraft unaccounted for. It is anyones guess. What will happen. There is 20 more in 2005 or 2006 I forget when it jumps. So maybe there will be flying growth from higher utilization. I hope so cause it would make me feel better with more folk behind me. But it is anyone guess. The next few weeks will be interesting. Good Luck All

 

[BE58 Driver]

Well today I got the bad news from Dean Hess. I was scheduled in the Novemeber 18th DOJet class. He left me a message and said that I would go to the top of the pool for a class date in the future. Not really sure when. Well I am sorry to have bad news, but I have to go find a job. Patiently waiting!

 

[Sleepyhead]

Any news from the people that started class this week?

 

[Hosed COEX]

So far, only small DO328Jet and J41 classes are being cancelled. The current plan is to still run a CRJ class every week in 2003. There is another confirmed CRJ class starting on 11/25, so not all hope is lost. Some of the folks bumped out of the 11/11 class have been assigned to that one.

Hang in there - like SkywayFO said, we want you here as much as you want to be here.

 

[ACA Hopeful]

class dates

I spoke with Shawn Nicol today. No new interviews until March. 120-150 in the pool. He would not comment on upcoming CRJ classes.

ALPA is reporting no growth in RJ's for the remainder of 2002. The RJ cap expands again starting 2003 thru 2004 and includes all UAX carriers (ACA, AirWis, Skywest).

Let's hope things pick up again soon!

 

[hotwing]

classes full

This is true. No interviews -- I confirmed this today as well. All of their classed are full throughout March.

 

[g159av8tor]

Started class on 11/12. Including myself, there were 5 upgrades as well as 3 newhires. Two newhires were interns and the other gentleman was in a previous class and do to some paperwork screwups (on whose part I don't know) was taken out of class until the situation was rectumfied.

There is an instructor meeting today, so when I hear any good info (not rumor) on Monday, I'll post it.



Tailwinds...

 

[Rottweiller]

Thanks for the Skywest info. This is what I put together, with that and the Bombardier site on CRJ orders.

ACA 121
AirWis 58
Skywest 55
=234
So there is 9 Aircraft unaccounted for. It is anyones guess. What will happen. There is 20 more in 2005 or 2006 I forget when it jumps.

AirWis infact has firm orders for 75 RJ's with options on another 75. Plus they also took on 2 ex Midway ones above the 75 original figure. We get 2.5 a month next year (31 UAX) now.

 

[Kenny]

Here's what I heard yesterday.

1.) Maintainance guys had a meeting and were told they're going to be ordering 20 new doors for the 41's. No idea what sort of doors but the point was that we had sold 8 of the 41's.

2.) All classes for the rest of the year have been cancelled.

3.) United wants the 41's gone yesterday and come Jan we'll be getting rid of 2-3 a month.

Although I've only been here just over a month, I've already learnt not to believe what I hear until it happens.

 

[RonMele]

Say..was that ALL classes or just the J-41 classes for the rest of the year?

 

[Kenny]

I hate to say it but what I was told was that ALL classes were cancelled. This was from a 41 CA going through check airman training.

 

[SkywayFO]

Its not all the classes. I have a friend that was in the Nov. 11th class, he was bumped but there was a class with most o the J41 guys pushed out of the Nov 8th class. By the way my7 riend was put back in a class starting the 25th, So it seems like just a few week back up do to the faster shut down of the J41. This is my take and I hope its right cause I will not like being this close to the bottom for too long.

 

[j41driver]

Being on the bottom is better than being on the street.

 

[AOPAPILOT]

A little knowledge and digging is worth looking into. Remember the past strike, the CRJ factory put the production in a tail spin. The orders were put in the dumpster for the duration of the strike. Wow, if ACA is not getting the CRJ's that they ordered, then they do not need to train newbies. Makes it a little easier to swallow and understand. ACA has canceled classes. It also has to do with the holidays. You will see ACA get going after the first of the year. A little bird told this story and I tend to believe it.

 

[Pilot877]

AOPAPILOT,

Don't know what your secret source is, but ACA is getting more RJ's than ever right now. Better try digging a little harder next time.

 

[sideshow]

AOPAPILOT,

Your little bird must have fallen in the bird bath. As Pilot877 said ACA is getting the RJs they ordered pretty much on time each month. ACA has been cancelling classes for alot of reasons but one thing is certain, unless they announce more flying for someone they just about have all the pilots they need either in class or in the pool. That is why they are not interviewing until next March.

 

[BlueRidger]

As usual the truth lies somewhere in the middle. According to a variety of sources, including a friend who was just in a meeting with our Manager of Planning, United wants the rate of J41 retirement accellerated so all are gone around Nov 03. this means ACA would not need to train anymore new hires into the J41 if thy freeze all the current people into the plane and relaease them as the planes leave the fleet.
More importantly, because of the new agreement the UAL pilots signed yesterday the United Express system is capped at 236 RJ's and will reach that level by April 2004. That means ALL UAX carriers are still going to get their CRJs.
Now for the bad news, apparently UAL wants to Freeze the size of th RJ fleet till the end of the 2002 as a cost cutting measure. This would appear to affect SkyWest and Air Wis as well. Therefore, all deliveries scheduled for the end of Nov and all of Dec must be deferred, parked or as Skywest and Air Wis may have the option, repainted as DCI or Air Tran. And, as a result of this delay, ACA will not need as many new hire classes until we start taking planes again. I also imagine that because of the quicker J41 retirements, a lot of people will transition to the CRJ FO slot sooner, filling up what would have been new hire classes.
One other note. It has also been noted several times that ACA already has an almost full pilot complement for the current growth plans. I think hiring could come to a screeching halt at ACA real soon.

 

[Beechnut]

I'm pretty sure AirWis is still taking RJ deliveries through the rest of the year. The reason we stopped hiring is due to the 328 going away by July. We had a re-alignment that sees what those 328 people can hold in a 328-less system. Once that has been figured out, we're to be back on schedule for hiring.

S.

 

[BlueRidger]

To my best understanding ACA will take all of its deliveries (something like 5 CRJs) as well. It is only a couple of months. I am sure that they will even fly them. However UAL will probably not be adding any new segments to the schedules which we can get paid our fee for departure for untill the beginning of the year. Apparently they way the system works under the new ERP II is a little complex and the UAL pilot group defined the express flying not only in terms of numbers of airplanes but in ratio of mainline airplanes to RJ's as well as block hour ratios. It sounds like UAL ALPA is thinking the whole express thing through carefully. Which I hope they would.
One important thing to remember is that this ERP apparently only goes through if the company gets its ATSB Loans. If UAL goes into bankruptcy the deal can be called off by either side. The results would not be good for our respective companies. Right now the fee for departure contracts specify about a 13% profit margin for ACA and I assume similiar amounts for SkyWest and AirWis. If UAL goes into bankruptcy I think the creditors and the trustees might think this is too much and demand new contracts and reduced rates and margins. This would put a big crimp in the stability of your company and hence your job. I would not be surprised to see managements come after our respective CBA's.

 

[FIT4hire]

Latest News.

Just informed that the Nov 25 classes is out for new hires. If some one needs help for the holidays, here's one able body ready to do anything to fill his stomach.

Blue Skies!

 

[RonMele]

Okay, maybe I've been swimming too long but I don't understand this phrase:

"...class is out for new hires."

Does it mean:

a) It is only for new hires?

b) It is not going to be offered to new hires?

Mustang

 

[FIT4hire]

Answer

Unfortunately, I believe that the answer is B.

 

[g159av8tor]

Stopped into Dean's office today to check if a buddy of mine had scheduled an interview yet. Dean replied that there will probably be no more interviewing until March 2003.

Also, I've heard the rumor about the J-41s being retired earlier than expected from several different sources. Looks like they'll be gone early November 2003.

My J-41 upgrade class includes 3 newhires--probably the last to be placed into the J-41.

Tailwinds...

 

[C-5 MEM]

Hello Everyone

Just back from the War on Terrorism. Nice over there in the sand box when its not to hot.
I have been emailed alot about ACA, questions from pay to whats up with interviews and classes. I talked with my good friend Dean Hess. He said interviews have stopped because of the pool being full. Most interviews will start up around April. Now this does not mean stop sending in your resumes, but let you know it will be a while. Things are going at ACA.
If anyone has any questons email me. I am at home and able to check my email.


Terry Vickers
ACA/CRJ
FO