Airtran Contract

[V1rowt8]

What is the status of the current contract negotiations? Is there any headway being made? What sections have been closed if any? I am aware of when the current contract was amendable but am hoping that there will be some progress in the near future. I have been swimming in the airtran pool for a while and have gotten word from their HR that they may be hiring in the first part of 2010. Any info much appreciated.

 

[PCL_128]

About half is finished, but the big stuff (scope, scheduling, compensation, retirement) is still left. Hopefully something in the first quarter, but probably more like the second.

 

[stall022]

The current status is somewhere between a TA and a strike in the next six months.

I think there will be a TA in the next six months, But the question is how good it will be and how likely it is to pass??? So far they have a little over half the sections TA'd.

They have started to upgrade again so that has started a bit of movement. There was a rumor that there would be a class next month of 60ish, which included 20 recalls, 20 pool and 20 new interviewees. I'm not sure how that will play out now with Skywest doing some of the flying though???

All I can say is good luck and make sure you have some money saved up if you get the offer because things could get really messy in the next 6 months.

 

[V1rowt8]

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully things won't get messy. The times that I have commuted on AT I was treated great from the gate agents to the crew. With all of the potential AT has it would sure be a shame for management to mess this one up.

 

[V1rowt8]

Other than the contract negotiations how is the quality of life, expected days off, reserve utilization? Is the staffing level typically adequate or understaffed? What are the long term growth plans? Of course there will be some that will never be happy, but what is the general consensus of the majority? Hopefully not over redundant but trying to make a well informed decision for my family. Thanks again.

 

[maxblast72]

Airtran is planning on 2010 capacity to be 3-4% higher than 2009 capacity measured in terms of ASMs. The 36 daily departures by Skywest already announced will amount to approximately 1% of Airtran's 2010 ASMs. Using 3-4% of approximately 1500 bidding pilots, there looks to be a need of approximately 40-60 more pilots on the property (vs 2009 summer staffing levels) to make through the summer busy period. The question for guys in the pool is how many guys come back from long term leave or take the recall this time around. The more guys that come back, the less guys will get called from the pool.

Over the last 3 months, Airtran has posted 30 CA and 24 FO vacancies. A good part of these vacancies have been filled by transitions between 717 and 737 or vice versa. We should have another few months of vacancies to finish up all the shuffling and bringing up staffing levels to handle the summer flying.

 

[27 driver]

Other than the contract negotiations how is the quality of life, expected days off, reserve utilization? Is the staffing level typically adequate or understaffed? What are the long term growth plans? Of course there will be some that will never be happy, but what is the general consensus of the majority? Hopefully not over redundant but trying to make a well informed decision for my family. Thanks again.

V1,
The quality of life on res sucks, especially if you commute. If you live in ATL it is much better. Right now they own you 20 days a month. You will sit ready res most every month for 6 hrs at a time. I am res and get used most of the time. Some months I don't see the crash pad at all. AAI is typically understaffed, and it puts them in a bind sometimes during holidays and IROPS. All in all it will be a good place if we get a decent TA and don't have to strike to get it. Labor/Management relations is a nightmare. Most of the senior folks are happy and most of the junior folks are not. Last TA was top heavy. I expect the new TA to fix that. If you have the option personally I would go somewhere else or at least wait and see what the new TA brings. Progression will be slow unless we have a massive growth spurt. I just don't see the market out there for that. We have a great group of guys here. We also have the typical token 10%'ers. Attrition is only about 12 to 15 per year based on date of birth. If you have any other questions pm me and I will try to answer them. Overall it is an easy job though. If you show up on time and fly under the radar you never get messed with. Good luck with your decision.

 

[V1rowt8]

Thanks max and 27, much appreciated. Sent you a pm 27.

 

[poor2thecore]

What kind of payrates are you all shooting for? What were the proposed rates from the last TA?

 

[livintheredream]

No one is going to sign anything less than Alaska or HA's new TA rates among other things. TA 2 in 2007 doesnt even come close to todays rates that are required to get a TA passed.

 

[Whine Lover]

5 years.

 

[T3700]

Sample pay rates from failed AirTran TA.

5 year Capt DOS $129 DOS +3 $135

5 year F/O DOS $77 DOS +3 $81


8 year Capt DOS $142 DOS +3 $149

8 year F/O DOS $85 DOS +3 $89

Top Capt pay at 15 years DOS +3 $183

Top F/O pay at 12 years DOS +3 $100

 

[Lear70]

Sample pay rates from failed AirTran TA.

5 year Capt DOS $129 DOS +3 $135

5 year F/O DOS $77 DOS +3 $81


8 year Capt DOS $142 DOS +3 $149

8 year F/O DOS $85 DOS +3 $89

Top Capt pay at 15 years DOS +3 $183

Top F/O pay at 12 years DOS +3 $100

Oh, and don't forget the pay CUT of $10 an hour for new-hires that was proposed in failed T.A. #1 (I don't have my notes to see if it went away in T.A. 2).

Things 3 years ago were a far cry different for reserves than they are now. I had a pretty decent quality of life, was able to drop/swap reserve days pretty well down to about 14 days off a month and still flew 70-75 hours, had a few days off on weekends here and there, sat Ready Reserve at the airport ONCE in over a year and that was after a trip I got called in on that they canceled and I was already there.

Things changed VERY dramatically for the worse from a Quality of Life standpoint after the Christmas debacle of '06 and as negotiations ramped up. I suspect that once negotiations are over (assuming a decent contract is brought), it will probably be a decent place to work again. However, you'll have to suffer through strike preparedness if you come now, and maybe even the actual strike, if management can't figure out that the pilots aren't kidding around...

As a probationary pilot, it's typically ALPA's position that you don't have to jeopardize your job by refusing to fly during a strike. They rely on the majority of non-probationary pilots to make so FEW pilots available to the company that WILL cross a picket line (and I estimate at AirTran it's about 10%, as was previously mentioned), that there's not enough pilots to reasonably fly ANY of the schedule, maybe 10-15% of the daily departures, max, and that's not enough to keep the airline going, thus forcing management to come to a reasonable agreement.

The next 6-9 months is going to be a stressful time for AirTran pilots. As others have said, if you have a decent job somewhere now, you might want to stay put and keep swimming in the pool until 2011 when the next slated deliveries come. However, if you're willing to risk the aggravation of long-term reserve life and the very real threat of a strike,,,

Good luck to you, whichever way you choose to go!

 

[Luv2BFlyin]

The smart ones at AT are saving money for a strike. Unfortunately the FO's don't make enough here to save much, but even they are doing the best they can.