ASA Classes

[ASABound]

Hello Everyone,
Still in the pool at ASA , any ASA guys or other poolies heard anything abaout what is going on ? Thanks in advance !!

 

[wil]

Congratulations and welcome aboard!! Sorry I have no news to pass along. I will say that I believe that ASA is worth the wait- All the best- Wil

 

[Blah Blah Blah]

... I will say that I believe that ASA is worth the wait...

That's what your pax say too, right? Better luck next month on ontime performance.

Blah

 

[Ted Striker]

Hey Blah...

Eat my ass. Unless you work here, shut up. We know it sucks, but it has NOTHING to do with the pilot group. We are the ONLY group held accountable for our performance. Middle management is the problem (as well as ATL) regarding our ontime performance. Who do you work for Blah?

 

[601Pilot]

On-time!

That's what your pax say too, right? Better luck next month on ontime performance.

Blah

Well, at least we are large enough to be on the
DOT list.

I will be selling our new "We're number 17" foam
fingers in Concourse C all next month for the low
introductory price of $19.95. Don't wait until
someone else is added to the list and we drop to
number 18!

 

[CF34-3B1]

That's what your pax say too, right? Better luck next month on ontime performance.

Blah

We're all waiting to see how CMR's expansion in ATL will impact their performance.

Although it's certainly not helping that Leo, and therefore Skip, like it just the way it is, mostly it's an ATL problem.

The reason it takes 45 mins to get your windshield washed at C24 is the same reason it takes 45 mins to get your food at lots of ATL resturants.

The unemployement rate around the airport is very low, so finding people willing to work the ramp for what ASA (or CMR) pays is tough. Finding people to work the ramp who actually give 2 $hit$ is **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**n near impossible.

Yes, it's an ASA problem is the sense that if management REALLY wanted to improve the ontime performance, they'd suck it up, spend the extra $ and hire more/better people.

But that isn't going to happen because it would impact our margins, therefore it would impact those nice bonuses and pensions on Virginia Ave.

If CMR really does start its own ramp operation in ATL it will encounter exactly the same problems. If it imports CVG ramers it would probably help, but the cost associated with doing that would not be approved by Leo's beancounters. (See bonus/pension)

It's an ATL problem.

Bling Bling

 

[FL000]

There are two contradictory rumors right now.

1. new hires in January '04.

2. 15 jets (12 700s, 3 200s) over the next 15 months. That would absorb the extra 60-75 pilots that we are carrying (not my numbers) around next spring or summer.

Rumor 2 seems to have legs.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Both might be true. With the staffing model of 5.5 pilots per seat, per aircraft, we would need 82 and 1/2 First Officers. I would expect we will be hiring. However, a lot is going on right now and the situation is dynamic with the Delta MEC in sort of negotiations (they are negotiating positions to agree on before agreeing to negotiate. Of course any of these stipulations could become a TA, so in effect, they are negotiating)

The other complexities in determining what is going to happen are - What is going on with ACA, if anything? Who will replace ACA, if anyone? And what ASA ATRs be replaced with, if anything? DCI is pretty much back up against the scope limits, so whatever happens will have to be balanced through the Portfolio.

Reed Business Report did an article on DCI and ASA that was quoted by the most recent Counsel 112 VARS.

Delta poised for battle to boost Connection fleet
August 5, 2003 10:16am

Delta Air Lines will decide by the end of the year on the need for additional regional jets for its Connection network to secure 2005 delivery positions. The carrier says it would like to add more 70-seat jets, but must renegotiate scope clause restrictions.

Delta's two wholly owned regional operators, Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA), recently took delivery of their 145th and 100th Bombardier CRJ jets, respectively, and have no more 50-seaters on order beyond the end of the year. They will also have taken delivery of all 58 CRJ700s on order by the end of 2004.

"We continue to make plans for 2005 and beyond and have lots of opportunities, whether [Embraer] ERJs or CRJs. By the end of this year we expect to have formulated a decision," says Fred Buttrell, Delta Connection chief executive. The airline has options on 362 CRJs, but because of a 13-month lead time, some positions in 2004 have already expired.

Delta will need additional jets to sustain growth in capacity, running at about 25% a year and now being outpaced by revenue expansion. It has particular interest in larger aircraft such as the CRJ700.

With rival carriers United Airlines and US Airways rolling back scope clauses and planning to add large numbers of 70-seaters, as well as low-cost competitor JetBlue ordering Embraer 190s, there is growing competitive pressure to expand the CRJ700 fleet. Delta's agreement limits the number of 70-seaters to 58 units unless the mainline carrier grows, which at the moment it is not.

For ASA, there is also the decision over the next 18 months to find a replacement for its 19 ATR 72-210s, the first of which comes off lease in 2005. The airline is evaluating whether to replace the aircraft with a more modern turboprop – the ATR 72-500 or Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 – or a large regional jet. The Atlanta-based carrier, in the meantime, will retire its remaining Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias in August.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

ATR-72-500's baby!!!! Even better...42-500's in SLC and send the E-120's out there to the desert!!!

 

[btflyer2]

Please say more . . .

So, are you saying that there WON"T be hiring in Jan 04? I guess it is conceivable if the extra 60-75 are absorbed by the new jets by spring, that is about the time a class of new hires might be on the line, if they were hired in Jan. If you have heard that rumor #2 seems likely, when would hiring commence? Do tell/guess!

There are several of us watching this board who were hired almost a year ago, and should be the very next ones in class. So we are really hoping for just one class to be offered.

Question: When are any of these new jets scheduled to be in service, and are any scheduled to start between now and end of "03??
Thanks.

 

[FL000]

The January new-hire rumor was meant to intend that NHs would be on line by March. Now that I think about it, those two rumors aren't so mutually exclusive. If they are off, it's only by a couple of months.

By the way, I'm not saying they will or won't hire. I'm just parroting what I heard.

 

[btflyer2]

Thanks Fl000 for posting any new rumors/truths that you hear. As I have said before, nothing can be counted on until you get the phone call. But even a few months is a long time for a mid 40's career changer so the sooner the better. Just trying to hang on for a little longer at this point . . . .

 

[wil]

Hey Blah- maybe you can get a job with us when we start hiring chronic masturbators with a student pilot cert-

 

[Ted Striker]

Hey Blah- maybe you can get a job with us when we start hiring chronic masturbators with a student pilot cert-

Skip's leaving?

 

[ProLine4]

Blah is just your typical AOPA-hat wearer that clogs the apch frequency with long-winded VFR nonsense while the rest of the world is stepping on each other and getting RAs....
"Atlanta Radar Approach Control, this is Cherokee November 12345, I am 25 miles, uh, uh, SQUUEEEEEEEEALouth of, ah, downtown, directly over Dobbins, inbound to land and full stopSQUEAAAAALLLLchtree City Municipal, I do not have information, level 4,000 feet.......

 

[Blah Blah Blah]

He he he, you guys suck.

 

[blzr]

Maybe blah is that RJ f/o in CLT, PIT, most outstations I hear asking for the clearance..." Ahhh Clearance, this if <callsign>1234 requesting our IFR to JFK."

I swear I'm not making this up. I mean, HOW THE FU@K ELSE YOU GOING TO GET THERE YOU IDIOT.

And then read back entire full rout clearance. Listen to the ATIS. READ BACK CALLSIGN AND ASSIGNED TRANSPONDER CODE UNLESS YOU HAVE A QUESTION.

Just venting.. and a bit jellous I won't get to fly one of those lawn darts anytime soon.