FL990
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2004
- Posts
- 240
In many of the previous posts, there has been a common thread discussed among ASA pilots. One is the seemingly eternal upgrade that many pilots hired in the last 3 years are facing and the other is the seemingly (actual) eternal contract negotiation that we are undertaking at this time. From these conversations stem other topics such as blatant and intentional contract violations by the company (especially in the scheduling department), and the suggestions of incompetent management.
So, its time for the real question....Growth or quality of life? And frankly, this question $UCK$, because we shouldn't have to choose...we should be able to do both, but is this really possible. Entertain these thoughts for one second..
Is now really the time to go for the contract? Before everyone blows up, I'm not saying that it isn't...I'm asking a rhetorical question..because our discussions have been pointing, whether we like it or not, to two different problems which unfortunately may not be able to be solved simultaneously. On one hand we want growth, but on the other, we want our quality of life to increase to that equal to a "real airline" (whatever that means).
Lets look at our pilot group for a second. As I am typing this, I am looking over our current seniority list...and what sticks out the most is this: 70% of our pilots were hired in the last 5 1/2 years.......70% between 1999 and now. This company has been around over 25 years and basically tripled in size in a five year period. Now, heres an analogy. Anyone who knows anything about the stock market will tell you what....buy ...LOW, and sell HIGH......yet, temptation always sucks us into buying right when the stock is ripe, JUST BEFORE IT TANKS. Now, when it tanks, the temption is to sell, right....but is this the right thing to do....NO, you'll lose your A$$. So what do you do, you hold on to it and wait for it to go back up....THEN SELL. How does this tie into the regionals and ASA. Well the guys that got hired in 1999, they bought low, the got in early, before the boom and now there sittin' pretty...and the guys who got hired in 2002, they bought high....and the stock, "IT DROPPED" (so to speak) and they are left waitin'....BUT, if you bail out now, you lose what you've invested over the last three years and have to start over again...don't get me wrong, myself and many others who are junior to you would love for you to leave, but it may not be the smartest decision.....
OK, now, bringing it back to the question...Growth or contract. You see, I believe that we are coming up on a second boom....Not as big as the last one by any means, but a boom that could create lots of movement for the next several years...but there's a problem...CHQ, Mesa, Eagle, Transtates...and all those other pilot groups out there that would practically pay there employer to fly there airplanes...and these are the types of people ASA is forced to underbid in order to get growth. Now, management is basically, in an indirect way, saying that if we get the contract we want, we won't get the planes. Truth or Fiction? Who the heck knows? It certainly makes sense, but its all a big frikin game...we play it and they play it...we stretch things and they stretch things..and somewhere in the middle lies the truth...which is what I am always interested in...I could care less about anything else.
Anyway, I have many more thoughts on this topic but I will save them for discussion...WHAT DO YA'LL THINK?
So, its time for the real question....Growth or quality of life? And frankly, this question $UCK$, because we shouldn't have to choose...we should be able to do both, but is this really possible. Entertain these thoughts for one second..
Is now really the time to go for the contract? Before everyone blows up, I'm not saying that it isn't...I'm asking a rhetorical question..because our discussions have been pointing, whether we like it or not, to two different problems which unfortunately may not be able to be solved simultaneously. On one hand we want growth, but on the other, we want our quality of life to increase to that equal to a "real airline" (whatever that means).
Lets look at our pilot group for a second. As I am typing this, I am looking over our current seniority list...and what sticks out the most is this: 70% of our pilots were hired in the last 5 1/2 years.......70% between 1999 and now. This company has been around over 25 years and basically tripled in size in a five year period. Now, heres an analogy. Anyone who knows anything about the stock market will tell you what....buy ...LOW, and sell HIGH......yet, temptation always sucks us into buying right when the stock is ripe, JUST BEFORE IT TANKS. Now, when it tanks, the temption is to sell, right....but is this the right thing to do....NO, you'll lose your A$$. So what do you do, you hold on to it and wait for it to go back up....THEN SELL. How does this tie into the regionals and ASA. Well the guys that got hired in 1999, they bought low, the got in early, before the boom and now there sittin' pretty...and the guys who got hired in 2002, they bought high....and the stock, "IT DROPPED" (so to speak) and they are left waitin'....BUT, if you bail out now, you lose what you've invested over the last three years and have to start over again...don't get me wrong, myself and many others who are junior to you would love for you to leave, but it may not be the smartest decision.....
OK, now, bringing it back to the question...Growth or contract. You see, I believe that we are coming up on a second boom....Not as big as the last one by any means, but a boom that could create lots of movement for the next several years...but there's a problem...CHQ, Mesa, Eagle, Transtates...and all those other pilot groups out there that would practically pay there employer to fly there airplanes...and these are the types of people ASA is forced to underbid in order to get growth. Now, management is basically, in an indirect way, saying that if we get the contract we want, we won't get the planes. Truth or Fiction? Who the heck knows? It certainly makes sense, but its all a big frikin game...we play it and they play it...we stretch things and they stretch things..and somewhere in the middle lies the truth...which is what I am always interested in...I could care less about anything else.
Anyway, I have many more thoughts on this topic but I will save them for discussion...WHAT DO YA'LL THINK?