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ASA pilot says Long Commutes not Fatiguing

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Uncle Bunkle

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2005
Posts
1,232
Are you f-ing kidding me? Who is this guy at ASA who claims that a 3.5 hour commute is more relaxing than a 30 minute drive?

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090524/ARTICLES/905241012/1002?Title=Pilot-Long-commutes-should-not-lead-to-fatigue
Long air commutes for pilots before flights are not a safety problem and can in fact be more restful than auto commutes, an Atlantic Southeast Airlines pilot and union representative said in an interview this week.

"Capt. Tom Zerbarini is an officer with the Air Line Pilots Association and an eight-year pilot with ASA, one of two regional carriers to operate at Gainesville Regional Airport...But Zerbarini told The Sun that commutes should not lead to fatigue.

He said pilots will catch morning flights, resting on the flight, to go on afternoon duty or will fly in the day before for morning duty."
Zerbarini said his experiences with air commuting were more relaxing than his current drive in Atlanta. He spent a number of years commuting from Boston to Dallas.

"I had 3 1/2 hours to rest, read and relax and then duty in for the next day," he said. "It's more stressful to drive."
 
Oh, forgot about this:
"He said ASA captains make less than average for regional airline captains so that first officers can earn more than the average for their level."

I still can't believe he's telling the newspaper that long commutes do not cause fatigue, and are in fact easier than a 30-minute drive! And he's one of your Union reps? Sounds more like a mgt. shill.
 
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ASA has traditionally kept FO payrates at 60% of captain rates. All airlines should do this -- it's pretty bad that 90% of the regionals don't. ASA's FO payrates as a result are close to industry-leading, captain payrates are in the upper-third.

And yes, the pilots agreed to it by voting in the contract. Overwhelmingly I do believe.
 
I still can't believe he's telling the newspaper that long commutes do not cause fatigue, and are in fact easier than a 30-minute drive! And he's one of your Union reps? Sounds more like a mgt. shill.

Tom is hardly a management shill. He's actually a pretty hard-core trade-unionist kind of guy. I do disagree with his statements here, though. I suspect that he's trying to head off any attempts by the government to regulate our commuting abilities, but that's just a guess. It's also possible that he's just misquoted. Check with him before throwing him under the bus.
 
Do you still want to be able to commute?

I don't commute but some day I might want to... So with that in mind I suggest if a paper asks you something you say something like "commuting is the most relaxing way to get to work. I'm more rested than most doctors I know."

Unless of course you want to see someone "fix the commuting problem". I suppose it would move you up a few spots on the list but who really wants to live in Newark.
 
This guy is one of the ALPA reps, I think.... I don't know very much about him, but probably he was asked these questions in some way that would make him look bad no matter what he said....

All the more resaon to never talk to the press!
 
I have never had trouble driving to work, my car is always right where I left it. I dont have to worry about how many flights I will get bumped from because they are oversold and a mainline guy listed for the JS the day before and shows up 5 minutes prior to departure.
 
not everyone can fall asleep on planes. I can't sleep sitting upright at all.
not everyone has a short commute. Not everyone has a one leg commute. Not everyone has less than 2 hour time zone changes between where they live and where they work. And MANY have a stressful commute, wondering if they'll get on and if they'll have to run a half mile to the other side of the airport for another flight.

All the above lead to it being a very tiring event. That ASA p-rick simply thinks that because his commute is easy, then all commutes must be easy.

Blanket statements. What a moron.
 

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