cr7driver,
I am an ex-Zoner and I work at Atlas. I noted your request on pprune also. That thread it closed now.
I currently have the PPO (most expensive) plan at $165 a month for employee plus 3 and $15.00 for dental with same dependents. Typical $15 co pays and thats it. That is the top level of insurance in which you just go to the specialist in plan that you want without a HMO primary care Doc telling you what to do first.
I put a couple of years in at Evergreen and called it quits after the last furlough. That was when they were union but without a contract yet. I didn't like it there and my wife didn't like me there either. Working at Atlas has it's ups and downs but I have found it much - much better than when I worked at Evergreen. My shortest month at the Zone per month was 20 days on. Normal for me was 21 to 23. I understand that is not the case now per your contract, but I don't keep up with it now. Apples to oranges, the guys I left behind spent the next 5 years waiting for upgrade when it was said it was only 1 or 2 years away. Then they spent the next 6 years bouncing back and fourth between Captain and F/O between furloughs when I caught up to them at the 5 Towns. I'm not sure what current growth is at the Zone, but it's really a judgment call no one can advise you of.
Upgrade schedules are really a shot in the dark depending on a number of things. If the merger goes through for Atlas with Polar into the fold and the arbitrated seniority list that came out of that comes into play. It's a little complicated due to the arbiters award. Right now, we are scheduled for around 60 upgrades this year(08) at Atlas due to knew A/C coming on but post merger, if it happens, the furloughed Polar guys may affect that trend some for new hires. Until the merger, Atlas will be upgrading for a while and may continue. If merged, the upgrades depend a little on if it is attrition or for growth if furloughed Polar guys come back for any spots per the arbitrated ruling.
Rumor has it that even a few new hires will be domestically based instead of heading directly to STN. That base award is scheduled to be out in the next couple of weeks. If you get based in STN you probably won't get reserve very often. Atlas doesn't fly out of STN and it would be a waist of money. STN is a hold over for the union busting operation (AACS now AABO). If they get rid of STN they have to get rid of those guys (about 55 now). So that is why they keep it instead of having a useful base like AMS or FRA in Europe where the flying is.
As to the other questions, I think it was covered earlier. On another note, if you are offered a postion at Polar (common hiring pool) due to their hiring for DHL reserve requirments. You may want to stay at the Zone. Better chance of upgrade for certain.
I would discount a few of those on the Pprune thread (rob rilly - miami freight). They appear to be the ones that got hired at Polar and/or upgraded when they got Atlas A/C (@5) and routes transfered over to them during Atlas's initial contract negotiations when management was making a negotiation point and thought the same would never happen to them when it was their turn. A lot of sour grapes on both sides for that and other things.
As to miami freight's slight at the end of his post over there, that was covered by ALPA National as to Polars MEC fraudulent charges of "Scabbing." The Polar MEC wants everyone to believe their lies because it covers their own failings during the strike to their membership. This is how Polar and their MEC thanks those that were the only ones to help and went on a sympathy strike for them. Atlas, the only cargo airline to go on strike for another carrier in ALPA history per ALPA National legal department.
