CAL 2nd Quarter Suprise

[Scrapdog]

Must be all the help they're getting from the pilots. In the EWR weather room Tuesday evening. A very excited (and loud) captain saw the opportunity to "help out" so he called scheduling. Said he'd just finished a PHX leg and was off, but saw that there was a late push on an MCO - EWR the next morning. Investigating further, he found that it was due to awaiting a reserve captain being sent down in the morning. "Hold the phone! I can help" he excitedly said into the phone. While another captain got on another computer to look at loads that night to MCO, he offered "instead of putting a reserve on it, why don't you DH me down tonight and I'll push it on time in the morning. My friend here tells me there are seats on tonight's flight." A third captain looked over his shoulder and said "way to go . . . you'll get over $1,000 for that!" After he was done, all three congratulated him on a job well done.

Too bad they didn't bother to look around and see a couple of long faces in the room from FOs who got furlough letters last week. On the other hand, I don't think that would have mattered.

Just curious...what - if any - does this have anything to do with CAL's 2nd QTR results? Three random captains don't represent the CAL pilot group in the least. If anything, with all the new hires ready to fight for a new contract, they're far from it.

 

[Bigoober]

Scrap, I'd say your are wrong. The last few year's hires represent less than 25% of the pilot group and even within that group there is a lot of "me" in there. Unfortunately, this action is well representative of a good many of our pilots.

 

[Charlie Brown]

Must be all the help they're getting from the pilots. In the EWR weather room Tuesday evening. A very excited (and loud) captain saw the opportunity to "help out" so he called scheduling. Said he'd just finished a PHX leg and was off, but saw that there was a late push on an MCO - EWR the next morning. Investigating further, he found that it was due to awaiting a reserve captain being sent down in the morning. "Hold the phone! I can help" he excitedly said into the phone. While another captain got on another computer to look at loads that night to MCO, he offered "instead of putting a reserve on it, why don't you DH me down tonight and I'll push it on time in the morning. My friend here tells me there are seats on tonight's flight." A third captain looked over his shoulder and said "way to go . . . you'll get over $1,000 for that!" After he was done, all three congratulated him on a job well done.

Too bad they didn't bother to look around and see a couple of long faces in the room from FOs who got furlough letters last week. On the other hand, I don't think that would have mattered.

Not to mention the poor ba$tard who had to fly with him the next day and listen to him gloat about what a great service he did for the company. I bet his employee number ends with a letter.

 

[UAL-GSO]

Too bad they didn't bother to look around and see a couple of long faces in the room from FOs who got furlough letters last week. On the other hand, I don't think that would have mattered.

Sounds familiar.

 

[UAL-GSO]

Too bad they didn't bother to look around and see a couple of long faces in the room from FOs who got furlough letters last week. On the other hand, I don't think that would have mattered.

Sounds familiar.

 

[densoo]

Just curious...what - if any - does this have anything to do with CAL's 2nd QTR results? Three random captains don't represent the CAL pilot group in the least.

Well, I'm not sure. Just venting I guess. However, I've heard, back when a CAL/UAL merger was hot talk, that UAL work rules for the combined group would have required 1000 more pilots. I suppose not needing those 1000 pilots (or any additional pilots) affects the bottom line in a positive way. CAL pilots just pour money into exec's pockets everyday.

If anything, with all the new hires ready to fight for a new contract, they're far from it.

You are right. The new hires are making a difference. The senior guys include them in the discussion of possible ways to lose their lump sum. While their annuity is safe outside of BK, the payment of the annuity as a lump sum is a contractual item and just about everyone hired after 1998 would chuck that option in exchange for better works rules, pay scale, or just about anything.

Unfortunately, many will not be able to vote on the new contract as they'll be on furlough. This is what happened last time. Then, they came back to no medical for new hires, B-scale through about 4 years, and all $ items preserved for anyone hired before 1986.

 

[Phrogs4ever]

I have an engineering degree so someone with money smarts please explain this to me...how do you increase cash reserves without showing a profit? It's almost like by paying yourself money, you can count that as an expense and hide it in the debit column. On the surface it would appear to be an easy way to hide as much profit as you want. To lose a mere 3 million dollars seems to me to be symbolic. I'm sure that a corporate accountant could have easily shown a profit, if it were to the benefit of the company to do so. In order to get "free" money the airlines have to convince it's employees and the government that they can't scrape together two nickels in this fuel market, and that they need as much help as possible.

 

[pkober]

Scrapdog,

Your avatar is truly disturbing.

Well played sir !!!

 

[Turtle21]

Unfortunately, many will not be able to vote on the new contract as they'll be on furlough..

No doubt management salivates at contract negotiations when pilots are on furlough.

USAPA allows furloughs to vote on all contract issues up to a year after furlough. Its a start but that just means the company waits a year longer to break out the steak knife.

 

[cpierse]

I have an engineering degree so someone with money smarts please explain this to me...how do you increase cash reserves without showing a profit?

Well, I have a poli sci degree, but I got this on Yahoo finance from Cal's quarterly report:


Liquidity. In response to the increased fuel prices, we took a number of steps to strengthen our cash balance and liquidity during the second quarter of 2008. We raised approximately $900 million through an amended Bankcard Agreement (including the advance sale of mileage credits), the issuance of common stock, the sale of our remaining equity interest in Copa, a new pre-delivery payment facility and other new secured borrowings. Our unrestricted cash and short-term investments balance at June 30, 2008 was $3.4 billion, a record high for us.


In other words: selling stuff, borrowing money and making deals.