Crew Scheduling

[88_MALIBU]

How warm is crew scheduling at your company? Is it true you scratch theirs and they will scratch yours? The pilots I have spoken with say Bullcrap-but others say the opposite... Whats you company like?

 

[91100 100 set]

I've gotten a few favors from the schedulers at my former airline (the now almost completely gone ALG) mostly regarding some sweet deals with soft/premium pay (now almost completely gone as well). On the other hand, I've gotten just as many screw jobs. They are just trying to fill seats on open legs, and I've found that most times they will do whatever it takes to do it. Personally, I'm not out to become well known in scheduling either way (good or bad), because if you do them a favor today, I doubt they will remember that favor down the road. Don't let them abuse the contract, but don't give them a hard time, they are just people doing their job.

 

[beechcowboy]

Sore subject at Colgan. See Flight Operations Procedures Manual Chapter 3.

We can screw you, we will screw you, you will like it, and we will love it. If you don't like it, some other low time pilot will, and we will hire him so that we might continue our hosing of those who enjoy the miracle of flight.

I'm entitled to vent, aren't I. I really love it there.

 

[shamrock]

For all my complaining about them when I was there, Commutair scheduling was pretty good about making deals. Benefits of a small company.

ASA is the complete opposite, at least to me. If you want to help them out then more power to you, just don't expect anything in return. Helping them out can actually backfire. Tell them you can be at the airport in 45 minutes (instead of the 2 hours allowed) and you will likely find yourself on the top of the list for short call assignments. That's just how things work at ASA.

 

[AvroJockey]

Mesaba Scheduling

I've been on reserve for the better part of 4 years on the Saab in DTW. I can say with pride that our crew schedulers are nothing but the best. I come to work, do my job, and they will go out of their way to make sure your time away from home is easy. However, they too have a job to do, including junior manning. I've been called for a junior man 5 times in the 6+ years I've been here, and caught 1 of those times. One junior man in six years is pretty good. Additionally, 9 times out of 10 they will release me early on my last day of reserve. (ex. get to go home on a 15:30 flight when scheduled on reserve till 19:00) On top of that, about 75% of the time they will let me change my contact time the first day of reserve so I can commute in on the same day. I don't know how many times they've called me at the hotel in the morning to tell me the flight didn't make it in the night before, so the crew and I could sleep in. They are not required to do this per our contract. I even had a scheduler apoligize to me for assigning me a certain trip. (it was two highspeeds back-to-back that they changed into legal overnights for me)

Our schedulers are very personable, and forgiving (never got a mistrip when my phone was accidently on silence, and they called me for a trip; this has happened more than once). Some XJ pilots don't have the same experience, but I can tell you that if you come to work and do what's expected of you (in the contract, nothing extra), our schedulers will treat you with same positive attitude.

 

[BRA]

.....

 

[BRA]

At mesaba they call you and tell you that you can sleep in if the plane won't be ready for you????????? Whoah. Many people at colgan air would kill for that kind of thing! It is pretty typical here to show up and find out that you didn't have to. It has to do with attitude, and simple understaffing at headquarters though. I believe that a lot of the pains here are caused by the extreme growth and the amount of people getting trained and the amount of people quiting. If the growth would stop, and people would stop quiting i think scheduling would get a lot better. Then of course everyone would complain about upgrades never happening. Colgan has no union and no contracts to refer to when talking to scheduling, just 121 rules. The company preaches that you are not to even call crew scheduling about being released from reserve early, you are not to do anything that would help your own QOL. What about sitting reserve in PIT or LGA instead of AOO or ALB? NO, do not even call and ask for this either. I'm sure people still do this, but the company says not to. They want to keep the call volume down to crew scheduling so they don't have to hire more of them. If they call you up on your day off to draft you, you say "hang on, let me put down my beer and get my pencil".

 

[beechcowboy]

Or, let me call the cleaners and see if my uniform is done... OH, it can't be done for another 12 hours, guess I cannot help you out today.

 

[BRA]

While not endorsed by managment, deals are still made behind the scenes. I'll give you thursday and friday if i can get secrecy and sunday through tuesday off next week. I also need a must ride to LAX next week, if you can't do that then i never asked. As with other companies I don't believe our schedulers to be rectal orifaces, they just have a job to do like everyone else."Is DR or MC aorund? no? , ok how about i finish my reserve in BOS so i can go home tonight if you don't need me?"

 

[crashpad]

Ours call the day before, address you as 'sir' and party with us as well!