Define These Terms

[Birdstrike]

For the benefit of those of us not flying Part 121 but who are highly interested in understanding the issues...request somebody name/describe the following acronyms/terms that are used pretty regularly on this board but I still haven't completely figured out.

Also, are they straight-forward in meaning or subject to interpretation depending upon whether you're a mainline or regional pilot. ??


MEC
RJDC
WO
LEC
PWA
ALG
PDT
Jets for Jobs
Flowthrough/ Flowback

Have at it, thanks...

 

[Rank&File]

MEC - Master Executive Council: each ALPA carrier's governing body.

RJDC - Regional Jet Defense Committee: Comair pilots' suit against the Delta MEC for negotiating scope that restricts small jet flying at CMR and ASA.

WO - Wholly Owned: Used to describe an airline's "portfolio" of "regional" carriers.

LEC - Local Executive Council: MECs are made up of these. There is an LEC for each pilot base at an ALPA carrier. It's like the local government, whereas the MEC would be the sate government, and ALPA National would be the U.S. Government.

PWA - ???: Someone help me on this one.

ALG - Allegheny Airlines: A U.S. Airways WO.

PDT - Piedmont Airlines: Another U.S. Airways WO.

J4J - Jets for Jobs: U.S. Airways' and ALPA's agreemnet to provide jobs for furloughed U.S. Air pilots with new deliveries of small jets at U.S. Airways' WOs.

Flowthrough/Flowback - this is happening at Continental Express. CALEX pilots are able to fly at CAL once they have two years in the left seat of an EMB-145. CAL calls them over in seniority order on a ratio of 1:3 (for ever three pilots hired, one must come from CALEX). This also works in reverse. When CAL furloughed, everyone "flowed back" to CALEX, even pilots hired "off the street" (OTS) and were placed on the CALEX seniority list by date of hire (DOH).

 

[Birdstrike]

Follow-Up

Thanks, R&F, clear except for the flowthrough/ flowback; noted that it's happening, but what exactly is it? CoEx gets pref for CAL hiring in exchange for CAL pilots to fly CoEx planes upon furlough? Something like that?

 

[LittleDeuce]

PWA

PWA= Pilot's Working Agreement

 

[skydiverdriver]

Wholly owned means the regionals that the major airline actually owns in total, not just that they have a marketing agreement with. For instance, Delta owns Comair and ASA, but has agreements with several others, including Skywest, ACA and Eagle, but they do not own them. Hope this helps.

Also, a flowthrough is an agreement that allows pilots from one or more regionals to get a job at it's associated major, with some stipulations. The agreement usually also has a flowback arrangement, which allows the mainline pilots to flow to the regional if they would otherwise be furloughed. Some people think these are a good deal, while others see them as a ponzi scheme that helps only senior regional pilots, and junior major pilots.

 

[MetroSheriff]

But can they be used in a sentence???


Recently, the MEC of a W/O DCI carrier asked the Reps of their LEC to poll their members regarding their feelings about the RJDC and the effects it may have on the next Delta PWA if it included a flowback provision similar to the J4J protocol in place at ALG and PDT.

***The preceeding statement is not serious. It is meant for entertainment purposes only. So keep your panties on folks.***

 

[Rank&File]

originally posted by Birdstrike:
CoEx gets pref for CAL hiring in exchange for CAL pilots to fly CoEx planes upon furlough? Something like that?

No, not really, but sort of. Preferential hiring is a whole different deal (and hard to explain without writing a novel). The flow through was negotiated with the idea that it would probably never work in reverse (flow back). Therefore, when CAL furloughed, lots of rules and protocols had to be devised for the reverse process. The idea had always been sold as "career advancement for CALEX pilots and furlough protection for the CAL pilots," but who'd of ever thought it'd be used backwards.

The main difference between the "flow through" and "preferential hiring" is that guys who go to CAL under the flow through do not have to interview, do a sim check, etc. They just show up for class. Preferntial hiring is an option offered to pilots who will likely not be able to benefit from the flow through since the IPO of Continental Express...like I said, a long story.

 

[Birdstrike]

Extracted from LOA 83 Accelerated Small Jets (Page 3)

Posted by CSmith:

"...The Delta MEC lets marketing decide what particular a/c to use on a route... We merely tell them which pilots they may/will use...
...In the next three years, Delta will retire 1000ish pilots... Even with no growth, 0 profit/loss the pilots will be back....

Our MEC has chosen, for now, to preserve for them the job they left....

..Give a little profit margin, a recovering economy, passenger levels even approaching what they are forecast to approach, the NWA/CAL codeshare approved and adding the advertised dollars, and Delta will be hiring again in 2005-2006--just in time to enter the boom of the last half of the decade--as history shows....

...I feel quite comfortable with our position now...."


Is this an accurate summation of the situation? Is it realistic for the DAL MEC to "preserve for them the job they left..." as opposed to preparing for a major paradigm shift in the industry?

Should CSmith be comfortable with his position? Would you be?

I'm not trying to stir it up. I live in PTC and while I flew helos out of FTK I've tried to understand what my DAL buddies in the hood were up to. I'm kind of scratching my head with the CSmith outlook.

I see the Goldentrouts on the scene now articulating a different message from the business as usual activity of the past.

Is merging lists (my company, right or wrong) the way of the future? Or is the chasm going to exist permanently between pilots empoyed by the same corporation?

 

[TDTURBO]

MetroSherriff,

You have WAY too much time on your hands!

Keep it up though, I like that sh*t.


BTW, Does anyone have any step by step instructions for activating and unlooping HU DSS cards with freeware or a good commercial app?

I found a new hobby.

 

[KingAirer]

what does d/b/a standfor?

in context Corporate Airlines d/b/a American Connection.

 

[hobbsmeter]

DBA...

"Doing Business As..."