Frontier and Cal express flying?

[ReverseSensing]

I don't believe anyone was screwed.

Tell that to the QX pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, etc. who believed (and were not dissuaded by our management) that the 12-year deal was a 12-year deal, not a 3-year deal with an extension option. No one in the airline biz can insist on being insulated from base closures and upheaval, but the F9 operation was sold to the QX pilot group as something it wasn't.

F9 agreed to high rates insisting on superior service and reliability. It got what it paid for, but then apparently decided it couldn't afford what it asked for. F9 is just being fickle, and while QX management and the majority of the pilot group think cutting bait with F9 is a good move, it still has real impacts on those employees who were tacitly encouraged to think of DEN as their new home.

This is not a dig at the F9 pilot group or rank and file; it is simply an observation that F9 management, like almost all airline managements, will sell their partners (or more specifically their partners' employees) up the creek anytime they can make a dime doing so.

A lot of people from QX have put a lot of energy into the F9 Express operation; saying that no one's feeling screwed by F9's decision (to squeeze QX on rates, leading to QX telling F9 to take a hike) simply isn't realistic.

 

[F9 Buff]

I agree, when the Horizon deal started up a few years ago no one talked about how there was the opt out part of it. They just talked about how long it COULD have been good for. Not till about a year ago did anyone hear about this clause in the contract.

You would think the management at Horizon would have told their employees what was really up with that contract? I would also say that everything I saw and heard from Horizon was very good. You guys did a great job and it sucks that it went down like that but I don't see how you can be mad at anyone because it didn't continue.

It isn't one airline's management or even two that is to blame, it's just the nature of the business.

 

[StaySeated]

it still has real impacts on those employees who were tacitly encouraged to think of DEN as their new home.
.

Fair enough, but this is aviation afterall and F9 is not winning any earnings contests. Hopefully everyone involved will benefit as much as possible in the long run. If you are one of those employees that I wish you the best of luck.

 

[StormChaser]

Tell that to the QX pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, etc. who believed (and were not dissuaded by our management) that the 12-year deal was a 12-year deal, not a 3-year deal with an extension option. No one in the airline biz can insist on being insulated from base closures and upheaval, but the F9 operation was sold to the QX pilot group as something it wasn't.

Actually, it was a 12-year deal all along, with a clause built in for either side to opt out or amend the contract after 3 years. In my opinion, it made good business sense for both carriers, especially for F9 as they were coming out of what sounded like a rather turbulent partnership with Mesa. With the dynamics of this industry, a lot can change in 3 'short' years, and both companies were looking to protect their interests by having the option to amend or terminate the partnership.

And as for the QX employee group not knowing of the terms of the contract, while I will say the company could have informed us better as to the conditions, I was aware back in the Fall of 2004 of the opt-out possiblity after the first 3 years of the contract. In fact, many of us in Denver were aware, and I would bring that up with anyone I knew who was considering making the move out here.

I agree with F9 Buff that, unfortunately, it's just the nature of the industry we're in. I went through the Boise base closure, and if there's one thing I learned from that, it's not to chase the job. Find the place where you want to live and stay put. Yes, the commute may suck, and it's not for everyone, but it's better than the alternative many who just moved out here may soon be faced with.

 

[Soverytired]

When you're screwing someone, it generally goes a little easier with a little sweet-talkin'.

Sweet talk? I thought $$$ talks, and bull-shizit walks!

Best pickup line ever:

"Hi, I'm Joe Schmoe, and I have a billion dollar trust fund"


(works every time, if true, so I'm told)