History repeats itself. Pilots start thinking DOH matters

[General Lee]

Actually, I have the college degree, and no DUIs or failed checkrides....I haven't left ASA, because I have never applied anywhere else...Hard to get hired somewhere when you haven't applied...

Now would you care to address the issues I raised?

Well, as long as you don't get mad and throw your beer bottle at me.....

Your current worth in a merger is your current position and your current potential. What you make now and what you can make in the future. If your airline is going to go BK or liquidate, then what you make in the future is worth less than someone comparable at your seniority level at the stable airline you are merging with. That guy that started at Southern on a Metro would have been tacked on the bottom of a merged list if he was still on the Metro when they merged with NWA or Republic, with larger planes and higher salaries. I would think that plenty of current legacy pilots started flying smaller planes way back when, but then climbed the ladder and made it through furloughs etc, and are now where they are currently. It is all what you currently bring to the table---that is what you are worth.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[JoeMerchant]

Well, as long as you don't get mad and throw your beer bottle at me.....

Your current worth in a merger is your current position and your current potential. What you make now and what you can make in the future. If your airline is going to go BK or liquidate, then what you make in the future is worth less than someone comparable at your seniority level at the stable airline you are merging with. That guy that started at Southern on a Metro would have been tacked on the bottom of a merged list if he was still on the Metro when they merged with NWA or Republic, with larger planes and higher salaries. I would think that plenty of current legacy pilots started flying smaller planes way back when, but then climbed the ladder and made it through furloughs etc, and are now where they are currently. It is all what you currently bring to the table---that is what you are worth.


Bye Bye---General Lee

General, you need to go back and do some research...That Southern pilot that hired into the Metro wasn't "stapled" to the bottom of the NWA list, and they weren't "stapled" to the bottom of the Delta list....

I'm not interested in "merging" with you....I work for a very profitable company....I'm just bringing some facts to the debate...

 

[FDJ2]

"Career expectations" are a moving target that are in the eye of the beholder....There are pilots who were hired at Southern to fly Metros who then became Northwest pilots and now Delta pilots...How do they compare to the "career expectations" of TWA, Pan Am, and Braniff pilots?

When I hired on at ASA, there were no jets, and I hired into a plane that had 15 seats with no pressurization,FA, or lav.....Now ASA has only jets, including jets that are as big as the smallest DC9 that Northwest had...

Times change, and expectations change...Nothing is certain, except the fact that your expectations in this business will change and the end result will never be what you "expected"....Time for a different benchmark....

Joe, that is why career expectations is not given the same weight as category status and the value of the jobs brought to the merger. DOH/LOS also is not given much weight either, after all, no one cares what date you started at your airline, anymore than they care what date a euro or peso were minted, what matters is what that euro or peso can buy.

 

[JoeMerchant]

Joe, that is why career expectations is not given the same weight as category status. DOH/LOS also is not given much weight either, after all, no one cares what date you started at your airline, anymore than they care what date a euro or peso were minted, what matters is what that euro or peso can buy.

Why did "category status" become so important?

 

[FDJ2]

Why did "category status" become so important?

It's an equity, a very definable one, and it's a dominat factor, recognized by many arbitrators, in constructing ISSLs. Other factors, like DOH and career expectations haven't played nearly as dominat a role.

 

[FR8mastr]

Why did "category status" become so important?

Because... What if a relative position airline guy's company merged with a smaller company that flew, oh I don't know, say something smaller. Well then you could not have a "relative position" seniority integration now could you. If that merger happened you could get the smaller company, along with their smaller aircraft pilots ahead of the larger companies pilots.

So in order to advocate relative position mergers and still protect number 1 you have to add "category status".

This way you can have it all, you can still bash DOH, and US Air, but at the same time still claim a senior position in the above scenario.
That is until the merger is with Virgin America, or some new upstart with 35 AB parked on the ramp

 

[JoeMerchant]

It's an equity, a very definable one, and it's a dominat factor, recognized by many arbitrators, in constructing ISSLs. Other factors, like DOH and career expectations haven't played nearly as dominat a role.

Longevity in this business is also a very definable equity...It is also a dominant factor to many of us....

It was really a mistake to make such a big deal about "category" in the first place.....What makes a narrow body pilot worth so much less than a wide body pilot? This silly little game of "my plane is bigger than your plane" got us into this pickle in the first place...

 

[DrunkIrishman]

I have never known an airline pilot group that is so caught up in category of aircraft flown as I have with Delta. Tell me Deltoids, what do you 767-400 pilots say that you fly now that there is a 747-400 on property? Are your fragile ego's able to handle not being distinguished by the 400 branding? At least NWA didn't come with a 300ER of their own or it could have been disatrous! (TIC)

Seriously though-

How can any of you argue for career expectations? What is the difference between a merger changing career expectations and an economic downturn doing the same. What about management parking additional airplanes (UPS) that causes stagnation? Is there really a legitimate difference between any of these?

How about recognizing that we individual pilots cannot control the airline we fly for and we stop trying...and fighting each other.

 

[TWA Dude]

JoeMerchant:
Have you had a chance to read the Nicolau Award? In it he clearly explains his reasoning which would answer your questions.

How can any of you argue for career expectations?

The answer is that on a certain date (snapshot) one can see how many airplane deliveries are scheduled and determine how much hiring is required. That's all there is to it.

 

[Scope out RJ's]

General, you need to go back and do some research...That Southern pilot that hired into the Metro wasn't "stapled" to the bottom of the NWA list, and they weren't "stapled" to the bottom of the Delta list....

I'm not interested in "merging" with you....I work for a very profitable company....I'm just bringing some facts to the debate...

No, you're more interested in filing a frivilous lawsuit to get what you couldn't through the interview process!
Nice try putz. I think your girl poindexter (n2264j) could use a hug!