If/When Spirit Strikes

[AirCobra]

Righty ho there sport. You got this game called or am I just being sarcastic. I guess the Hawaiian pilots really f**ked up in their new contract their Air GI Joe. Gosh, how could your blanket attitude towards negotiating professional pilot compensation possibly skip over that carrier. That's in addition to completely ignoring the battle scars of broken carriers has an infinite more times to do with the race to the bottom "hey Bob, let's start up airline" investor get rich quick managements teams then with the ranks of professional pilots and their compensation level.

I wouldn't get all cozy in mindset of mentor PilotYip. He's the same nitwit that thinks high school drop out's do fine in this line of career and who also has proclaimed his reckless disregard for Federal Aviation Regulations by stating a pilot should never challenge MEL's. Don't be that unethical dip.

I just asked for an opinion on how you think this scenario will play out and asked yours and anyone else's. There is no blanket attitude. Spirit exists only as long as it can keep its costs low. It hasn't crossed the hump Southwest and Air Tran did and still ostensibly resides in West Pac, Skybus territory. Every airline starts as a "hey Bob, let's start up airline". Spirit has yet to move past that point.

Spirit can't stagnate otherwise it won't survive. It's going to pour its profits into expansion and new planes, not into increasing overhead to make the pilot group happy. If they can't grow they won't be attractive to loan money too. Its also a horrible time to strike. Airline travel is way down, so I think Spirit can let pilots sit this one out until they give up, and if that fails the old Chapter 11 void the contracts start over again. I don't think Spirit has any real merger potential, so I don't think that will happen, not that would be great for their pilot group either.

As far as PilotYip goes he has probably done more to get pilots jobs than ALPA or you ever have. USA Jet is what it is and he never sold it as anything else, not that I have seen. There are plenty of guys that got their start at USA Jet when they were paying way more than a regional or went there when they couldn't get a job or had been furloughed. Perhaps some people are just more pragmatic than others or maybe have been around the block a few times to know what is the real deal and what is just more smoke being blown up your a$$. ALPA always presents the same narrative, and all I am saying and probably Pilotyip is too, is given the last 30 years, believe that narrative at your own peril.

 

[Lear70]

The problem is that you're one of the only 2 or 3 people advocating a "let's play nice with management even as they continually degrade our income and quality of life even as they are profitable" approach. When you are outnumbered 10 to 1 in your thought process, I would suggest that it's YOUR thought process that's skewed from reality, statistically-speaking.

As far as REAL self-examination of where we have failed as a union? That's easy:

1. Failure to see the dangers of deregulation and have a lobbying group in place to fight it back when it occurred.
2. Failure to see the dangers of Scope degradation and allowing ANY flying to be farmed out from the major airline to any "partner".
3. Failure to see the dangers of lack of Pension Reform and not lobbying strongly enough to protect from the corporate raiding of the Pension funding when markets surged suddenly, providing a nice source of cash for executive bonuses.
4. Failure to provide some type of segregation between bargaining units of a parent Major and its feeders (Delta vs ASA/Comair etc). Thereby having the same parent agent fighting for the same flying between brands and making it difficult for ALPA to engage in any meaningful "take it back" approach to Scope erosion.
5. Failure to enact some type of "minimum acceptable compensation" point for each type of aircraft flying and apply it across the board, no matter how financially solvent (or insolvent) an airline is? Can't afford to pay those pilots that fair wage? Then you shouldn't be in business.
6. Failure to lobby effectively for an end to government subsidizing of airlines and an end to multiple bankruptcy protections for airlines. Airlines should NOT be able to continually fly a route UNDER THE BREAK-EVEN PRICE TO PRODUCE THAT ROUTE and the government should not get to subsidize that route just to get some type of service to rural areas. You want to subsidize an airline? Re-regulate the industry as a whole. Otherwise, let airlines succeed or die based on their ability to be profitable.
7. Failure to create a guild entrance gatekeeper, similar to the AMA or ABA, thereby allowing any kid with deep-pocketed parents to buy their way into a job, regardless of their ability to fly and, more importantly, devaluing that job to those kids who didn't have to work that hard to obtain it. Arguably, if I can spend a summer and get all my ratings while going surfing every afternoon, I submit to you that it's easy to get into this profession and it shouldn't be.

Problems to the above?

Prices would probably double for airline tickets nearly overnight. Of course, arguably, this has needed to happen for some time. This is the ONLY industry I can think of where the price of the product has DECLINED by 50-60% over time as inflation and the CPI increases 2-3% yearly, despite the fact that the cost to produce the product has risen almost linearly with the CPI.

There would be a greatly-diminished demand for the product that would put a lot MORE pilots out of work. Arguably, there's too many of us as it is. See point #7 above.

Management would fight it all tooth and nail. You talk about how we'd solve things that management didn't create? You forget one crucial detail: it's management and the ATA that management created as its lobbying agent that helped obtain almost all of the above issues. Management has been thinking 3-4 steps ahead of pilots for DECADES... that's why the NPRM from the FAA on the increased ATP standards for 121 flying has a loophole in it for future ab-initio programs. They won't be needed for a decade, but the loophole is there and, if it's not closed, we'll be arguing about this in another 12-15 years how we missed yet ANOTHER problem.

Bottom line is that without a HUGE push-back from ALPA (or any large, organized group of pilots), we're NEVER going to get back to where this career was even 15-20 years ago (and yes, I was flying then, too). They've taken SO MUCH over the years, that getting ANY of it back is going to appear to be asking for HUGE gains from management and yes, it will cost a LOT of VERY REAL money to obtain.

YIP and I have had this argument ad-nauseum, you're just coming late to the show. The sad fact is that gaining those things back is going to put 10-15% of the pilot force out of work and shut down a few airlines along the way. It's going to be painful. It's going to be a long and arduous process. But either we do it or we resign ourselves to the fact that we're going to make less and be treated worse than our blue-collar Garbage collectors / plumbers / bus drivers in this country.

You can resign yourself to that after I've retired.

 

[AirCobra]

I am starting to wonder if AirCobra is one of our new "Top Gun" management types? AirCobra, you wouldn't have been a part of Skybus, would you? Then that scam JetAmerica? If so, then his posts are inline with who he is.

Maybe I am just a dumb Jarhead but we used to study previous battles to determine what went wrong so we don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Like we learned that frontal assaults on fixed positions are not a good idea so we wouldn't repeatt Pickett's Charge, or that using helicopters for deep attack like the Army does tends not to work out so well, and the variation between Marine helo losses in Iraq and Army helo losses bears this out. So if we start talking about strikes my Jarhead tendency is to look at the past two big ALPA strikes, United and Comair. How did those turn out in the long run? And we are talking about United and Comair here, very large airlines (or at least used to be), not a tiny little discount carrier. So if its "Top Gun" management to look at the past and use those lessons learned so as not to make the same mistakes twice, then I guess I am whatever you say. What do you do when you make decisions, do whatever ALPA tells you, because they still seem pretty much set on more and more Pickett's Charges' to me.

 

[AirCobra]

The problem is that you're one of the only 2 or 3 people advocating a "let's play nice with management even as they continually degrade our income and quality of life even as they are profitable" approach. When you are outnumbered 10 to 1 in your thought process, I would suggest that it's YOUR thought process that's skewed from reality, statistically-speaking.

Statistically speaking is what we have been doing through ALPA over the past 30 years been working? It reminds me of Viet Nam, its never change the strategy, the answer is always more troops. ALPA just wants more membership, strength in numbers. That's it, lets make it bigger and louder and we will be heard. Too bad no one is listening. Isn't it time for a change in strategy? I am outnumbered 10-1, so, what do the 10 have to show in terms of results? If the 10 have no ability for self examination, can't ever change their way of thinking, and keep making the same mistakes over and over, then I am happy I man not part of that 10.

I am saying play nice with your coworkers because an all around team effort will improve your bargaining position much more than support of other pilots from other companies. I am also saying understand market realities that if every industry is in a downturn that you will probably be too, so going to get ugly before it gets better. Finally get off the ALPA Kool Aid and start thinking for yourself, realize that ALPA's one size fits all approach doesn't work. Start thinking about what is best for your airline.

 

[Mike man]

I am starting to wonder if AirCobra is one of our new "Top Gun" management types? AirCobra, you wouldn't have been a part of Skybus, would you? Then that scam JetAmerica? If so, then his posts are inline with who he is.

You are correct...it does sound like his nonsensical rantings, "like in NASCAR there are no points for second place" what a moron, especially with NASCAR...they give out points for taking a pit stop. Anyway...

I should add that the Spirit MEC tried a lets cooperate approach with management, it was at best a complete failure for the pilot group--and a success for the chosen ones.

 

[AirCobra]

You are correct...it does sound like his nonsensical rantings, "like in NASCAR there are no points for second place" what a moron, especially with NASCAR...they give out points for taking a pit stop. Anyway...

I should add that the Spirit MEC tried a lets cooperate approach with management, it was at best a complete failure for the pilot group--and a success for the chosen ones.

As opposed to the totally sesible actions of doing the exact same things over, and over, and over, and over, and expecting a different result. Nope that is not moronic at all.

Did you encourage a let's cooperate approch with other employee groups or lets build a unified front, or did you just worry about your contract and what you can get out of it?

How about you Mike, if it comes to a strike what do you think will happen?

 

[AirCobra]

The problem is that you're one of the only 2 or 3 people advocating a "let's play nice with management even as they continually degrade our income and quality of life even as they are profitable" approach. When you are outnumbered 10 to 1 in your thought process, I would suggest that it's YOUR thought process that's skewed from reality, statistically-speaking.

As far as REAL self-examination of where we have failed as a union? That's easy:

1. Failure to see the dangers of deregulation and have a lobbying group in place to fight it back when it occurred.
2. Failure to see the dangers of Scope degradation and allowing ANY flying to be farmed out from the major airline to any "partner".
3. Failure to see the dangers of lack of Pension Reform and not lobbying strongly enough to protect from the corporate raiding of the Pension funding when markets surged suddenly, providing a nice source of cash for executive bonuses.
4. Failure to provide some type of segregation between bargaining units of a parent Major and its feeders (Delta vs ASA/Comair etc). Thereby having the same parent agent fighting for the same flying between brands and making it difficult for ALPA to engage in any meaningful "take it back" approach to Scope erosion.
5. Failure to enact some type of "minimum acceptable compensation" point for each type of aircraft flying and apply it across the board, no matter how financially solvent (or insolvent) an airline is? Can't afford to pay those pilots that fair wage? Then you shouldn't be in business.
6. Failure to lobby effectively for an end to government subsidizing of airlines and an end to multiple bankruptcy protections for airlines. Airlines should NOT be able to continually fly a route UNDER THE BREAK-EVEN PRICE TO PRODUCE THAT ROUTE and the government should not get to subsidize that route just to get some type of service to rural areas. You want to subsidize an airline? Re-regulate the industry as a whole. Otherwise, let airlines succeed or die based on their ability to be profitable.
7. Failure to create a guild entrance gatekeeper, similar to the AMA or ABA, thereby allowing any kid with deep-pocketed parents to buy their way into a job, regardless of their ability to fly and, more importantly, devaluing that job to those kids who didn't have to work that hard to obtain it. Arguably, if I can spend a summer and get all my ratings while going surfing every afternoon, I submit to you that it's easy to get into this profession and it shouldn't be.

Problems to the above?

Prices would probably double for airline tickets nearly overnight. Of course, arguably, this has needed to happen for some time. This is the ONLY industry I can think of where the price of the product has DECLINED by 50-60% over time as inflation and the CPI increases 2-3% yearly, despite the fact that the cost to produce the product has risen almost linearly with the CPI.

There would be a greatly-diminished demand for the product that would put a lot MORE pilots out of work. Arguably, there's too many of us as it is. See point #7 above.

Management would fight it all tooth and nail. You talk about how we'd solve things that management didn't create? You forget one crucial detail: it's management and the ATA that management created as its lobbying agent that helped obtain almost all of the above issues. Management has been thinking 3-4 steps ahead of pilots for DECADES... that's why the NPRM from the FAA on the increased ATP standards for 121 flying has a loophole in it for future ab-initio programs. They won't be needed for a decade, but the loophole is there and, if it's not closed, we'll be arguing about this in another 12-15 years how we missed yet ANOTHER problem.

Bottom line is that without a HUGE push-back from ALPA (or any large, organized group of pilots), we're NEVER going to get back to where this career was even 15-20 years ago (and yes, I was flying then, too). They've taken SO MUCH over the years, that getting ANY of it back is going to appear to be asking for HUGE gains from management and yes, it will cost a LOT of VERY REAL money to obtain.

YIP and I have had this argument ad-nauseum, you're just coming late to the show. The sad fact is that gaining those things back is going to put 10-15% of the pilot force out of work and shut down a few airlines along the way. It's going to be painful. It's going to be a long and arduous process. But either we do it or we resign ourselves to the fact that we're going to make less and be treated worse than our blue-collar Garbage collectors / plumbers / bus drivers in this country.

You can resign yourself to that after I've retired.

I forgot to add, all around an excellent post. I would like to see something like this from Rez or a strike happy Spirit guy. I get ALPA's magazine and all I see is sunshine an light, never "this is how we F'ed up", so that is why I think no learning ever takes place. It seems ALPA is just trying to sell membership, and I think its because of the misguided belief that strength in numbers and Mexican standoffs with management are the only solutions.

Well I guess I'll just go back to getting shouted down 10-1 now since questioning ALPA's narrative and strategy has no place in pilotdom. Careful with those seven points or you may also get labled a moron.

 

[pilotyip]

So a return to regulation and elimination of a lot of pilot jobs is the answer? Great for senior guys, not too good for anyone else.

 

[Lear70]

So a return to regulation and elimination of a lot of pilot jobs is the answer? Great for senior guys, not too good for anyone else.

It's ONE of the answers. All of them are relatively painful:

1. Re-regulate the industry. Hell, even Crandall admitted that deregulation was an abysmal failure in terms of sustained industry profitability.

2. Implement an industry-wide minimum wage structure. NO ALPA contract gets passed without hourly rates, duty and rest rigs, minimum days off, vacation, and retirement meet the mins set for that equipment type. ALPA has always retained the right of presidential veto of any T.A. reached, although that is seldom used (I think it was used once in over 40+ years).

3. Lobby for a new Federal Law that REQUIRES airlines to price EACH, INDIVIDUAL flight segment AT or ABOVE the price it costs to produce it. Too many airlines flying some routes at a loss just to slow the bleeding until the economy improves or to compete with other people who have lower costs on that route. The problem with that is it artificially depresses the price of the product below the break-even point and airlines go bankrupt doing so, just to file reorganization and come back and do it all again. If an airline were forced to price it break-even or better, they'd have to abandon the route if they couldn't make money on it, thereby allowing the other carrier to raise their price on that route. Customers would hate it, but it would return airlines to profitability, although yes, it would cost jobs (every REASONABLE alternative does).

4. Lobby for a minimum entrance standards for ALL commercial pilots. Similar to the bill that's currently being worked to require an ATP but WITHOUT any loopholes. Dry up the supply artificially.

5. Each, individual pilot commits themselves to raising the industry bar and no one settles for less. This is an ethical argument, for the most part, as human nature is to take care of one's self at the expense of others - survival of the fittest and all that. However, due to the disproportionate numbers of pilots who regularly prove they'll take ANY flying job, undercutting others to get it, this option is pretty much a waste of time.

6. Play nice, hope for the best, and just be happy to have a job. However, this type of thinking is what GOT us to where we are to begin with. Obviously this won't work with the management teams running 99% of the airlines.

You have any better suggestions, Mr. Wizard? (couldn't resist the facetious ending remark, owe you another beer for that one).

 

[Whine Lover]

" So a return to regulation and elimination of a lot of ( sh1tty ) pilot jobs is the answer?"

Sounds good to me.


YKW