Mesaba Furlough Announcement...

[whaleroast]

No kidding, what percentage of the recalls came back the last time?

I think it was something like 80 out of 225.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I think it was something like 80 out of 225.

Yea if I remember right it was around that mark. Though most that did come back were from the group that had been cut later in the process and were only gone from either August or October of 06 (I forget which) to April 07. Most that went out in January or February of 06 didn't come back. But then again there were plenty of other places to go in early 06 too.

 

[livin'thesim]

Isn't this the third or fourth 'false start' for Mesaba growth?

I have a couple friends there, I'm guessing everyone there is getting tired of this crap.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Isn't this the third or fourth 'false start' for Mesaba growth?

I have a couple friends there, I'm guessing everyone there is getting tired of this crap.

It's been so common, most guys have just gotten used to this being the way things are.....

 

[samballs]

We (OH) had pilots leaving for Mesaba while Mesaba was hiring, and they all would brag about how quick they were going to upgrade (should not listen to seven). I always thought why would you leave OH south and go to OH north, they were the same airline even before DL,NW merger. BOTH SUCK

 

[xjhawk]

yeah for like a couple months we had a good upgrade time. It went from like 7-8 years to upgrade to like nothing. Looks like we are back to normal. Heck I have been on reserve for about 6 years, looks like a few more years for me. Maybe there should be a letter of agreement for the max number of times a pilot can do ready reserve. 10 a month is getting pretty old.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

yeah for like a couple months we had a good upgrade time. It went from like 7-8 years to upgrade to like nothing. Looks like we are back to normal. Heck I have been on reserve for about 6 years, looks like a few more years for me. Maybe there should be a letter of agreement for the max number of times a pilot can do ready reserve. 10 a month is getting pretty old.

I've spent all but 4 months on reserve here myself. I understand the pain...
The way things are though you might not have to much longer though it will require a trip back to the right seat. As for the ready reserve... that's something that indeed will have to be looked at in the new contract.

 

[Flybet3]

yeah for like a couple months we had a good upgrade time. It went from like 7-8 years to upgrade to like nothing. Looks like we are back to normal. Heck I have been on reserve for about 6 years, looks like a few more years for me. Maybe there should be a letter of agreement for the max number of times a pilot can do ready reserve. 10 a month is getting pretty old.

You could get what American Eagle has and get ready reserve for the whole month with 11 days off. Or join me in the charter world and be on call 24/7, it's like ready reserve all day, week, month, year long. LOL. I'll take this 10 day a month crap anytime. None the less though!!! RESERVE SUUUUUCKS!

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I did air ambulance for a while and even that wasn't quite as bad as ready reserve is. Close but not quite. Now add in other aspects of that job and company and well it was an easy choice to jump ship just before it sank.

I'll take the ready before a displacement back to fo but we really do need to look at adjusting it some at the next opportunity (if not dump it all together).

 

[afpilotselect]

The last airline I was at had Ready Reserve lines. From my understanding a large majority of regional airlines have this. Having 10 days of Ready Reserve is not nearly as bad as a whole month of it. It could be a whole lot worse!

 

[XJohXJ]

Just because it could be worse does not make it OK. That kind of BS argument is how airline managements have been lowering our expectations, pay and QOL over the last decade. That constant low level grind is a well organized attempt to make us think less of our value and be more pliant for management.

Plenty of airlines do not allow any RR at all. There is no reason we should not all be like that.

 

[afpilotselect]

XJohXJ, I agree with you that Ready Reserve should not be allowed and neither should highspeeds!

 

[machaf]

Grass is anyways Greener.

Everything will revert back to its mean.

 

[Whataboutbob]

Anybody that does RR frequently at Mesaba care to comment on what the percentage is that they are used to go fly when on RR?

How often are they truly given a short notice call ("we need you now") versus like lets say one hour or 1.5 hour notice to departure time?

Has anybody called in fatigued after sitting at the airport for 6 or 7 hours and then been given flying assignments that put you at a 13 or 14 hour duty day.

I do RR frequently and obviously have nothing good to say about it. Im pretty sure the only reason they utilize it is to make our lives difficult, but then again maybe I'm biased about the subject. I don't think it really helps them increase there operational #'s as much as they would say.

For me most of the time that I'm called is to work a flight that leaves in an hour or two hours. I think there has only been one time that I was given an assignment that had people on the airplane waiting for me. I wish the union and the company could meet in the middle and settle on a short call program that would allow people that live near the airport (crashpad or permanent residence) to stay at home and accept maybe a 45min callout to get to the airport verses the 1.5 instead of doing RR. Obviously still keeping the 1.5 callout but just have one guy on short call.

And when they give you a 2hour notice for a flight it makes you wonder how early they really knew about it but waited to get inside the 2.5hrs so they could utilize the RR guy that is already getting 4hrs of credit for being at the airport. Mines will get there moneys worth.

I had scheduling call me in to work the other day asking me if I could accept less than 1.5hrs to get to the airport and how much would they need to delay the flight that should have automatically been delayed 25min so I got my full 2.5hours before departure time. My answer was "well back in the day I would have probably helped the company out but since they have chosen the road of RR I will not do both for them. Thats how it used to be, you would try to get there a few minutes early if need be to help them out hoping they wouldn't start to utilize RR which was always in our FOM. But those days are gone.

My last comment about RR and I will get off the soap box is its great when you sit at the airport starting at 430am, so you gotten up at probably 330am. You sit at the airport for say 5 or 6 hours, they call you to go fly. So now you are thinking that instead of going home after 8hours you are looking at a 10 hour day and then they add another out and back on top of the original (so 4 legs). Now it has turned into a 13 to 14 duty day. I know this doesn't happen often but it does. I would recommend to start calling in fatigued. To me its ridiculous and abuse of the RR program even though technically legal according to the contract as long as assigned within 8 hours of starting your duty and also not scheduled over a 14hr day. When asked why they don't utilize the PM RR for the second flight they give you the "well we need to keep them available for something else that might come up and we can still utilize you.

I know, fun times at XJ "thats reality fokes"

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I've been called more with less than the 1.5 hours at home than I have been called on ready reserve with less than 1.5 hours notice.....
One time I have been called on ready with a 4 minute notice to departure. That flight left about 1:15 late thanks to the same thunderstorms keeping the original captain from getting into DTW. That's the only time in over a year that I have been called on rr that I wouldn't have been able to get there for an on time door close. I would routinely get there with 2 hours to push notice while sitting highspeed reserve. And I woudn't be needing to rush to do it. No reason to short everyone thier hotel time if I didn't have to. Other than the 8 hours is too long the thing that bothers me is the early show time.... Why should I come in 3+ hours before the first flight just in case they want to deadhead me to another base. By the time I am deadheaded there they could have called another reserve in at that base and beat me there. If there isn't any reserves that early in the morning, out of base reserves need to be used. Or better yet with the ongoing fiasco that is MEM, TDY lines need to be offered.