MidAtlantic/WEX/CHQ/REP/SA update from the U side

[LearLove]

So I'm down here in DFW in the hotel bizz room checking my email and my Capt is here with me. I show him this thread about what you guys with maybe 1 or 2 years in the airlines are saying on here. He has 5 years at PBA, 13 years at Eastern, hired at US Air in 90 (or so) and now at MDA with a few short ones to go until 60. He just laughs, shakes, his head and walks out mumbling something about "stapling his boot to the bottom of your a$$".

 

[NewBlue]

Sounds like Charley

 

[Popeye0537]

Charlie or Charlie brown?... Lear that guys got a black cloud over his head

 

[FurloughedAgain]

Pretty tough to tell a 1 year wonderstick to give up a few seniority numbers for an ex-Eastern pilot. Most of these young'ns don't have any idea what Eastern is. They might never acknowlege the impact that those pilots had on the industry.

The problem is that we've all got this entitelement mentality. It's MINE and you cant have it! When we receive a windfall (and yes, young friends, a slew of 70/90 seat jets for an airline that just a few short years ago was flying J31s and Metros IS, in fact, a windfall) we want every last bit of it to ourselves. You want those airplanes to pad your resume and to build up that PIC turbine so you can go... well, heck. I'm not sure where. I suppose these days its AirTran or Southwest. When I was at Chautauqua it was United. Whatever.

Well, these MDA guys have given up quite a bit as well. Most of them were 10+ year F/Os (and formerly Metrojet Captains) at US Airways. Their union sold them out for this "soft-landing" at MDA. They simply want to make a living. A reasonable slotted integration will not impact your career expectations. Brand-new, E-jets most certainly will.

Just because you have not seen hard times at Chautauqua, doesn't mean its not right around the corner. The most powerful airlines in the industry have been brought to their knees over the years. You are not immune to that fate.

Chautauqua has some amazing people within her ranks. Pilots hired in the early to mid-90s who have chosen to make a career there. They flew Metros and the old PSA Jetstreams (and some even flew the 99'). They know where they've come from and are thankful for the good fortune and hard work that built Chautauqua into a company that might be able to provide them with a career... not just a stepping stone.

Unfortunately Chautauqua has also recently hired some young folks who DO view it as a stepping stone. They are cocky, arrogant, and believe that they are entitled a rapid upgrade, and a quick transition from the "regionals" to the new so-called "majors". They believe that those who came before (from United, US Airways, etc.) are in that position because they made the wrong decisions... and that it could never happen to them.

Well my friends, it can. Take a lesson from your more senior counterparts. Be thankful for what Chautauqua is able to offer you at this time -- it may not be around forever. But while it is, how about a fair integration for some guys who have been less fortunate than yourselves? This profession is, after all, a craps shoot... and the Vegas odds on a successful retirement are pretty darned lousy.

Regards,
Chautauqua Alumni Class of 1996

PS - May we ALL be so lucky as to have a 25+ year career. 13 yrs at Eastern and another 15 at US Airways... not so bad. I'm willing to bet that although things didn't turn out quite the way he planned, he had some real good times over the last 28 years. Black cloud? I don't think so. Our "choices" will not dictate our fate. We won't know until the day we turn 60 whether or not those choices were correct.

 

[Bluestreak]

Umm...FurloughedAgain,isn't demanding DOH or slotted integration demonstrating an "entitlement mentality" ? If the reverse were true (U buys CHQ),do you think they'd give us DOH integration into the mainline seniority list ? NO.If their own union "brothers" threw them under the bus,am I somehow responsible ? No,again.Personally,I'd like to see the whole MDA unit left intact,so as to create the least disruption in those guys lives.

 

[HughBeamont]

If the reverse were true (U buys CHQ),do you think they'd give us DOH integration into the mainline seniority list?

Of course they would. 95% of you would be instantly furloughed.

 

[Fred Flamebait]

One step at a time. CHQ and Sa haven't settled their fair integration yet so I don't know how a fair and equitable integration would work with a mid atlantic guy having twice the longevity of anyone on either the CHC'S or Sa's list.DOH ain't happening. The only thing the MA guys can hope for is j4j stapled at the bottom keeping their seat. But with preferential bidding that would really suck. But it would keep food on the table.Unless you hold an F/O slot.....