Midwest will Cease all 717 Ops Nov 3, 2009

[Grey Ghost]

Maybe they should have taken the air tran deal?

 

[airlinepilot]

RAH no class, basically equal to scabs or worse.....welcome aboard F9 you are now big boys on the street....what are you going to do to fix things

 

[deadstick]

Maybe they should have taken the air tran deal?

...and then AirTran would be out of business, too. Could it have survived 2008 after swallowing a $450M horse pill?

 

[eaglesview]

I hate to beat a dead horse but where are the RAH pilots in all of this. There silence is sickening.

 

[JoeMerchant]

I hate to beat a dead horse but where are the RAH pilots in all of this. There silence is sickening.

I suspect the RAH pilots are doing what is best for the RAH pilots...That is the system WE created.....If the shoe was on the other foot, I don't see anyone looking out for them.

We don't have a true national "brotherhood"...We have a loose association of independent contractors that have to start all over again at the bottom if they change employers....We created this monster and some of you at the top are now surprised by this system that YOU created.

Would you like to talk about a national seniority list and brand scope? If not, then expect more of this....

 

[anewunion]

Bedford will see their day. Can you say Indy Air...

 

[JoeMerchant]

Bedford will see their day. Can you say Indy Air...

Indy Air was almost all 50 seaters.....This is a different "animal"...

 

[Anonymous2]

I'll always side with Independence Air. Those guys n' gals were like a true family. A really amazing set of people until the bitter end.

" Midwest Pilots' Statement on News that B-717 Operations Will Cease in November

• Press Release
• Source: Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
• On Wednesday September 30, 2009, 3:43 pm EDT

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Captain Anthony Freitas, chairman of the Midwest Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement after the pilots were informed that the operations of Midwest Airlines as we know it today will cease on November 3, 2009. On that day, the last of Midwest Airlines’ larger Boeing 717 aircraft will be returned to the manufacturer and all of the remaining Midwest pilots will no longer fly any Midwest aircraft.
“While there will still be airplanes flying with ‘Midwest’ written on them, there will no longer be any of the pilots who truly provided ‘The Best Care in the Air’ operating them. All of the original Midwest flight crews are being outsourced in the final phase of dismantling our airline.
“Midwest’s new owner hopes that if they keep the same paint scheme and cookies, no one will notice that the crews who helped build our airline’s well-deserved reputation for award-winning customer service are gone. Clearly, the replacement of highly experienced Midwest pilots with lower-cost labor will be devastating for our pilots and their families. But the traveling public will also be affected because they will lose the high experience levels and the extraordinary dedication to service that the real Midwest pilots have always taken great pride in providing.”
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilots union, representing nearly 53,500 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada."


I guess no one has really ever brought this up, but its something I realized. Not one single mention of those who truly provided that "Best Care In The Air". Those poor midwest Flight Attendants. No one ever mentions them. All about pilots pilots pilots. Me, Me Me. It all surrounds you "guys" right? Such a sad way to go. I'm glad the flight attendants realize what's going on and are hopefully preparing to move on with their lives, as sad as it is. But no one mentions them, the one and TRUE face of Midwest Airlines. They work hard, get paid very little and have been around just as long. But no appreciation. Why? If any of you YX FA's are on here, or even ground crew for that matter, remember, at least one person here is thinking of you, too.



PS: Always keep in mind that on that morning of September 11th, 2001, the emt's, fire fighters & police along with many others tried to save/saved lives, but the absolute true first responders were members of the Cabin Crews. They aren't ever mentioned. Think about that.

 

[CitationLover]

Maybe they should have taken the air tran deal?

You're right, they polled the pilots on that one.

Why not ask the 3 handpicked board members from Air Tran. They didn't vote for Air Tran either.

 

[General Lee]

I think Bedfords plan is this: he's coming after YOUR job next with his cheap, slave labor. If they can fly an almost transcon for those crappy wages, you can bet TransAtlantic/Pacific routes are up next.

Ummmmm, doubt it. DL RJ numbers will be at around 200 total within 2 years from now from what I hear. I think it is going the right direction if that is the case.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Hose A. Jiminez]

RAH no class, basically equal to scabs or worse.....welcome aboard F9 you are now big boys on the street....what are you going to do to fix things

Sad thing for the F9 guys is that they didnt even have to be part of this whole thing. Stemmler and another captain denied the rest of them healthy raises and a bright future for...? I hope they can toe the line and force Bedford to make RAH a respectable place to work-one that doesnt continue lowering the bar for the rest of the industry.

 

[eaglesview]

I suspect the RAH pilots are doing what is best for the RAH pilots...That is the system WE created.....If the shoe was on the other foot, I don't see anyone looking out for them.

We don't have a true national "brotherhood"...We have a loose association of independent contractors that have to start all over again at the bottom if they change employers....We created this monster and some of you at the top are now surprised by this system that YOU created.

Would you like to talk about a national seniority list and brand scope? If not, then expect more of this....

Folks like you crack me up. You have no idea who I am or what I stand for yet you feel the need to right crap like this. Actally I agree with some, not all, of your views but unfortunatley you usually slip up and show your lack of class and maturity.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Ummmmm, doubt it. DL RJ numbers will be at around 200 total within 2 years from now from what I hear. I think it is going the right direction if that is the case.


Bye Bye--General Lee

That would be awesome, but the fact is that we are still near 700. I cannot see us dumping 500 jets in two years. Maybe down by 200 to 500, but that would be the extent of it.

To do any more we would have to see a WO parked, and two FFD contracts voided. It is quite possible as there are a few that are up next fall, but it would take a lot of work.

Here is to hoping!

 

[Eagle757shark]

Yes this industry is in the state it is today because of the decisions pilots made back in the early 90's. When Delta pilots allowed Comair to fly 50-seat jets for them, the door was kicked wide open. Back in the mid 90's most major carriers (now known as Legacy Carriers) hired mostly military pilots. The majority of the pilots at the legacy carriers at the time were former military. It was not natural for them to accept a 50-seat airplane on property for their pilots to fly. The leaders at ALPA and APA were among the Legacy Carriers. Hmmm, see a trend here.

ALL JETS should have been flown by the mainline carrier regardless of seats. We will fall over each other to get a 747, 777, 767, 757 or Airbus on property. But we will farm off and run like hell from the EMB-145,170,190 type aircraft. WHY? Greed and a lack of vision and the "its all about me" has come back to haunt this industry. Pilots we are our own worst enemy.

Why are we our own worst enemy? It goes back to our initial training. Go to your local flight schools or your pilot farm pools and listen to the mentality. We will invest our lives in training, but it is considered "PAYING YOUR DUES" to accept mediocre conditions to fly airplanes. FLAWED THINKING! So we are stuck with the decisions that have been made. As long as the next guy benefits from someone else's demise, this is the system we have created.

 

[doh]

Could somebody explain the merger process for these two please?

 

[414Flyer]

Yes this industry is in the state it is today because of the decisions pilots made back in the early 90's. When Delta pilots allowed Comair to fly 50-seat jets for them, the door was kicked wide open. Back in the mid 90's most major carriers (now known as Legacy Carriers) hired mostly military pilots. The majority of the pilots at the legacy carriers at the time were former military. It was not natural for them to accept a 50-seat airplane on property for their pilots to fly. The leaders at ALPA and APA were among the Legacy Carriers. Hmmm, see a trend here.

ALL JETS should have been flown by the mainline carrier regardless of seats. We will fall over each other to get a 747, 777, 767, 757 or Airbus on property. But we will farm off and run like hell from the EMB-145,170,190 type aircraft. WHY? Greed and a lack of vision and the "its all about me" has come back to haunt this industry. Pilots we are our own worst enemy.

Why are we our own worst enemy? It goes back to our initial training. Go to your local flight schools or your pilot farm pools and listen to the mentality. We will invest our lives in training, but it is considered "PAYING YOUR DUES" to accept mediocre conditions to fly airplanes. FLAWED THINKING! So we are stuck with the decisions that have been made. As long as the next guy benefits from someone else's demise, this is the system we have created.

Great post. I wonder how many of the major airline pilots on here to blame regional pilots for everything bad in the industry, were either too proud to fly small jets and supported passing them on down, or even paid for their jobs too.

I would even add that almost all of us were told at some point in our training not to worry about pay for that first job, just get the experience. I do not know of people in any other field that tells its up and coming professionals to just take any job and not worry about the pay. I have never passed on that same attitude though, nor did I ever take a bottom feeder job. Anyone who tells any pilot to just take a job and worry about pay later, needs to be flogged. CFIs should be saying the opposite, to pass on dirtbag jobs and hold out for something better, and to have some pride and integrity.

But there is also an unfortunate result of seniority too. While seniority is probably the best system put forth so far, it does encourage people to just try to get hired now and worry about pay and benefits later.

 

[Fubijaakr]

I hate to beat a dead horse but where are the RAH pilots in all of this. There silence is sickening.

Updating their MKE charts.

 

[DOVPILOT]

from BB himself

http://www.entertonement.com/clips/...r-Star-Wars-Episode-V-The-Empire-Strikes-Back-

 

[samballs]

That would be awesome, but the fact is that we are still near 700. I cannot see us dumping 500 jets in two years. Maybe down by 200 to 500, but that would be the extent of it.

To do any more we would have to see a WO parked, and two FFD contracts voided. It is quite possible as there are a few that are up next fall, but it would take a lot of work.

Here is to hoping!

Comair is only just finished with year 3 of a 5 year pounding, 14 A/C in 2010 and I forget 2011 to get us around 68 from 179. They can do it, but I don't have much confidence that they know how to. So far 0 for 2.

 

[samballs]

I'm still confused why they baught Midwest. The company is almost gone, and they can't fight against southwest and others.