Midwest will Cease all 717 Ops Nov 3, 2009

[Eagle757shark]

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.

 

[RedDogC130]

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest scam, not representing nearly 53,500 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada.

Good luck guys/gals.

 

[MCDU]

Another ALPA group bites the dust. What a surpirise. And so the clock turns and history repeats itself once again due to a failed system. Less experienced pilots jumping ahead and taking over flying from higher paid and more experienced pilots. The windfall continues for the PFT generation that does not respect DOH and the years of experience certain pilots have given to their airline. Greed is all that matters now, since we do not have real unions protecting these experienced jobs, its a dog eat dog world and no one cares til its your turn.

We are supposed to be Union pilots, but most do not act like it, because no real union would put up with this crap.

M

 

[ACL65PILOT]

I agree with Captain Freitas statement. The are trying to look a lot like MEH with those RJET airplanes and crews, but it just lacks something. It is not the same, and never will be the same.

Year after year the MEH group has been awesome. I have many personal experiences with you guys over the years going to and from MKE. Simply put, one of the best and most professional groups I have ever worked with. You guys exemplified above and beyond.

I do not know how long they will be able to run this virtual airline. It just pales in comparison.

Best of luck guys......

 

[Full of LUV]

Well what do you expect????

Another ALPA group bites the dust. What a surpirise. And so the clock turns and history repeats itself once again due to a failed system. Less experienced pilots jumping ahead and taking over flying from higher paid and more experienced pilots. The windfall continues for the PFT generation that does not respect DOH and the years of experience certain pilots have given to their airline. Greed is all that matters now, since we do not have real unions protecting these experienced jobs, its a dog eat dog world and no one cares til its your turn.

We are supposed to be Union pilots, but most do not act like it, because no real union would put up with this crap.

M

MDCU,
What do you expect from a generation that has seen the people in power change all the rules to benefit themselves at the expense of the junior folk. Make no bones, the whole "regional" payscale is just a backdoor "B"
plan. The regionals all exist because of lax scope enforcement for a few more dollars for the top end, and when the times get tough, lets just raise the retirement age to keep the juniors down a little longer. I'm not as effected by this, but even at MEH, the day they announced the layoff of half the pilot list, all should have quit "right then". Illegal job action, yes, orderly transfer of a companies operations to another, not!
But again, the older pilots just hung on to keep that pay for a few more months, thinking "poor junior pilots".
If you don't want the young subverting the old, then quit building an empire which so thoroughly works over the young at every turn.
Rant off!
LUV

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

Hey MCDU, didn't you go to GIA? Doesn't that make you part of the problem (among other things).

 

[roughneck]

This announcement to be followed shortly with, "All Frontier A320's to be replaced with RJ's operated with RJET crews."

Good luck.

 

[av8tordude23]

MDCU,
What do you expect from a generation that has seen the people in power change all the rules to benefit themselves at the expense of the junior folk. Make no bones, the whole "regional" payscale is just a backdoor "B"
plan. The regionals all exist because of lax scope enforcement for a few more dollars for the top end, and when the times get tough, lets just raise the retirement age to keep the juniors down a little longer. I'm not as effected by this, but even at MEH, the day they announced the layoff of half the pilot list, all should have quit "right then". Illegal job action, yes, orderly transfer of a companies operations to another, not!
But again, the older pilots just hung on to keep that pay for a few more months, thinking "poor junior pilots".
If you don't want the young subverting the old, then quit building an empire which so thoroughly works over the young at every turn.
Rant off!
LUV

I 100% agree with this statement. But, with many pilots being furloughed or companies going out of business, the young can not be classified as someone 30 yrs old or younger. But, you are accurately correct in your statement. The senior pilots only look out for themselves, yet they wonder why junior pilots have no sympathy to the senior pilots.

 

[climbhappy]

I thought I just read an argument against the merits of seniority...was that right?

 

[Full of LUV]

Well....

I thought I just read an argument against the merits of seniority...was that right?

There will always be a seniority system, even in non-union companies, there has to be a mechanism where they decide who gets the 24 hour turn in Paris and who gets the 39 hour layover in Lagos.
But a seniority system that ignores the bottom half is doomed as soon as it ignores 50.1% of the list.
Look all over these boards, it is a profession where those who rule, do so mostly in the favor of the senior and powerful.
I remember when ALPA put together a "commission" to look at the age 60 retirement issue, and it was like 11 Captains and 1 FO on the panel, (and the 1 FO was probably in line for an upgrade). Did they really think they got opinion from the whole union, did the ALPA leadership care what the bottom half of the union thought?
I'm not even saying that the result had to be any different, but from the ranks, it sure did appear as a huge power/wealth grab by the 55-59 crowd at all the airlines, the way it was implemented.
Look at the Pinnacle (or someone) who's captain bonuses are triple or quadruple the FO's. It's almost as if the company has figured out that it will do more harm to the union effort at the company to give bonus or "signing" cash and let them split it, than sign a contract on time and pay out over the term of the new contract.
I don't know if any of the bonuses were indeed unwarranted, but the perception by some on here was that there was huge disparities.
I could go on and on, but if you want the pilot groups to be cohesive during contract negotiations, then quit having the senior pilots walk all over the junior ones whenever there are furloughs or decisions to be made.