OFFICIAL! SkyWest In IAH

[Bjet Driver]

Mkay-

Thanks for bringing some rationality back to this discussion. Everyone needs to calm down and re-read their respective posts. What good does all of this pissing and moaning do? Let's wait and see what happens. I'm sure we'll all know what's up by Friday.(I hope)

The users on these message boards make up less than 1% of the respective pilot groups, so spare us the interview advice and words of warning. We are all professionals and can handle our own decision making when it comes to interviews, attitude, etc. I went to school with a couple of Skywest guys and was in training with another who joined SKY after XJT furlough. If I need further advice I can speak with them. No need to shove company protocol down my throat.

If Skywest found a loophole in the MOU, then they deserve the IAH flying. If the XJT union is that idiotic and unresourceful, then some changes need to be made quickly. I don't blame either company for their respective stance on this issue. Once again, let's hope we can all gain from this codeshare.

 

[mckpickle]

Could you tell me how your situation is any different than when COEx took over mainline CO routes? Or, how is it different from when SKYW took over mainline UA and DL routes? Should the pilots at UA and DL have demanded that the new jobs at SKYW and ACA BELONG to them?

Re-read my post on page two of this thread.

And mcpickle, do you think that it is even remotely possible that there is one pilot at COEx who was turned down at SKYW? If so, why should they be automatically hired at SKYW? Do you think that it is even remotely possible that there is one pilot who is furloughed from COEx that does not fit into the SKYW business model? And do you think that it is remotely possible that the style of person both SKYW and COEx look for could differ just a little bit?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then you should be able to see why the COEx pilots would need to go through an interview process at SKYW.

We'll see what happens.

GP

First Express doing mainline flying stinks because without movement at the CAL we don't flow through. That being said, its still in the same company. I dont agree with it, but at least its within the same company by pilots from the same union.

Now I understand that some of our guys might not fit the corperate image that Skywest is looking for. (some of us bathe rather infrequently ) But Our guys have been out of work for 18 months. I think that we've bent enough, and if Skywest wants the new flying they should have to compromise. know its a big shat sandwich but I really dont see any negatives for Skywest and just more diaper treatment for Express.

I understand the industry stinks now. But this is the time that we need our union and to stay unified more that ever. We can fight for only so much but when our flying starts going to a lower bidder and our pilots are unemployed thats when our union is here to help us. (I hope)

 

[nimtz]

Re: THAT IS WHY THEY NEED INTERVIEWS

Mckpickle they need the interviews to keep the guys out who only want to break airplanes and call in sick to cause the company grief. I can see why they would want to screen you out. Just my 2 cents. Maybe I shouldn't bother, because I don't have a dog in this fight, but pilots with that attitude just bug me.

Try flying the line for a few years and see how your attitude towards this job changes. In the mean time keep in mind that sick time doesn't count against you at your virtual airline. Stay in the bush leagues junior!

 

[Obi-Wan]

METARzan,
They obviously lowered their standard when they hired you. Check your spelling.

 

[George Jetson]

i have to agree with Guppypuppy. i think it's already a done deal, and XJT folks are going to have to live with it. interview at skywest, or stay on the street. if i were in their (XJT pilots) shoes, i'd feel the same way.... (pissed off, that is)

...

history repeats itself, furloughed XJT will have to interview like everyone else did. hopefully all will benefit from these procedings which we as pilots have little or no control over...

Smoove,

It is NOT a done deal. Skywest and CAL may have announced a code-share, but CAL ALPA has yet to ratify an IAH Prop MOU. Pasted below is a copy of a Pilot-2-Pilot blastmail that was received today in my email box .

"Skywest Airlines and Continental Airlines announced a code-share agreement today for turboprop flying in Houston. CAL ALPA and Continental Airlines are currently engaged in active negotiations for an MOU involving this flying. As of today, the MOU has not been finalized nor has it been signed by your elected representatives. However, last Friday at the MEC Meeting in Houston, the CAL MEC unanimously (16-0-0) approved a resolution directing the CAL Negotiating Committee (in coordination with the CALEX NC) to complete bargaining for a Houston turboprop MOU. Your elected representatives will distribute more information once the MOU is concluded and signed. If you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please contact your elected representative."

As I said, the deal has yet to be finalized. What I DO know...is that it WON'T just be preferential interviews for our furloughed (and perhaps some of our active) pilots. They will be subject to SKYW's new hire pilot qualifications as far as minimum hourly requirements, but that's it. This information comes from conversations with several ALPA representatives yesterday. This is a VERY hot issue on our property right now.

As far as I am concerned, Skywest and Continental had NO business publishing a press release before the third party in the deal had signed off on it. CAL ALPA will most likely agree, but that doesn't give the other 2 parties the right to go publishing press releases.

For those of you getting your panties in a wad on this issue, chill out. Getting emotionally charged for no reason is pointless. Just be patient and wait and see. ExpressJet pilots don't want to harm SKYW pilots and I'm sure that the reverse holds true. Remember this....we are not enemies. We all are just pilots who are stuck in the middle.

GJ

 

[embdrvr]

As far as I am concerned, Skywest and Continental had NO business publishing a press release before the third party in the deal had signed off on it. CAL ALPA will most likely agree, but that doesn't give the other 2 parties the right to go publishing press releases.

George,
Some of the SkyWester's posted excerpts from internal company communications regarding their new base opening etc. SkyWest is a publicly traded company. I think if they tried to keep a lid on it they could get into trouble with the SEC. You can't tell employees and not the public when a material disclosure effecting stock price has been made. You might want to check out SEC.gov for info.

No dog in the fight but I'm willing to bet a six-pack that this deal moves forward with or without CALALPA blessing. The only recourse the union is has is going to court and you can bet with the current White House residents no judge is going to stop them. By the time the case is heard XJT will probably put RJ's back on the routes and there won't be anything left to squabble about.

You can send me a 6 pack of Coors when this is all over.

 

[George Jetson]

You can send me a 6 pack of Coors when this is all over.

Wow....you're a cheap date.

I'm pretty confident that the deal will go through also. If CAL ALPA does say no and the company goes ahead anyways, they have the grievance process to back them up. How effective that will be, I don't know.

As far as SEC regs, etc, I'm well aware of those and the implications of withholding information to the public, yada yada yada. My only point was that it sure did suck to see press releases about service to Killeen and Waco when as of today, CAL ALPA has only agreed to VCT on July 1. Whatever happened to integrity and credibility in the negotiations process?

It definitely wouldn't surprise me to see CAL go ahead regardless, given their "award winning" employee relations. Don't believe Gordon's book......the employees at CAL and XJT have been taking it in the rear for years...especially since 9/11. Talk to any CAL/XJT employee and they will tell you why. Nothing like furloughing employees only to outsource work to a third party. Talk about feeling burned.....

GJ

 

[easy spirit]

......As I said, the deal has yet to be finalized. What I DO know...is that it WON'T just be preferential interviews for our furloughed (and perhaps some of our active) pilots. They will be subject to SKYW's new hire pilot qualifications as far as minimum hourly requirements, but that's it. This information comes from conversations with several ALPA representatives yesterday. This is a VERY hot issue on our property right now. .............


GJ [/B]

No wonder it's a VERY hot issue on the property. No offense but most of us have heard about the COEX interview process (if you can call it that).


"Calling all union reps...............calling all union reps!"

Good luck.

 

[George Jetson]

No wonder it's a VERY hot issue on the property. No offense but most of us have heard about the COEX interview process (if you can call it that).

What does John Dresser (he was let go after 9/11 by the way) and his "interview" process have to do with this issue? For the record, some guys had great experiences, others had bad ones. I personally was disgusted by some of the stories I heard. I only had one interview and it was non-confrontational. Some guys had quite the opposite and I disagree with that tactic. Nonetheless....this has absolutely zero bearing or relevance to this discussion.

GJ

 

[easy spirit]

Why would it be such a HOT issue then at COEX to have to interview at SkyWest for a job. I don't understand. As stated earlier in these threads the UAL furloughees didn't just walk in demanding jobs at SkyWest. They interviewed for them. SkyWest IS a desireable company to work for.

Okay, your right, mabe the COEX interview "process" isn't relevent here. Sorry. I just don't understand why it's such a HOT issue for XJT folks. We are all professionals. Just prepare, show some knowledge, competence and a GOOD attitude and I'm sure the XJT guys/gals will be in the air in no time.

 

[George Jetson]

Why would it be such a HOT issue then at COEX to have to interview at SkyWest for a job.

Like 2 ships passing in the dark....

The hot issue isn't whether or not our furloughed pilots have to interview for these jobs. Its the very fact that CAL management is outsourcing more flying with furloughed CAL/XJT pilots. I'm not worried about our furloughed pilots and SKYW. They will fit in just fine at SKYW just as they have Commutair. We are all just pilots...nothing sets us apart. People who engage in a petty "my airline has the best pilots" argument are simply immature (Not directed at you). When Commutair furloughed a chunk of guys back in the summer of 2001, we hired a bunch of them with no interviews. Our recruiting team flew up to Albany and hired many pilots on the spot. Arguing amongst pilots is not productive. Skywest pilots just have to understand where we are coming from here. It is frustrating to see flying going away, especially with pilots on the street.

GJ

 

[easy spirit]

Okay, I don't want to beat this horse too badly here but what is the Hot issue? Ealier you said it was having to interview (being subject to SkyWest's minimum hourly requirements..that's it), now you say it's CAL's Mgt outsourcing flying with XJT pilots on furlough?

I take it that it's both?

I got to go now and resurface my garage floor. I can only put it off for so long

 

[Bluto]

Interviews

It's funny how these discussions work. Less than a week ago many Skywest advocates were concerned that CALALPA would try to "abrogate" the seniority system at Skywest by limiting Houston flying to only furloughed or current XJT pilots. Interviews for our furloughed pilots is a hot issue for a number of reasons. One of the many reasons for this is that these interviews could be used to benefit XJT pilots out of seniority order.

This is a very different situation from the DAL and UAL pilots who have interviewed with Skywest. In all likelihood, this will be a temporary job for the XJT furloughs who will have to return to XJT when recalls occur (as is the case with CommutAir). My guess is that this is a temporary benefit to pacify the xjt pilots who could suffer long-term from having another carrier operating on their former routes and from their primary hub.

Now, I agree that CAL owns the flying and contractually they can give it to anyone they want. However, it seems clear that having Skywest perform this flying is a blatant affront to xjt pilots while there are over 400 furloughs on the street. CAL/XJT management is well aware of the impact of this action. This is why they went to the trouble of allowing a "preferential interview" at all.

Of course, all this is just my opinion, based on conjecture and rumor so take it for what it's worth.

 

[George Jetson]

Okay, I don't want to beat this horse too badly here but what is the Hot issue? Ealier you said it was having to interview (being subject to SkyWest's minimum hourly requirements..that's it), now you say it's CAL's Mgt outsourcing flying with XJT pilots on furlough?

I take it that it's both?

No. The HOT issue amongst our pilots is exactly what I said. Management's outsourcing of our jobs with pilots on the street. I never said it was pilot's having to interview because quite frankly, they won't. Period.

GJ

 

[mckpickle]

Yes that is why we are upset because flying that we could be doing is going to another airline while we have people on the street. That flying could be done by us facilitating growth at our own company.

Another question. And this isn't meant to start a fight but I think we have a right to know.

What happened with the Comair RJ's that got transfered to SKywest durring the strike. Did Skywest fly those aircraft while Comair was on strike, and if so what routes.

Also, what is in your contract about flying struck work? Kind of something we think about since we are in heavy contract negotiations.

Thanks

 

[Russ]

Yup, we still have a number of the Comair aircraft, POS's that they are. I imagine Comair gets at least a small amount of satisfaction over the junkers they gave us. I can't remember the dates accurately enough to answer your second Q. No we didn't fly struck work. That was a huge issue for us and management said they wouldn't require us to do so. The whole issue if I remember was around for awhile because of the fuzzy language from the Comair MEC (or whomever ) as to what struck work was. Same city pairs or flying into simply one of the cities that Comair served. Seemed pretty clear, but the language and scope of what the MEC was trying to impose was ambigious.

 

[embdrvr]

That flying could be done by us facilitating growth at our own company.

Another question. And this isn't meant to start a fight but I think we have a right to know.

What happened with the Comair RJ's that got transfered to SKywest durring the strike. Did Skywest fly those aircraft while Comair was on strike, and if so what routes.

Growth that could be facilitated if all the EMB's weren't parked or sold. Coex pay rates for the EMB are far less than SkyWest according to the info available on the web. I bet this turboprop flying will not be long term otherwise it would be cheaper for COex to do it themselves.

Ya don't hear a whole lot of CMR people complaining and isn't that more of an issue between CMR and SkyWest who seems to have a pretty good labor record on the whole?

 

[JBcrjca]

And this isn't meant to start a fight but I think we have a right to know.

Not trying to start a fight? It looks to me like you are trying to start an argument because the question about the ex-Comair planes is totally irrelevant to this situation. CAL and Xjet aren't on strike, so I don't see any connection to SkyWest getting the IAH contract.

But as Russ said, no struck work was flown by SkyWest crews. Some Comair crews referred to the airplanes as 'captured', but I guess it depends on how you look at the timing. Since the airplanes were parked, Comair returned some of them to Bombardier in Montreal. At that point, as I understand it, they were put on the open market. They were up for grabs by any airline that could pay for them, and SkyWest did acquire a few. It was a way to speed up the SkyWest delivery schedule, but no additional routes were started with those particular ships. I don't recall the dates that they entered service, but our pilot group was assured that flying them didn't make a struck work issue since they were on the open market. Maybe someone else has more details?

But the main point should be this...there is no similarity between the Comair strike and what's going on now between Xjet and SkyWest. Let's let the issue die right here please.

 

[Bluto]

Coex has been in contract negotiations for the better part of a year. A strike is possible in the not-too-distant future. I think his question is perfectly relevant, considering how closely XJT and SkyWest will be operating together. As you suggest, I consider the Comair issue dead. However, don't you worry about what could happen in the event of a strike at XJT with SkyWest operating out of Houston?

 

[MTorbust]

Mckpickle: You lose credibility fast if you imply Skywest or our pilots did anything but take the high road on the Comair deal.

Bluto: I actually would not worry if Coex struck and Skywest were in IAH. I was a witness to the whole deal and our MGT would not touch (the true definition of) "struck" work with a ten foot pole - and it was offered.

 

[Bjet Driver]

This is now a done deal.

SKYW 120's are headed to IAH. Left seats will be Sky Capt's, right seats will be XJT FO's. BTW, there will be no interviews for the XJT guys.

Let's get the show on the road. Hope to see some of you in IAH.

 

[Bluto]

Excellent

MTorbust,
Glad to hear it. I would expect nothing less from SkyWest and it's pilot group. You can't fault us for being a little wary, though. The timing is suspicious. I definitely wouldn't put it past XJT/CAL mgmt to diversify a little bit to protect themselves in case of a strike. This is one reason I think XJT has the potential to do much better than Comair did with the contract: the limited availabilty of alternative feed. Anyway, I meant no offense to Skywest or it's pilots. I look forward to working with you folks.

 

[maddog805]

UH??

This is now a done deal.

SKYW 120's are headed to IAH. Left seats will be Sky Capt's, right seats will be XJT FO's. BTW, there will be no interviews for the XJT guys.

Let's get the show on the road. Hope to see some of you in IAH.

It must not be. Here is an message from corporate communications:

All IAH flight crew staffing will be new growth, and will not take from existing domiciles.

Furloughed CO and COEX pilots do have to go through the same interview process required of all pilots at SkyWest.

They will not be required to give up their seniority number by accepting employment at SkyWest

Someone is confused. Only time will tell the truth.

 

[Bjet Driver]

Someone is confused. Only time will tell the truth.

My source is pretty high up there dog. However, I'm sure some issues still remain fluid. Even if an interview is required, those of us who have been on the street for 18-19 months won't be complaining.

Like I said, let's get the show on the road............

 

[MTorbust]

Anyone care to mention the average temperature and humidity in IAH in Jul and Aug? How 'bout the size of the cockroaches and mosquitoes? I am not slamming here, but, I do not see a mass exodus of the SKW ranks going to IAH. I see a strong potential for a new hire to go from furloughed to making CA @ $44 / hr in a matter of months. My fingers are crossed for them.

 

[mckpickle]

This is now a done deal.

SKYW 120's are headed to IAH. Left seats will be Sky Capt's, right seats will be XJT FO's. BTW, there will be no interviews for the XJT guys.

Let's get the show on the road. Hope to see some of you in IAH.

In all sincerely I am not tryin got start anything. But look at it from our point of view. Would you let someone into your house thats a know threat? I certainly wouldn't , thats why I was asking the question. Thats all. If you guys HAD flown struck work or didn't have anything preventing you from flying struck work that could have a large impact on our leverage don't you agree? I was just trying to answer a question thats all.

Now the deal with the Comair airplanes does come into play because anytime you threaten to take away aircraft from one pilot group and give to another you are penalizing pilot group A to benefit group B. I have very little info as to what happened with Comair, but I know some there are still a bit pi$$ed about it.

I'm just trying to make an informed opinion.

 

[mckpickle]

Anyone care to mention the average temperature and humidity in IAH in Jul and Aug? How 'bout the size of the cockroaches and mosquitoes? I am not slamming here, but, I do not see a mass exodus of the SKW ranks going to IAH. I see a strong potential for a new hire to go from furloughed to making CA @ $44 / hr in a matter of months. My fingers are crossed for them.

God love ya flying in IAH. I flew down there in the ATR being displaced from EWR last summer. It was HOT darn HOT. So hot I saw a little orange man burst into flames! But really its the bugs that got me. A flying cockroach was in my hotel in Brownsville. I threw the bible at him and he laughed and threw it back!

 

[BJK]

Question for the XJet/CoEx folks that have been on the street for the past 18 months.........What kept you on the street? Is the company that good that it is worth sacrificing seniority elsewhere for 18 months? Not that jobs have been that plentiful, but pilots interviewed by SkyWest in Nov. 01' included numerous applicants freshly furloughed by CoEx. EMB upgrade has already come their way (gotta have 2500TT and 1000 crew to qualify) and there are over 250 below them on the seniority list now. There are plenty of furloughees from various regionals and majors that have been hired by SkyWest in the last 18 months. Hell..I even know of one guy recalled by (Mesa) during ground school who turned the recall down to continue training at SkyWest. Great decision.

Regarding the interview process, why are some of you so wound up about it? Its cake as long as you're prepared and have a good attitude.

Another question.....How should SkyWest deal with furloughed CoEx pilots that did choose to interview at SkyWest after being furloughed, but were unsuccessful. I know of 2 that pinked the sim ride. The thought of a meet & greet interview and then off to the right seat seems a bit of a problem if the pilot failed to meet SkyWest standards the first time they interviewed.

Just some thoughts.

Late.

 

[Mkay?]

Here we go again!

Let the heated verbage resume ...

 

[NEDude]

Coex has been in contract negotiations for the better part of a year. A strike is possible in the not-too-distant future.

As long a Dubya is in office, Coex is not going on strike. Do you honestly think a Texas Republican who is very pro-management, is going to allow a Texas based airline - based at an airport named after his daddy - go on strike and cripple business in Texas? Especially not too long after the federal government has (in their minds) spend billions to try and help out the airline industry? You best bet is early 2005, if Dubya does not get re-elected. If he is, no airline is going on strike until at least 2009. A COEX strike is nothing I would worry about.