Pilots and their CELLPHONES

[405]

All regional airlines should install cigarette lighters in cockpits so you can charge your phones, too.

 

[wheelsup]

Good luck with that. If I were the IRS I'd tell you to go screw yourself. That phone call to the hotel was not required to be from your cellphone, you CHOSE to do that so you could save $1.45 in taxes. Those 200 minutes were not REQUIRED to be from your cellphone. Had you not made them, you still would have paid for them, but this way you get to deduct them from your taxes. FRAUD!

Oh ok, next time I will send smoke signals to the hotel for a pick up, or I suppose I could just sit around and wait for another crew to call? That's be swell in the -40C Canadian winter .

And I won't save $1.45 in taxes. I will deduct the $1.45 from my income, which will reduce the tax I pay. I will save around $0.36 or so. Doesn't sound like much does it? Combine that $1.45 with the $5000 or so I will be writing off this year and it adds up.

I suppose you wouldn't write off a headset purchase either, would you? Or dry cleaning services for your uniforms? How about uniform purchases in general? Resume paper, travel to an interview, etc. All deductible...as I understand it.

I'm glad there's people like you out there that pay more than their share of the taxes - that means I have to pay less ...

~wheelsup





~wheelsup

 

[av8er2]

Oh ok, next time I will send smoke signals to the hotel for a pick up, or I suppose I could just sit around and wait for another crew to call? That's be swell in the -40C Canadian winter .

And I won't save $1.45 in taxes. I will deduct the $1.45 from my income, which will reduce the tax I pay. I will save around $0.36 or so. Doesn't sound like much does it? Combine that $1.45 with the $5000 or so I will be writing off this year and it adds up.

I suppose you wouldn't write off a headset purchase either, would you? Or dry cleaning services for your uniforms? How about uniform purchases in general? Resume paper, travel to an interview, etc. All deductible...as I understand it.

I'm glad there's people like you out there that pay more than their share of the taxes - that means I have to pay less ...

~wheelsup





~wheelsup

Come on you know the meaning of this post. The company really benefits from our cell phones and doesn't pay a dime.

 

[Icelandair]

Maybe it was a weekend and the minutes are free anyway.

 

[wheelsup]

Come on you know the meaning of this post. The company really benefits from our cell phones and doesn't pay a dime.

You're right, it's totally gone off on another tangent. I agree, the time saved is incredible by using the cell phone. If everybody in the pilot group stopped using their cell for a month management would certainly take notice. Short of doing that, there isn't much that can be done. If anything, you'd get a bit healthier .

Maybe it was a weekend and the minutes are free anyway.

But that person is still paying for the service, no matter if they are using minutes or not. If they used their phone only on the weekends, so the minutes were free, but never paid their phone bill, there would not be any "free" minutes to use...the phone company would shut off the service. In a normal business environment, the company would provide a cell phone. However, this is aviation so we are expected to work for free and provide the company with extra lift to help them get the job done . I'm not bitching, it's the way it's always been, and probably always will be. I will just write it off, no biggie.

~wheelsup

 

[Axel]

Maybe it was a weekend and the minutes are free anyway.

Free for 49.99/month. If the company wants you to have a cell phone they shoud either issue you one or pay a stipend for the use of yours.

 

[Phony Marconi]

This is such a negative environment. 10% of the posts are people helping each other out.

You're right!

OK....here's a positive, friendly, helpful suggestion on how to deal with the communication quagmire:

Next time an issue comes up during taxi-out that requires communication with the Company, do this:

Notify ATC of the need to return to the gate. With all engines operating, taxi safely back to the gate, shut down, recall the jetway or airstair, politely brief the passengers, exit the aircraft and proceed to find a landline in the terminal, and make a fuggin' phone call!

 

[av8er2]

How about we all get on board and propose a week or a month that no one uses their cell phones to help ASA. That will get things changed very fast.

ASA pilots need to get together on issues like this if they want it changed. You see Mgt. is together on issues to put ASA pilots down and because they are togther they are stonger.

Just look at the pay scales, they want to take money out of your pocket and still have you use your phone and not pay for it.

The cell phone saves the company probably millions a year and they won't give the capt. $20 or $30 a month. Most other decent companies that use cell phones give them to the worker.

 

[screwed_again]

another gay-ass dumb thread.

 

[DetoXJ]

For all you cry babies who don't want to use your cell phone just call ops at the airport you are at and they can easily patch you through to Mx, Dx, Scheduling, ect. ect. Don't use your cell phone if you feel you are getting jipped, just use the radio. There is no need to taxi back to the gate just to use a land line. Tool!!

 

[IFLYASA]

How about we all get on board and propose a week or a month that no one uses their cell phones to help ASA. That will get things changed very fast.

ASA pilots need to get together on issues like this if they want it changed. You see Mgt. is together on issues to put ASA pilots down and because they are togther they are stonger.

Just look at the pay scales, they want to take money out of your pocket and still have you use your phone and not pay for it.

The cell phone saves the company probably millions a year and they won't give the capt. $20 or $30 a month. Most other decent companies that use cell phones give them to the worker.

I actually asked "MyASA" about this issue. I gave a scenario of when the APU door is unknown, and we have to manually reset it. The ONLY way to do this is via cell phone. Use a few minutes, help the company, and keep the airplane flying fast. Or, don't give in, defer the APU with the door in the Unknown position, and keep it under 300 knots. Think of how much time and fuel this is going to cost?? They would pay my cell phone bill for the rest of the year just on one flight. Their answer was "We do not provide compensation for any cell phone usage". This is where they need to get their heads out of their a$$es and do some cost analysis. It's not rocket science, except to management.

 

[DetoXJ]

I actually asked "MyASA" about this issue. I gave a scenario of when the APU door is unknown, and we have to manually reset it. The ONLY way to do this is via cell phone. Use a few minutes, help the company, and keep the airplane flying fast. Or, don't give in, defer the APU with the door in the Unknown position, and keep it under 300 knots. Think of how much time and fuel this is going to cost?? They would pay my cell phone bill for the rest of the year just on one flight. Their answer was "We do not provide compensation for any cell phone usage". This is where they need to get their heads out of their a$$es and do some cost analysis. It's not rocket science, except to management.

I'm confused. What can your cell phone accomplish that you radio can't in your above scenario? Please explain.

 

[IFLYASA]

I'm confused. What can your cell phone accomplish that you radio can't in your above scenario? Please explain.

To do an APU reset you have to be in the aft equipment bay and run a reset program. You press certain buttons and wait for certain LED's to light, and continue based on what it's reading. You can't call maintence from the radio or Ops phone and just write down the sequence. You have to have your head up there with your cell phone and read out the indications to maintenance, and they give you instructions based on what it reads..

 

[DetoXJ]

To do an APU reset you have to be in the aft equipment bay and run a reset program. You press certain buttons and wait for certain LED's to light, and continue based on what it's reading. You can't call maintence from the radio or Ops phone and just write down the sequence. You have to have your head up there with your cell phone and read out the indications to maintenance, and they give you instructions based on what it reads..

Just defer the APU over the radio. Probably quicker and less hassle than crawling into the APU hell hole. Being limited to 300 knots for one flight to get to a hub isn't a big deal as far as the company is concerned. A 300 Knot limit at most might add a couple minutes to the flight plan time and as far as fuel burn goes, it will probablly save the company some $$ in gas since going "balls to the walls" isn't the most economical way to fly.

 

[Flyerjosh]

To do an APU reset you have to be in the aft equipment bay and run a reset program. You press certain buttons and wait for certain LED's to light, and continue based on what it's reading. You can't call maintence from the radio or Ops phone and just write down the sequence. You have to have your head up there with your cell phone and read out the indications to maintenance, and they give you instructions based on what it reads..

Why in God's holy name would you as a pilot climb up into the aft service bay and conduct an APU reset. As far as I'm concerned, anything that isn't basic requires a mechanic.

Taxi back. Shut down. Call contract MX. If the sequence isn't listed in the MEL under "operator", then I'm not touching it.

As for the whole cellphone thing. Do what you want. Personally I pay for enough minutes that I can call whomever I want, whenever I want. Always have, always will.

For me, it's more important for ME to get things done as quickly as possible. Taking the time to walk inside, find an available company phone, deal with the issue, walk back out burns up time I'm not getting paid for.

I'll spend the extra few bucks a month to pay for the phone so that I can reach my overnight on time and go out for a few beers with the crew.