Pilots at Airtran pick up open time???

[PCL_128]

They have had their chances over the years but did not go for it.

Actually, they have tried it. Over and over and over again. We're still here.

 

[mad691]

they actually did a great job of it. They went bankrupt. How quickly we for get they have only been out of bankruptcy for a short time. Try again.

 

[CoolSidePillow]

The companies know what they need to furlough to reduce costs to an acceptable level. I don't see picking up open time as keeping you on the street. Those trips are going to be flown no matter what.

Why shouldn't the senior guys still be able to fly as much as they want? Everybody always talks about the benefits of seniority but why should a senior pilot suffer? Its not his fault you got hired after he did.

How about general principle? How about doing what is right even if it hurts? How about having a pair between your legs you human d*****bag? As long as all you redneck suckups move the planes on time and go the extra mile and pick up open time they have no reason to negotiate. The only time management will ever truly see the light is when we turn it out. That is the hard fact of business. Do it for nothing and they will offer nothing.

 

[BSkin]

Mike Best said it would bankrupt half our pilots so he wasn't in support of it. Thus management built the lines to a normal LVI value for September creating a crapload of reserve pilots.

Then Mike Best is a TOOL! It could've been done. Everyone could've sacrificed a little to keep everyone on property! It would've been only for a couple months, as oil will be below 100 soon, maybe after hurricane season.

On another note, any CA that accepts an FO assignment while guys are on the street should be strung up by the ballsack!

 

[maxblast72]

Then Mike Best is a TOOL! It could've been done. Everyone could've sacrificed a little to keep everyone on property! It would've been only for a couple months, as oil will be below 100 soon, maybe after hurricane season.

I personally was in favor of the reduced line values to keep everyone on the property (and even started the thread on the NPA forum after I heard how Jetblue was handling their block hour reduction from a Jetblue jumpseater).

However, don't blame Mike Best. If it would have went to a vote, I am sure at least 50% of the pilot group would not have said yes to a 25% reduction in average line credit. Too many guys living paycheck to paycheck or not worried about the junior guys. Mike was just going with what he thought the majority wanted.

 

[gt1900]

Max..... Youve got to be kidding right??? Why in the world would the company build LVI's at 62 hours to save some pilots from hitting the street.. They would still have to pay the 70hr guarantee to everyone else.. In other words, theyd be paying every pilot at AAI an extra 8 hours they didn't work.. That makes absolute zero business sense.. This is about the airline making money, or in this case, loosing as little as possible. The company needs to be as efficient as possible with pilots. That means every pilot on property flying 83.3 hours a month and flying 999 hours for the year. AAI wants the least amount of pilots to do the most amount of work.. That keeps the pilot cost as low as possible.. Having a bunch of pilots sitting around doing nothing cost a lot of money. I laughed when everyone said the LVI would drop to 70hours.. That doesn't help the company at all.. What helps the company is furloughing the extra guys that they don't need to fly the scheduled. Now, I hate that it has happened and I hope we get those guys back ASAP (btw.. I ain't picking up open time) but pilots need to stop looking at this as the company screwing them every time. The company needs to do whats right to keep the company in business as well.. AAI has made a lot of very good business decisions, thats why they are where they are today.. They have also made a few stupid business decisions (ie p1ssing off the pilots and losing the good relationship that once existed). However, if oil keeps going down those guys will be back on line pretty quick.. I hope...

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Max..... Youve got to be kidding right??? Why in the world would the company build LVI's at 62 hours to save some pilots from hitting the street.. They would still have to pay the 70hr guarantee to everyone else.. In other words, theyd be paying every pilot at AAI an extra 8 hours they didn't work.. That makes absolute zero business sense.. This is about the airline making money, or in this case, loosing as little as possible. The company needs to be as efficient as possible with pilots. That means every pilot on property flying 83.3 hours a month and flying 999 hours for the year. AAI wants the least amount of pilots to do the most amount of work.. That keeps the pilot cost as low as possible.. Having a bunch of pilots sitting around doing nothing cost a lot of money. I laughed when everyone said the LVI would drop to 70hours.. That doesn't help the company at all.. What helps the company is furloughing the extra guys that they don't need to fly the scheduled. Now, I hate that it has happened and I hope we get those guys back ASAP (btw.. I ain't picking up open time) but pilots need to stop looking at this as the company screwing them every time. The company needs to do whats right to keep the company in business as well.. AAI has made a lot of very good business decisions, thats why they are where they are today.. They have also made a few stupid business decisions (ie p1ssing off the pilots and losing the good relationship that once existed). However, if oil keeps going down those guys will be back on line pretty quick.. I hope...

You mean business decisions like not preparing for increased oil prices, then when oil prices go up they hedge just before oil prices peak and go down. Then tell the employees it is their fault they are not making money? Were those the good business decisions? As far as I am concerned so far AAI has been profitable on the backs of employees and starting up during a good period for a startup. Delta was hurt and could not effectively compete because of 9/11 and prior bad business decisions. Also Boeing was trying to find buyers for the 717 and fill buyers for production slots on the 737 so they were giving sweet deals. Sounds more like good timing then incredible managment. Seems like the first time it got tough managment crumbled.

I think that management will NEVER do what is right for this employee group, only what is good for the investors. If the employee groups do not stand up for themselves they will get nothing. And that is what they have gotten.

 

[gt1900]

Secret... Not trying to argue with you... BUT.. How in the heck do you plan on increases in oil??? NOBODY has any idea what oil is going to do.. Its a gamble no matter what happens... SWA gambled and got lucky.. But otherwise, there is absolutly no way to prepare... If you think there is, tell them what oil is going to do by ths start of 09.. Should AAI hedge like crazy now that fuel is around $100 a barrel?? Or wait and hope it goes down??? For god sakes the analysts who spend every waking moment studying this stuff have no idea what is going to happen with oil prices.. Hinsight is 20/20... Armchair quarterbacking the company for trying to hedge fuel properly is total B.S... And for god sakes.. AAI starting up for a good period for a startup??? OMG.. Didn't AAI do most of their growing after 9/11?? That was the biggest downturn in aviation history.. Tons of airlines went bankrupt and out of business during this "good time for a startup"... AAI has grown and been profitable in perhaps the worst time for a startup in aviation history..

I think that management will NEVER do what is right for this employee group, only what is good for the investors. If the employee groups do not stand up for themselves they will get nothing. And that is what they have gotten

I agree with your above statement 100%.. They could care less about the employees.. Its all about making the shareholders money. Look what Hoeksema did with MEH.. The shareholders love him, and the employees are getting $%^#ed.. That's why the rich get richer and the middle class is going away.. Lets hope the next administration stops the continued destruction of the middle class... It doesn't matter how much my taxes are if I don't have a job.....

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Secret... Not trying to argue with you... BUT.. How in the heck do you plan on increases in oil??? NOBODY has any idea what oil is going to do.. Its a gamble no matter what happens... SWA gambled and got lucky.. But otherwise, there is absolutly no way to prepare... If you think there is, tell them what oil is going to do by ths start of 09.. Should AAI hedge like crazy now that fuel is around $100 a barrel?? Or wait and hope it goes down??? For god sakes the analysts who spend every waking moment studying this stuff have no idea what is going to happen with oil prices.. Hinsight is 20/20... Armchair quarterbacking the company for trying to hedge fuel properly is total B.S... And for god sakes.. AAI starting up for a good period for a startup??? OMG.. Didn't AAI do most of their growing after 9/11?? That was the biggest downturn in aviation history.. Tons of airlines went bankrupt and out of business during this "good time for a startup"... AAI has grown and been profitable in perhaps the worst time for a startup in aviation history..

Actually it was a great time for a start up. Very low operating costs in relation to a legacy. AAI had the ability to negotiate VERY good rates on aircraft because everybody was delaying deliveries/ the 717 was just not catching on. They had VERY low employee costs because of low pay and low seniority. They had the ability to cherry pick routes that they knew were profitable and could compete against higher priced RJ's. Delta in particular was struggling really hard to stay alive and really did turn a blind eye to AAI. They had very high employee costs, older less efficient, more MX aircraft, and lots of inefficient RJs. Probably figured the devil they knew was better than the devil they didn't (Southwest). Problem was Delta turned a blind eye for too long and AAI really sprung up. By the time they were better financially AAI was too big for heavy handed tactics.

September 11 was a bad time for the airlines, but except for a year or so not a bad time for the economy. Lots of growth and low unemployement. Lots of people still had a lot of money (or thought they did) because of the values of their house. Lots of leisure travelers.

And as for your comment about fuel. Any smart company would do what they could to keep a consistant price on their raw material costs. It is not gambling, it is good business practice. Southwest hedged fuel for this very reason and have done it for almost as long as they have been in business. They would reather even pay a little more in the long run to stave off the risk that these "spikes" cause. Almost every airline had fuel heding in place prior to 9/11 but had to give them up in bankruptcy. It is a common practice, not some sort of thing that was invented in the past couple years. I would say Airtran was negligent to not have a fuel hedging plan in place. In other words bad management. I can find thousands of articles showing that analysts thought oil prices were going to go up. Prices have not even been keeping up with inflation over the years let alone the pressures of growing markets (asia) and increase demand. Add to that trend of all commodity markets being driven up over the years. It has nothing to do with knowing there was going to be this big spike, but knowing that prices were going to go up.

 

[Ty Webb]

AAI wants the least amount of pilots to do the most amount of work.. That keeps the pilot cost as low as possible.. Having a bunch of pilots sitting around doing nothing cost a lot of money. I laughed when everyone said the LVI would drop to 70hours.. That doesn't help the company at all.. The company needs to do whats right to keep the company in business as well.

GT, it's not always what you do. it's also how you do it, and when you do it, and what you say to employees.

This is where this management team falls down every time. At some point, if you kick a dog enough times, he's going to bite . . . . Copy?