Shuttle America Pilots Cave-In

[tango uniform]

September 23, 2003

To all Shuttle America Associates;

Today, our pilots ratified the tentative agreement reached with them last week.

I applaud the courage and commitment that the Shuttle America pilots have shown by participating in the company’s restructuring. The passage of this tentative agreement was pivotal in our efforts to secure participation by our stakeholders. Now that this has passed, the restructuring will proceed and Shuttle America will continue to operate. While the environment for the airline industry remains extremely challenging, we are hopeful that the concessions reached with our stakeholders will put the company on a more stable economic footing.

This is not a course of action that we wished was necessary. We didn’t want to do it back in November with the non-contract associates and it still isn’t now with our pilots. The sacrifice that all of our employees have made is a testimony of your continued dedication to help make Shuttle America a viable entity. I am incredibly proud to work with this team of dedicated and focused professionals.

We still have work to do. We have had heavy attrition in the pilot ranks over the past three weeks. I am looking at the November schedule for reduction opportunities. Additionally, we are planning new hire and upgrade classes that should be scheduled soon.

We also did not meet all of our financial restructuring targets. Our investors have agreed that if we are able to preserve the previous agreements with our aircraft lessors, they are prepared to continue trying to make Shuttle work. Our challenge will be to continue to find ways to reduce cost as well as to continue our quest for new business whether it be with Airways, other code share partners or charters. It is very important for you to continue to safely operate our fleet as well as posting the operational excellence that you have done over the course of this year.

I will keep you informed on our progress as developments happen.

Translation:

We have scared you into concessions. We engineered a plan for the FOs, who concede nothing, to vote a pay cut for Captains.

Alas, we still haven't figured out how to balance our books. Things are still bad. Don't knw how we will pay the bills.

Through my doom-and-gloom and lack of communication the last three weeks we have lost a number of pilots. Pilots that cost a LOT of money to recruit, train, and qualify. This will hurt us more.

We may have to give-up flying in November due to lack of crews. Less revenue, more trouble.

We still have no plans for the future.

We still have no security or assurance of remaining in business.

You can be assured of one thing--your pay will be less. This is our commitment to you.


Hate to say I told you so, but.....

------------------

I think this note from our CP says it all about what is going on:

For the folks who have resigned or are thinking of resigning at this time; if you have tendered your resignation and given a period of notice, please do not call up the last minute before a trip and say you are not going to fly it. That is technically a refusal to fly, even if you are already leaving. If you refuse to fly a trip, it is marked down as an involuntary separation (fired). This is not a new policy; it has always been in effect. If you want to get time off before you leave, the Crew Schedulers will do what they can to accommodate you. Another result of refusing at the last minute is that one of the other Pilots will be extended or junior manned to fill the void, thus further disrupting their lives. Please remain professional until your last day.

Nice.

Well, my work here is done. My notice has already been given. Problem is, there are so many of us, they STILL won't know who I am.

Best wishes to those left behind.

 

[JohnDoe]

Did you SA pilots know that gullible isn't in the dictionary........?

 

[tango uniform]

ha!

Don't need a dictionary.

It'll be printed on our paystubs every week for the next YEAR!!

Thanks guys!

 

[godsgift2aviatn]

Well look at the bright side, at least you'll have a paycheck.

I forgot you tendered your resignation so you have nothing to worry about.

If SA uses this paycut to double the size of the company I'll eat my hat. My prediction: No growth.

 

[BendOverAgain?]

Let me see, pilots are now leaving as fast as they can and Durgin said that a New Hire class and upgrades are to be scheduled due to the pilot attrition. DUH :cartman:

10% from the Captains per month is approximately $10,000+ per month, 5 Captains have left and more right behind them. I wonder what is the sim time cost to get a type and possibly an ATP for each replacement Capt.? I don't feel I need to dig too deep to figure out that it will cost SA more by far to replace all of the flight crewmembers lost than they gained by their 10%

 

[lazy8s]

Last # I heard at FSI STL was around $1000/hour and that's just the sim. You still have to pay a FSI instructor to run it and they are among the few CFI's who actually get paid something.

Either way that upgrade isn't cheap and neither is the nnew hire class.

Good luck.......

 

[I.P. Freley]

Well... The basic idea here is that they had to get concessions from the pilot group to keep the other "stakeholders" on board, and that included Wexford Capital, LLC.

The fact that their $20k/month (figuring $400/mo per Captain X 50 Captains, give or take) is going to end up costing the company far more in attrition and training of new pilots/upgrades was presumably a given...

We may not like what's happened here (and that's an understatement), but Wexford isn't stupid. They MUST have known this would happen, but were willing to pay the price to keep the others in on the game.

With nothing other than a minor in Aviation Business Administration as my qualification in such matters, I will venture to guess that they will lose more than twice as much in training costs than they "save" by taking a quarter mill in reduced labor costs over the next 12 months... But if that is the price they have to pay to get five times that in concessions from USAir, Saab, GE, etc., it was worth it.

Not that any of this is particularly helpful in making MY car payment, of course. *sigh*

 

[dav8or]

Last # I heard at FSI STL was around $1000/hour and that's just the sim. You still have to pay a FSI instructor to run it and they are among the few CFI's who actually get paid something.

Either way that upgrade isn't cheap and neither is the nnew hire class.

Good luck.......

Don't forget you have to cover that FO you pulled off line to upgrade.

 

[eaglefly]

...as long as you don't complain years from now that your lot in life sucks.

You voted for it, so live with it.

Mesa pilots will be holding a "pilot job whore's party" soon.

I hear your pilots will be the "guest of honor".

Eagle is looking better all the time, pay wise.

How sad.

 

[rk772]

"Eagle is looking better all the time, pay wise.

How sad."

________________________________________________

Yea, how many more years do you have left on that 16 year contract? Boy, you really pulled a fast one on management there.

 

[Heavy Set]

Anyone who stays at SA who also has an opportunity to fly elsewhere (including ALG or Piedmont - still better than SA) is a big BONEHEAD.

If you stay you better not cry to us when things go to he!!.... I'd rather fly Traffic Watch Cessna 172s than put up with that $hit!

You are only worth what you negotiate....

 

[BendOverAgain?]

With nothing other than a minor in Aviation Business Administration as my qualification in such matters, I will venture to guess that they will lose more than twice as much in training costs than they "save" by taking a quarter mill in reduced labor costs over the next 12 months... But if that is the price they have to pay to get five times that in concessions from USAir, Saab, GE, etc., it was worth it.

From what I've heard USAir had already given their concession, the statement that USAir, Saab, GE wanted to see concessions from the pilots is something stressed by Wexford and not them. What do they care if we give 10%, shoot 1% as far as that goes. At the most I could see them saying Shuttle employees need to contribute concessions (blanket statement) and not just the pilot group and an exact %. Do you really think they said, "OH, since the majority of your company gave 10% a year ago, we'd like to see 10% for 18months" - then lowered to 12 months - "from your pilot group before we give concessions".

I think NOT

 

[I.P. Freley]

I didn't say that what I said was absolutely the truth, I just said that it was what we were led to believe.

 

[efiscompmon]

So you gave concessions to secure a deal with a third party--but it turns out that the concessions may not have been demanded after all. And your (president? cheif pilot?) says that the deal may not be secure after all even after you take pay cuts?

Sounds kind of fishy. Is your union letting this vote stand or are they crying foul?

How many pilots left? I thought you guys only had 80 or so.

 

[eaglefly]

rk - 10 more years.

The true tragedy is that at a minimum 1.5%/year pay raise (admittedly crap), Mesa and now you, the latest group will make LESS.

You could argue that - "yeah, wait till next time", but realistically, if you caved in now, nothing will really change in 4-5 years.

The market will be even leaner and more competetive then than now.

Eagle may be in Coach, but Mesa and SA allowed themselves to be stuffed into the LAST overhead.

The only difference between the two is that Mesa will probably be around next summer.

You'll be toast.

I suppose they did it for a reason. Soon, you'll find out you did it to allow your corrupt management another 4-6 months to stuff their pockets for the collapse.

I feel for you man. If it's any consolation, Eagle is looking at resuming hiring after the first of the year.

We will maintain a ten year upgrade though.

If at all possible, I'd try for elsewhere though.

 

[Doberman]

Well...You picked slow death. Ah well, time for you all to get a job I guess. I really can't blame you. And to all you FO's, hell, it's not as if the company is going to be around long enough to get that sweet upgrade and paycut.

It's nice to know that your management is willing to step over a ten dollar bill to pick up a penny. Maybe this gives them enough time to r@pe and pillage a bit further.

I drink to you!

 

[tittyjet]

godsgift2aviation....

.....What's this crap, "Look on the bright side, at least you'll have a paycheck."

You make me sick.

 

[texanpilot]

Just a thought. If anyone is leaving SA to go other places. A bit of advice - try not to go to PDT. The blind mismanagment at PDT makes the work experience there an incredibly terrible experience. Upgrades, downgrades, base openings, base closings, forced moves, have to fight for proper paychecks, pay cuts, understaffed, horrible schedules, scheduling abuses. They do there best to make a great, easy job a nightmare. A stellar pilot group, but that is it. The Union is trying hard but have made no progress in the last 5 years and is truely scared to stand up to PDT management or ALPA nat'l. USair group runs the show completly. Good luck. Fly safely.

 

[ERJDRVR]

Just a thought. If anyone is leaving SA to go other places. A bit of advice - try not to go to ____. The blind mismanagment at ___ makes the work experience there an incredibly terrible experience. Upgrades, downgrades, base openings, base closings, forced moves, have to fight for proper paychecks, pay cuts, understaffed, horrible schedules, scheduling abuses. They do there best to make a great, easy job a nightmare. A stellar pilot group, but that is it.

You just described EVERY regional airline out there

 

[texanpilot]

Might be right. Just trying to stop a trainwreck before it happened.