SkyWest + Continental = Love

[hotwing]

SHHH!

General Lee - Are you in this conversation?

 

[scottm]

socalpilot-
I can agree with that statement regarding not getting a second chance to participate in the offer. As far as the 33, about a dozen of them are in training right now at Xjet, supposed to hold a position on the next bid and if from here on out we only see expansion, should be okay. Sadly though, as traffic usually declines after the summer, block hours will fall and we could see them furloughed again. The remains of the 33 is up in the air. We are pay protected until the day we get back to Xjet. I even called the union once recalls were delayed and asked if I could go to Commutair now and the union told me to stop compaining, stay home and be happy that I am getting paid to do nothing. I guess it wouldnt make sense to you either if you were a line holding jet captain.
P.S. what part of so cal- I grew up in the south bay and flew out of TOA and SBA in the beginning.


Smoove Ride-
Thank god, and screw the dixie chicks.

 

[embdrvr]

Thank god, and screw the dixie chicks.

If I can get the blonde one on the right side of the Entertainment Weekly cover, you bet I'll be thanking someone!

 

[Rank&File]

Isn't it interesting that Continental chooses these non-union airlines to fly props into their hubs? This must be a huge slap in the face for the CALEX pilots. I know there is a concerted effort by CAL ALPA to get Commutair on board with ALPA, but Sky West is probably a lost cause. They'll never let the CAL and CALEX pilots pressure them into representation.

 

[ATRCA]

socalpilot;

You said something that I'm sure you couldnt have possibly witnessed or heard yourself.

Your inference that some of our furloughed pilots claimed to be too good for the Beech is total BS and I think you know that. Thats the kind of BS rhetoric that made things uncomfortable when the CA code-share was announced.

Your preoccupation with "arrogant" CoEx folks is tiring. You have 10% a$$holes in every pilot group and ours is no different I'm sure. I have not heard, seen or otherwise been made aware of anyone who wasnt anything but greatful that opportunities with CA were avaliable to our furloughed folks.

I was in CLE this moring and yesterday and heard nothing but good things about our guys and the CA pilots working relationship. If you have had a different experience then by all means, make us aware. I have said on this board before that the CA guys are welcome, however rhetoric like yours will only cause both our groups unneeded strife.

Cheers.

 

[Jeepman]

Rank & File

You are 100% correct. There is no way the majority of SkyWest pilots would be stupid enough to let ALPA in. Look what ALPA has done for MESA. "Oh, you had better sign this this is the best it is going to be" What kind of ALPA garbage is that. The ONLY reason ALPA wanted MESA to sign their HORRIBLE TA is so that ALPA could make money off of poor regional pilots.

If we do get a union it will be a SkyWest pilot union. ALPA only cares about ALPA & the majors.


As for the Coex deal if it was up to me, the Houston thing would be ALL COEX pilots. I like growth, but not at the expense of others.

 

[ATRCA]

Your a good man Jeepman,

While I'm not furloughed (yet) it is a bit painfull for our guys some of which were on the E120 when they were furloughed to see someone else fly old and current XJT routes while they sit home.

I hope something can be worked out that will benefit our guys yet couse no harm the the folks at SkyWest. There's no reason why something amicable to both groups can't be worked out.

See yah.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

As for the Coex deal if it was up to me, the Houston thing would be ALL COEX pilots. I like growth, but not at the expense of others.

Kind of like the enormous growth that SkyWest has enjoyed over the past several years at the expense of United and Delta pilots?

I know that I may be comparing apples to oranges because SW flies RJ's and the majors don't. But, you can't argue the fact that most RJ destinations out of LAX and SFO are flying routes that used to be flown on 737's. I understand that especially in today's market certain city pairs cannot support a 737.

Would you be willing to let UA and DL pilots fly your RJs on those routes that were formerly using 737's? What if, SW got some B1900's to use for CO in IAH? Would you still want COEx pilots flying them? I am all for interviewing furloughed COEx pilots and placing them at the bottom of the seniority list, but to say that "..the Houston thing would be ALL COEx pilots..." is something I disagree with.

With little or no overall market growth over the past couple of years, most if not all growth has been at the expense of others.

Like Norm Peterson says, "It's a dog eat dog world, and I'm wearing milk bone underwear"!

Cheers!

GP

 

[ATRCA]

As for where CoEx pilots should be placed if offered postions at SkyWest. Thats a dead issue for me.

Their ONLY rightful place would be at the bottom of the list at SkyWest. It would be truely unfair for any SkyWest pilot to give up anything because their Mgt. negotiated with another company that happened to have folks on the street.

Creating pain for one pilot group while attempting to alleviate pain at another is ridicules. It would only create strife that would make the working environment awful.

 

[nimtz]

CommutAir had a pool when we started the expansion with CAL and all the Express guys were hired first, then they pulled from the pool. When the additional props were first announced all eligble Coex furloughs were offered jobs. Many people turned it down and said "I'm too good to fly a 1900". My personal feeling is that if you didn't accept the position your union negotiated for you the first time you shouldn't be allowed to take a spot at Skywest.

As was said before, you are trying to start BS that is not there! The number one employer of our furloughed pilots is Best Buy. No that is not a joke, but the true answer from our surveys. Still think a majority of our furloughed pilots think they are too good for the Beech? People turned down the position for various reasons. Some of them do have other flying jobs where they haven't been required to give up their number. I guarentee you no more then a few thought they we're too good for the Beech. You can't have that attitude at Express, because eventually you're going to have a very ugly fight with a jet captain that's a former Beech guy.

XJet pilots have been very friendly to Commutair guys. I remember how you guys we're hanging out outside the crewroom in CLE at first, because you we're told you weren't allowed in there. I went in there last week and saw 3 Commutair guys passed out on the coaches. Surprise, surprise nobody woke them up and yelled at them for taking space that is supposed to 'belong to Express pilots only.'

 

[Metro A-Team]

Guppy Puppy, I am with ya!!! It mostly has to do with that fact that I am a SW pool man...but here's a question.

(I realize that I ask this at the risk of being "black balled"...at least as much as a person can be when no one knows who I am...)

So, I'm taking all opinions on why Xjet guys should be put on line before poolies? If they wanted to work for SkyWest why didn't they interview like the rest of us? Yes, I understand that these are "old xjet routs" but if xjet could still staff and fly them why aren't they...?

It seems to me (IMHO), that if SkyWest is going to be the name on the paycheck, than it should be guys that wanted to work for SkyWest sitting in the front office, not guys who chose to work for another airline...

Now, with that being said, I am all for ya'll getting a special look when you come to SLC to interview but moving to the front of the line will only put a bad taste in the mouths of us poolies. Granted there are only 60 of us but I was told at the interview that we were the future of SkyWest...

As a side, it really sucks that some of you dudes are out of work. I'm sure there are a few of you that I went to school with...Good luck!!

 

[maddog805]

Rank & File

You are 100% correct. There is no way the majority of SkyWest pilots would be stupid enough to let ALPA in. Look what ALPA has done for MESA. "Oh, you had better sign this this is the best it is going to be" What kind of ALPA garbage is that. The ONLY reason ALPA wanted MESA to sign their HORRIBLE TA is so that ALPA could make money off of poor regional pilots.

If we do get a union it will be a SkyWest pilot union. ALPA only cares about ALPA & the majors.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not "pro Alpa" by any means, but it cracks me up when people blame alpo because mesa's pilot group are a bunch of coochies. The correct statement would be: Look what Mesa has done for Mesa. They didn't HAVE to sign anything. I'm not saying alpo is completely innocent but DAM. I hope we do get an internal union at SkyWest.

 

[Bjet Driver]

I'm surprised

I turned down a position at CommutAir. Why?? Certainly not because I'm an RJ stud and too good for the Beech. Certainly not because I'm an XJT stud and too good for CommutAir. So why then??? Personal and professional reasons at the time. I spoke with my wife about it, and we decided to bypass for financial reasons. From a pilot's point of view, I didn't want to endure 2 training cycles ( on 2 diff A/C) in 2 months. That's why. Did my decision matter?? Nope. XJT management ended up bypassing us anyway for the same reasons. It cost me $1000's for not signing, and my May recall class was cancelled puting me on the street again. Anyway, it's a decision I made and will have to live with. It's a decision many XJT pilots made- but none of us made it because we are on some high and mighty power trip.

Now there may be a similar situation developing with Skywest. Are you telling me I don't deserve an opportunity because I originally bypassed CommutAir?? That's just wrong. As it turns out, the job I did have is entering the off-season and I will struggle for the next 4 months to pay bills. At this point I don't expect anything from XJT union/management. I've lost all faith really. But if I'm offered an interview or position with Skywest this summer, I'm in. I would love to fly EMB120's for Skywest. I will go to work with the same positive attitude I had for 8 months at XJT, and enjoy every day I have in the sky. No questions asked.

Finally, do I want to take a position from a Skywest poolie? NO WAY! I hope it's arranged so both furloughees (XJT) and poolies (SKY) are given an opportunity to get back to work. I don't care if they flip a coin to see who goes to training first. There's no reason for any bad blood between the two- let's not go there guys.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL.........................

 

[socalpilot]

ATTN: All Coex pilots

I'm not trying to create any bad blood between CommutAir and Coex pilot groups. I have nothing but good experiences in my dealings with Coex pilots. Most of the guys have been very friendly and many have even offered drinks and snacks when our paths cross. You have welcomed us into CLE and treated us with respect. The Coex guys who took jobs at Commutair are great. Many of the things I said are based off threads from the Calforums board as well as Flight info when the Prop MOU was first announced. I'm not going to go back and research all the threads but I know what I read. It is those guys that thought they were above the rest of us that I have a problem with. With that said, it is my wish that CA and Coex work together and keep management from putting us in a situation where we are forced to work against each other. CAL just announced they are selling all their shares of XJET and it appears they may be positioning themselves to obtain feed from other carriers should Coex decide to strike. I just don't want to be caught in the middle when things get ugly. I wish no ill will toward any Coex pilot but reserve the right to express my opinions in regards to the people who said they would never take a job flying a prop. It's just my opinion. Just like you have your opinion. I respect your opinion but I don't have to agree.

 

[ATRCA]

Nuff said, no offense taken SoCal

I too have had nothing but good experience with the CA folks. I just hate to see damaging rhetoric on these boards (Calforums)when in reality the cooperation is good. The level of cooperations has been much better than I expected frankly. I'm proud of our pilot group. I think under the circumstances there are plenty of other groups who might find it harder to get along.

BTW, CAL did not announce that they were divesting themselves of XJT. They simply made it easier to sell the stock in pieces or in chunks. In addition, they would not need to sell XJT in order to contract with other cariers in the event of a work stopage at XJT. Our agreement with them allows them to do so anyway. At day 90 of a strike CAL takes posession of all our A/C.

Struck work anyone?? Any takers?? I doubt it.