Some things never change......

[Lyconit]

Pull your head from the sand........................Management just doesn't want to take any responsibility for the schedules they create.

FYI

It's not that management doesn't want to take responsibility, it's because passengers will not pay for the convenience to fly from major hubs to small outstations.

Remember, airlines are a business that aim to make money.

Maybe some control over costs (pay) is required at NY, DC and others? Always ask "why?" at least five times before you come up with your own "root cause" of why a problem exists...

 

[Lyconit]

Or maybe a "high cost of living area surcharge" kind of like a high fuel cost charge?

 

[Uncle Bunkle]

Wait until Colgan drives one into a mountain in Mexico...

 

[turbinesurgeon]

What's that gramps? Go find your dentures, you are hard to understand without them.

That said, personal responsibility and corporate responsibility are not mutually exclusive. But, why should it fall to my personal responsibility to deal with my companies irresponsible scheduling practices?

Thats what I am talking about, everybody wants someone else to fix the problem. Your responsibility is to ensure the flight is safe, the companies responsibilty is give you the proper tools. If you don't have the proper tools for safety and don't let anyone know than how is it the companies responsibility? You have to take action, I know its easier said than done. The last airline I was at no F.O.s would call in fatigue yet they all complained about it, to me they are not taking personal responsibility for the flight. I understand the pressure and the daily traps but why would the company change anything if they don't see a problem? and complaining about it in the crew room to other pilots does nothing. Now we have a bunch of twits in Congress trying to decide whats best, thats what happens when you let other people deal with your problems. Now exuse me I have to go find my polygrip.

 

[Skywest Pylot]

I don't have sympathy for those who have chosen to commute from day 1. IMO, when you accept a job in this business you should be ready and willing to move to one of the available crew bases.

Having said that I think pay and work rules need to drastically improve to allow pilots to live a comfortable life in base. A pilot based in a place like New York should receive a cost of living adjustment (based on real cost of living numbers) vs a pilot based in Salt Lake City. If a company closes a base or displaces a pilot to another base, forcing him/her to commute I think the company should then be on the hook for positive space travel to and from work assignments and hotel accommodations indefinitely or until said pilot is able to sell his/her house or decides to move to his/her new base.

If Congress is serious about fixing the "Commuter" problem they should enact legislation like what I have listed above.

 

[Brody1]

Personal responsibility HAS to be a two-way street. The company has to willing to provide a safe working environment. I've flown for a regional whose schedules were brutal, but I always felt that if I needed to call in fatigued, there would be no retribution. I flew for another where if a pilot called in fatigued, then good luck passing your next PC.

I've flown for an ALPA carrier, as well as a non-union carrier. Both had pros and cons, but neither seemed to be a better choice than the other. Again, just my personal experiences. Unions obviously do some things that are positive, but are severely lacking in other areas. In some ways, they're hindered by an antiquated RLA, and in other areas they're just downright corrupt. They have their own agenda, and when both your needs and the unions needs dovetail with one another, everything's great. If not, good luck finding an attorney willing to work on a contingency basis for a misrepresentation suit- especially at regional wages.

Congress is not going to fix our problems. Neither will our unions. It has to come from within our own ranks. If we stand together on safety issues, who's going to stop us? If a pilot gets wrongfully fired for calling in fatigued, then NO ONE come to work the next day. That'll get the attention of not only the company- but also the media. Radical? Yes, it is. But most importantly, it will show management that the ENTIRE group is united. Until then, we're just a bunch of whiney pilots whose ranks are so fragmented that we'll just continue to put up with the status quo. Hate to say it, but we're letting them do this to us. Many of us need to grow a spine. Do it now, before we lose another plane full of crew and passengers.