Sorry Colgan, but you will not be as lucky as Mesaba

[centralpilot]

You mean the giant whipsaw? The one where TSA pilots are getting furloughed while Compass and GoJet hire? The one where the TSA pilots couldn't get any decent contract improvements, because they had to focus on protecting their flying as much as possible? Yeah, that's a great idea.

At least someone gets it.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[bri5150]

bri, great post. Actually I was against it when I first heard about it. I honestly thought we would have just been business as usual as three separate entities under Pinnacle holdings, just like the current TSA/GoJets/Compass under TS Holdings. I was very surprised to hear the idea of one list come out as soon as it did by ALPA. As for 11-09, couldn't agree more. Pure displacement bid for only the Saabs, and then staffing movement in 11-10.

If that is the truth, then you are in the minority I believe. I remember thinking, wow, the company capitulated quick on that (the decision to go the route of the ISL), but where we differ is that I think almost everyone was for it. You are okay with Colgan getting the Q400's with the money that Pinnacle made? I don't believe that. If we were all seperate and the 10 700's from ASA came up, you would have been okay with Mesaba getting them because they already had the infrastructure and pilots to fly them even though we are all under the same holding company? How about when the CRJ 200 ASA is up in 2017? Would you be okay if Delta wanted to park most of those, Pinnacle would furlough, and you would have no rights to fly any Colgan or Mesaba aircraft? You would be okay with all of that? There would be no complaining on FI.com because that is what you wanted?

 

[Flyer1015]

You mean the giant whipsaw? The one where TSA pilots are getting furloughed while Compass and GoJet hire? The one where the TSA pilots couldn't get any decent contract improvements, because they had to focus on protecting their flying as much as possible? Yeah, that's a great idea.

You mean the chest thumpin Dario who tried to call TSA's bluff and tell them to go blow smoke elsewhere? And if TSA is still furloughing, it's the dead market of the 50 seaters. The 70+ seaters are the more viable market, and GoJets and Compass are making money. Plus, TSA only has about 20 or so more on furlough, and even they will have to hire soon. Like I said, live to fight whipsaw another day. None of us were up to gain (or lose) any flying from mainline anytime soon, except the Mesaba Saabs that were being parked. We could have fought that battle at a time when the economy improved.

 

[Flyer1015]

If that is the truth, then you are in the minority I believe. I remember thinking, wow, the company capitulated quick on that (the decision to go the route of the ISL), but where we differ is that I think almost everyone was for it. You are okay with Colgan getting the Q400's with the money that Pinnacle made? I don't believe that. If we were all seperate and the 10 700's from ASA came up, you would have been okay with Mesaba getting them because they already had the infrastructure and pilots to fly them even though we are all under the same holding company? How about when the CRJ 200 ASA is up in 2017? Would you be okay if Delta wanted to park most of those, Pinnacle would furlough, and you would have no rights to fly any Colgan or Mesaba aircraft? You would be okay with all of that? There would be no complaining on FI.com because that is what you wanted?

For the initial time being, I would be okay with it. I was hired after the Jan 2007 Colgan purchase anyway, so I knew they were growing at our expense. I'm not saying we should have stayed all separate for years and years, but at least initially, to ride out the weak economy, we should have just left things as status quo. Everybody separate. And actually, as selfish as this may sound, I was also against one list because I knew the XJ Saab fleet was being parked, and that 9E pilots would have to take the burder on that. In the end, thats exactly what happened, but there's no changing the past. We should have weathered out the economic storm, which doesn't look like it's improving anytime soon.

 

[jynxyjericho]

If that is the truth, then you are in the minority I believe. I remember thinking, wow, the company capitulated quick on that (the decision to go the route of the ISL), but where we differ is that I think almost everyone was for it. You are okay with Colgan getting the Q400's with the money that Pinnacle made? I don't believe that. If we were all seperate and the 10 700's from ASA came up, you would have been okay with Mesaba getting them because they already had the infrastructure and pilots to fly them even though we are all under the same holding company? How about when the CRJ 200 ASA is up in 2017? Would you be okay if Delta wanted to park most of those, Pinnacle would furlough, and you would have no rights to fly any Colgan or Mesaba aircraft? You would be okay with all of that? There would be no complaining on FI.com because that is what you wanted?

Well the reality was when Pinnacle bought us and decided to tie us together with Colgan (no idea why flyer is pretending there would be 3 companies like TSA, however, going forward with what really happened) they, Pinnacle, automatically gave the Colgan guys our contract, check our scope language. Not the JCBA, the concessionary one we were under (worth more than the old pinnacle contract and more than failed-TA1 from pinnacle).The JCBA delayed a lot of those contract stipulations and it gave them a timeframe to bring the 9E 9L guys up to our contract level past the signing of the JCBA (company won huge). Bringing our furloughs back and flying those 700's would have been nice, 9E would have been so screwed they would have had to park the -900's in ATL (because they lose money anyway it seems). Q's would have still dragged us down and we'd probably still be in a similar situation with -900's going away at 9E and Q's going away over here. They were going to try and move the aircraft slowly over to pinnacle (contractually only a % per year) but I don't know how they planned to man the airplanes, so that likely would have been delayed. The merger, from the beginning, had signs of tunnel vision but we all focused in on stuff we could control, the JCBA and ISL. I think Flyer has had a reality schism where he is actually in control, it's best if you ignore it.

Could of would of should of. Time to move forward. Not Flyer of course, he's stuck in the past and eventually, a couple years from now, he'll be tell us how we should have handled this situation. First though, the rest of us have to work on the present, including you Brian

 

[xjhawk]

good post. I like it. Lets move forward. The first step in that is the big ignore for flyer! I have rehashed a lot of bad things from the past which I thought I had put behind me (some from past contracts-bankruptcies-and of course the SLI) but that is unhealthy and the would have could haves does not do any of us any good. Flyer is in his own reality and does not know the facts of the events that occurred in the last year or what is going on now-as evident by him blaming mesaba pilots for this mess. He fails to see that there are more Mesaba captains and FO's that could very well be in worse shape today in our current scenario than if we would have just stayed independent and lost the SAabs. But like I said, that is neither here nor there.

I do not know all the union guys and have had my differences with them in the past but I will say that they are working hard and dealing with the situation at hand in our best interest as a pilot group. We might not all agree with every single decision they make, but they deserve our support.

 

[Flyer1015]

as evident by him blaming mesaba pilots for this mess.

I don't blame Mesaba pilots for this mess. Your group had no say in being bought out. My blame lies on those who truly bungled up this whole integration, and that includes those in management and select certain merger committee members who were in over their heads. Other than that, I dont blame Mesaba pilots or Colgan pilots. No one asked to be in this situation.

 

[Smarta$$]

No I wasn't, and at the 4.5 year mark, I still never felt entitled. Still feels a little wrong to see our March 07 DOH Captains getting bumped by 2008 DOH pilots at Colgan.


Buying Mesaba wasn't a problem. Combining the whole operation into one was the problem. We could have just as easily gone the TSA Holdings style, and kept all three running separately, mostly at a profit. But the union pushed through one list, one contract to the company. That was a pre-mature move. Live to fight another day when it comes to preventing whipsaw.

Lets consider another one of your genious ideas...

Before Pinnacle, I was furloughed from Trans States... goatjet was hiring at the very same time...

 

[suupah]

7% requested now from teh company.

 

[bri5150]

7% requested now from teh company.

Partial truth. Oh how I like FI.com. Yes, they want 7% now, but only for a year instead of the 5% paycut indefinitely. True, if we go bankrupt it won't matter.

 

[suupah]

Partial truth. Oh how I like FI.com. Yes, they want 7% now, but only for a year instead of the 5% paycut indefinitely. True, if we go bankrupt it won't matter.

i assume bkrptcy. i think only a fool doesn't. IM(most)HO

 

[Raskal]

i assume bkrptcy. i think only a fool doesn't. IM(most)HO

Yep. Anyone who believes the "7% but only for a year" crap will help anything is, without question, a fool.

 

[Flyer1015]

Ouch!