BlueNose
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2008
- Posts
- 259
1108 would ostensibly represent both groups in making a deal for the CA check airmen to fly with the FO line pilots. Will 1108 now sign an LOA allowing line pilots to fly with ATCO pilots, having won arbitration to avoid just that, since the CA guys won't be employees? Will they negotiate contract day rate for the CA guys providing training? If they participate in this would they ever have any hope of organizing any other group, having cannibilized their newest chapter to protect their home group? How will the FO guys like flying with contractors getting paid probably twice as much as them during the integration, knowing that 1108 negotiated both pay scales?
And say what you want about not needing experience, but this is high risk. Bringing in a new program usually means training a core of a few check airmen, bringing in the first three or four planes, then growing at a pace that allows captains to build experience while the fleet grows. By the time the fleet approaches 19 planes, that's over a year and there are a number of experienced pilots to fly with the newbies coming in. Not to mention the ground experience with the plane's capabilities and maintenance needs. Bring in a whole fleet, even over a 6-8 month period, and you're going to have a bunch of crews with little type experience, being supported by Ops and Mx teams with little experience. Unless there's a long-term contract with a significant number of CA captains, this is a recipe for trouble.
This isn't just about learning new EPs, performance numbers and the box and passing a type ride, which any experienced pilot will be able to do just fine. This management team doesn't exactly have the greatest track record on managing risk well. All FO pilots have been here long enough to remember the cowboy days during the first fractional growth spurt. Anyone think the company's been sliding back that way? The ol' seat of the pants approach, thinking everything will work out just fine, will put crews and pax at risk.
My condolences to the CA folks if this happens. I hope that, if it does, you hang together and negotiate an extortionary contract rate to come over and provide the seed experience for the newest FO 'value' fleet. And for those predicting that owners exit the program, I think you're partially right. There will be a number who never did and still won't want to be a customer of the 'value' player in the industry. But I bet there'll be a sweet deal, including reduced or no redemption fee, to trade over to a 'luxury' Flex contract - which has the dual benefit for KR of having a higher margin as a share sale, and bringing business over to the non-union side of the house.
And say what you want about not needing experience, but this is high risk. Bringing in a new program usually means training a core of a few check airmen, bringing in the first three or four planes, then growing at a pace that allows captains to build experience while the fleet grows. By the time the fleet approaches 19 planes, that's over a year and there are a number of experienced pilots to fly with the newbies coming in. Not to mention the ground experience with the plane's capabilities and maintenance needs. Bring in a whole fleet, even over a 6-8 month period, and you're going to have a bunch of crews with little type experience, being supported by Ops and Mx teams with little experience. Unless there's a long-term contract with a significant number of CA captains, this is a recipe for trouble.
This isn't just about learning new EPs, performance numbers and the box and passing a type ride, which any experienced pilot will be able to do just fine. This management team doesn't exactly have the greatest track record on managing risk well. All FO pilots have been here long enough to remember the cowboy days during the first fractional growth spurt. Anyone think the company's been sliding back that way? The ol' seat of the pants approach, thinking everything will work out just fine, will put crews and pax at risk.
My condolences to the CA folks if this happens. I hope that, if it does, you hang together and negotiate an extortionary contract rate to come over and provide the seed experience for the newest FO 'value' fleet. And for those predicting that owners exit the program, I think you're partially right. There will be a number who never did and still won't want to be a customer of the 'value' player in the industry. But I bet there'll be a sweet deal, including reduced or no redemption fee, to trade over to a 'luxury' Flex contract - which has the dual benefit for KR of having a higher margin as a share sale, and bringing business over to the non-union side of the house.
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