United Airlines

[Flopgut]

I flew with a f/o on his last trip on the bus before he went to training for Guppy f/o. His training took so long he was able to take a bump to Captain on the Guppy. That is one screwed up training center in Houston.

Ran ok under CAL. 3 ladies ran the whole AQP. They got canned in favor of keeping the sUAL version in place. A 50+ person department with its own director/vp. Feel free to verify that, it's basically the truth.

*edit* might be 30 sUAL in that department

 

[eaglesview]

Ran ok under CAL. 3 ladies ran the whole AQP. They got canned in favor of keeping the sUAL version in place. A 50+ person department with its own director/vp. Feel free to verify that, it's basically the truth.

*edit* might be 30 sUAL in that department

The problem they are having is scheduling was sent to WHQ. Even the management down there acknowledges they are having problems. Scheduling is a mess. The instruction was OK. Ground instructors get a C- in my book. Pilot instructors get a B+. Problems occurred because you get a different instructor for every sim so technique is very inconsistent. I even had an instructor reach up and turn off the taxi light when I switched it on with the clearance to land. That's silly...teach me how to fly the approach not when to turn on a light, which since it is a sim does not really exist anyway.

As I said, on the first day, right after the management folks handed out our welcome to the Guppy stickers, they warned us it was a bit messy. It was.

 

[densoo]

Ran ok under CAL. 3 ladies ran the whole AQP. They got canned in favor of keeping the sUAL version in place. A 50+ person department with its own director/vp. Feel free to verify that, it's basically the truth.

*edit* might be 30 sUAL in that department

LUAL used MINT (http://www.media-interactive.de/?page=land_crew), likely the best crew scheduling system out there. You drop a load of training requirements into it and it pops out with individual training footprints, entire schedules, student pairings, classrooms, instructors, devices, sims, completely customized to comply with complex and changing Contact and FAA requirements. If someone misses a day or a sim breaks it will rerun a solution to solve the consequent domino effect to keep everything on track. It upwardly scaleable, very flexible, and can take numerous inputs at once and sort them out.

LCAL used an in-house, home-grown "TSW" (Training Scheduling Worksheet) which is essentially an excel spreadsheet that was created in the 90s. Two things to note: changes are largely manual, and like any typical file, can only be edited by one person at a time. For 12,000 pilots.

MINT cost about $200k per month, a small price to pay to keep millions of dollars worth of pilots and equipment on an efficient track.

TSW cost nothing. Guess which one they picked?

The cutover to all TSW was Dec 2013 and we've seen the result. This resultant mess was followed shortly thereafter this spring of a $150k study by a consulting firm as to why training scheduling isn't working. Like any beauracracy they know the answer but do a study to pretend there might be a different solution. They may end up going back to MINT. Who knows how they'll solve it. But in true LCAL fashion they removed the best tools from the employees that enabled them to do their assigned jobs, then they blame them for inferior outcomes.

Flopgut, TSW worked OK with 4500 pilots with LCAL's aircraft and bases. Put another way, LCAL had two seats positions in 3 aircraft at 4 bases to train, equalling 24 moving parts. The new UAL has 2 seat positions in 8 aircraft at 10 bases, equalling 160 moving parts. Three "ladies" at a desk with a sharp pencil won't work anymore.

 

[eaglesview]

^^^^^^^^Well that about sums it up. ^^^^^^

 

[Uncle Bort]

They recalled the sUAL furloughees way too quickly. Should have taken at least twice as long to do it. Especially since so may sUAL aircraft are being retired.

 

[Ex737Driver]

Obviously "never been wt restricted." was too much to comprehend.....

Not the point. And as along as we are still going there......the 73 will make BOS-SFO, in January, with a full aircraft, a jumpseater, an alternate with reserves with no "tech stop" or weight restriction. The point was the minnow cannot do the same thing, unless, as you point out, paxs and bags are removed. The minnow just does not have the legs a 73 does.

 

[eaglesview]

Not the point. And as along as we are still going there......the 73 will make BOS-SFO, in January, with a full aircraft, a jumpseater, an alternate with reserves with no "tech stop" or weight restriction. The point was the minnow cannot do the same thing, unless, as you point out, paxs and bags are removed. The minnow just does not have the legs a 73 does.

I give.....what the hell is the minnow?

 

[chppr5]

I give.....what the hell is the minnow?

That must be his cute name for Fifi. Lost cause, don't you understand....LUAL brought nothing to the merger......

 

[densoo]

I give.....what the hell is the minnow?

Like a guppy, except it's ok to say "guppy" but not ok to say "minnow." Something to do with "my nickname for yours is clever but your nickname for mine is an insult." Adults refer to them as a 737 and a 320.

A320: MiniBus, NintendoJet, ScareBus, Chainsaw, Deathjet, Freddie Kruegers wet dream, Toulouse Grasscutter, The Strimmer, Fifi, Die-by-Wire, the French Bitch, Sully's Ark (What's the difference between an A320 and a beaver? 4000 trees per hour.)

Boeing 737: Tin mouse, Maggot, Pocket Rocket Socket, FLUF (Fat Little Ugly Fellow), Light Twin, Baby Boeing, Fat Freddy, Guppy, Thunder Guppy (series 1/200), Yuppy Guppy, Super Guppy (series 3/4/500), Pig, Bobby (BOeing BaBY), Rudder Rotor, Fat Albert, Dung Beatle. Boeing 737NG: Super FLUF.

http://www.b737.org.uk/aircraftnicknames.htm

 

[waveflyer]

I always like FLUF for my plane

Good post, but notice it's a fair question

"Minnow's" not on the list

I've never heard that one