United career progression

[ualdriver]

Is scope restoration a major topic at UAL and other legacy airlines currently going for new contracts? CAL has 50 seat and under jets only, and AA is mentioning 100% scope, NWA just drew a fresh "line in the sand" with Compass so we know where they stand. What is the goal at UAL and DAL regarding scope? Is the continued outsourcing of 70-76 installed seats (in some cases 90 seat certified) acceptable for the next contract? Will more be sold for a "bargaining credit" for something else?

The company can't oursouce anthing over 70 seats (and I think over a certain weight, I don't recall), and under our current scope the company isn't even close to the number of outsourced RJ's they could have right now. Will it be sold for "bargaining credit" for something else? Sure, theoretically anything can be sold for "bargaining credit." Will it? Doubtful. I would expect a tightening on scope unless there's a bankruptcy judge involved.

As far as any future furloughs and a merger go, personally I doubt there will be any furloughs if there is a merger with UAL UNLESS the merger is combined with some sort of act of God (deep recession, terrorist attack, $200 oil, etc., etc.). I think our CEO wants a merger to happen and I think they know that an unhappy pilot group can be the spoiler of such an integration. I suspect that if any CEO says "merger" and "furloughs" in the same breath that all hell will break loose in our pilot ranks making our little Christmas debacle look like a picnic. Just my opinion.

 

[pipe]

The pilots didn't cause the "little Christmas debacle" - bad management did.

PIPE

 

[contrail67]

The company can't oursouce anthing over 70 seats (and I think over a certain weight, I don't recall), and under our current scope the company isn't even close to the number of outsourced RJ's they could have right now. Will it be sold for "bargaining credit" for something else? Sure, theoretically anything can be sold for "bargaining credit." Will it? Doubtful. I would expect a tightening on scope unless there's a bankruptcy judge involved.

As far as any future furloughs and a merger go, personally I doubt there will be any furloughs if there is a merger with UAL UNLESS the merger is combined with some sort of act of God (deep recession, terrorist attack, $200 oil, etc., etc.). I think our CEO wants a merger to happen and I think they know that an unhappy pilot group can be the spoiler of such an integration. I suspect that if any CEO says "merger" and "furloughs" in the same breath that all hell will break loose in our pilot ranks making our little Christmas debacle look like a picnic. Just my opinion.

UAL driver, Can you give the details of what all was given back to the 320/300 crews in the last agreement about 1 week ago concerning work rules,min day, line guarentee, ect...thanks.

 

[ualdriver]

The pilots didn't cause the "little Christmas debacle" - bad management did.

PIPE

Yeah, I'll definitely give you that. Yup, we're properly staffed Glenn!

I think some pilots, like myself, could have gone way out of their way to "help out" and soften the blow, but as individuals chose not to in order to express our displeasure with our management team. I personally think it is important for our management team to realize that as pilots, we can be happy and save gas and help them through the rough patches, but if we're not happy, we can be in full compliance with the Railway Labor Act and still bring the operation to a halt by simply only doing our jobs and nothing more. I think that message has been sent and understood, hence my belief (maybe naive, maybe not) that there will likely be no furloughs due to soley a merger.

 

[aa30]

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate both sides. Right now I am in the middle of the interviewing process. And, with any luck, I'll have a decision to make. I am stuck where I live, and it's not a domicile, so I'd be commuting. Work rules and a better contract would sure make the commute that much easier. My concern is ofcourse the possibility of a merger leading to a furlough; but, like I've heard many, many times (and told my wife myself) you just never know if you made the right choice until it's time to retire.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[ualdriver]

UAL driver, Can you give the details of what all was given back to the 320/300 crews in the last agreement about 1 week ago concerning work rules,min day, line guarentee, ect...thanks.

I'll do my best but I am not a contract expert by any means. Basically it gets rid of the LCO for all practical intents and purposes. It gives us various levels of duty rigs that we never had before (1:2, 1:1.75, 1:4 TAFB). It gives us a line guarantee for the month that protects us from lost pay due to cancellations or anything else. There's also some potential extra pay to be earned if you get reassigned and return to your domicile later than you were previously supposed to. It's very valuable to us LCO guys because it was extremely common to lose pay due to cancellations through no fault of your own. It's also wasn't unheard of to get stuck flying 11 hr., 3 day trips or 7 hr., 2 day trips, for example, so the new TA will protect us from that. I know for me it will be worth at least a few thousand dollars a year in extra pay. And for junior LCO guys, it may be worth even more as they were often the guys getting stuck flying crappy paying trips.

 

[ualdriver]

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate both sides. Right now I am in the middle of the interviewing process. And, with any luck, I'll have a decision to make. I am stuck where I live, and it's not a domicile, so I'd be commuting. Work rules and a better contract would sure make the commute that much easier. My concern is ofcourse the possibility of a merger leading to a furlough; but, like I've heard many, many times (and told my wife myself) you just never know if you made the right choice until it's time to retire.

Thanks again for the info.

Well, good luck with your decision. It's not an easy decision to come here for many. If you have any more questions, just post or PM me and I'll try to answer them. There's also quite a few UA guys on here that can probably add perspective as well.

 

[wingslevl]

As somone who was furloughed from UAL for 5+ years, all I can say is: you've got a lot to learn, tool.

Anybody could get furloughed at any airline. Why restate the obvious? My point was, the original poster wanted advice, and I don't think your post served anybody. Sorry you got furloughed. Sucks when it happens to anybody and I hope it doesn't happen again. But I don't think that just because I'm not counting on it means I've got a lot to learn.

 

[Violet]

Today, I received the call I've been waiting for. United offered me a job.

I know that there is always a possibility of a furlough. It is the nature of our industry. No company is truly insulated and history has proven that what is the greatest company today might be out of business in the near future. But, with that being said, United is rebuilding and I believe that benefits for pilots will recover and improve. They may never again reach the heights of the mid-90's, but it will be 10 times better than what I have grown accustomed to in other companies.

I am thrilled, know that I will enjoy flying for United, and will be proud to wear the United uniform. I've wanted this for almost a decade and now I will have finally have my chance!

 

[level370]

It gives us various levels of duty rigs that we never had before (1:2, 1:1.75, 1:4 TAFB).

We had better rigs before...before our ch11 "contract". I hardly flew a hard time trip on the guppy back then. But this TA is a step in the right direction.

 

[skywdriver]

Today, I received the call I've been waiting for. United offered me a job.

I know that there is always a possibility of a furlough. It is the nature of our industry. No company is truly insulated and history has proven that what is the greatest company today might be out of business in the near future. But, with that being said, United is rebuilding and I believe that benefits for pilots will recover and improve. They may never again reach the heights of the mid-90's, but it will be 10 times better than what I have grown accustomed to in other companies.

I am thrilled, know that I will enjoy flying for United, and will be proud to wear the United uniform. I've wanted this for almost a decade and now I will have finally have my chance!

congrats dude, best of luck to you!

 

[Yuppyguppy]

Today, I received the call I've been waiting for. United offered me a job.

I know that there is always a possibility of a furlough. It is the nature of our industry. No company is truly insulated and history has proven that what is the greatest company today might be out of business in the near future. But, with that being said, United is rebuilding and I believe that benefits for pilots will recover and improve. They may never again reach the heights of the mid-90's, but it will be 10 times better than what I have grown accustomed to in other companies.

I am thrilled, know that I will enjoy flying for United, and will be proud to wear the United uniform. I've wanted this for almost a decade and now I will have finally have my chance!

Congrats Violet!

 

[hmmm]

Enjoy the dinner first week of class and getting your wings. Don't forget to take a jacket and tie to class for that evening so you can frame the picture for the day you received your United Wings.

Half wings received the next evening.

Carreer may not be what it used to be but there doesn't seem to be anything else better out there right now that we have a choice on.

.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Today, I received the call I've been waiting for. United offered me a job.

I know that there is always a possibility of a furlough. It is the nature of our industry. No company is truly insulated and history has proven that what is the greatest company today might be out of business in the near future. But, with that being said, United is rebuilding and I believe that benefits for pilots will recover and improve. They may never again reach the heights of the mid-90's, but it will be 10 times better than what I have grown accustomed to in other companies.

I am thrilled, know that I will enjoy flying for United, and will be proud to wear the United uniform. I've wanted this for almost a decade and now I will have finally have my chance!

CONGRATS!

welcome to the "club"

Beer is on us for your probation year so wear the half wings with PRIDE!

767 F/O

 

[hoover]

SEA is probably our most senior base. Need about 10 years, just to hold Guppy F/O!

I'm hoping someone can answer a question for me.

What is the attraction to SEA? I have been there several times and I just don't understand it. Housing is expensive, it is rainy and overcast 9 out 10 days, its a b-i-itch to get around, and near as I can tell, jobs don't pay any better there than they do elsewhere. Yet everyone I meet thinks that SEA is the nearest thing to heaven on earth.

Can anyone offer some perspective?