What was Airtran thinking?

[FR8mastr]

717 I tried to ignore the 121 FO thing, but I cant resist. What possible difference does what seat I'm in make?

 

[Ty Webb]

Hey, Fr8 MB, please tell us all about your current employer's jumpseat policy, and how many 121 pilots are able to take advantage of it, and while you're at it, tell us all about your tireless efforts to make sure that your company offers a viable jumpseat opportunity to the rest of us that haul your ungrateful carcass around.


Yeah, that's what I thought.

 

[FR8mastr]

Ty you've got it all figured out dont ya? You really should think before you post, or at least if you are trying to slam someone verify who you think they are.

 

[IB6 UB9]

A little historical perspective for all of you "121 FO's" out there.

In the mid 80's a literal handful of airlines even allowed offline jumpseaters. AA, Delta and NWA were the last to get the PRIVILEGE for offliners. UAL wasn't far ahead of them. USAir, Piedmont, EAL, PAA and TWA led the way in this respect by extending the PRIVILEGE of jumpseats to offline pilots.

Unlimited jumpseats were unofficially offered by Piedmont and occasionally by USAir and SWA. But that ended when the FAA cracked down.

So, "121 FO", be happy you have the PRIVILEGE of jumpseating at all (let alone being able to ride as the second jumpseater for virtually nothing). A lot of people over the past couple of decades have busted their a$$es to win, yes win in contract negotiations, that PRIVILEGE for you. TC

Why is the jumpseat being used as a negotiating tool? "We are cutting your pay here a little, but in return you can take a couple of offline jumpseaters".
Sorry Ty, can't agree with you here. IMHO, if there is a seat open and a pilot at the gate, he gets it...FREE. If I have a 100 seats open and 100 jumpseaters, they all ride...for nothing. BTW, when is enough enough with the NWA thing? We carry a lot of their people, and it is becoming more than just an incident or two over there where we are being denied. Three last week. That is bullshat.

 

[Jimdandy]

First off there are plenty of 121 carriers that allow unlimited jumpseaters for FREE.

Airtran needs to fix this. I take airtran pilots all the time out of atlanta and we many times have multiple ones. You would think they would return the favor.

But I guess not.

 

[Focus]

This is a bad policy to have in our industry as already mentioned. To say that pilots commuting to work should start subsidizing the revenue for this privledge continues to diminish our overall benefits package/perks.

To say that the individual who brought this topic up is ungrateful is certainly and without doubt pure BS. If my airline had this policy which it doesn't, I would be embarassed every time we had to charge for an extra seat in the back.

Keep giving away those benefits and someday it will come back to haunt us all as it already seems to be doing.

 

[USMC319]

Its a bad policy guys. I can't imagine that your pilot group came up with this duzzy but it reflects poorly on you, so I would find the "bean counter" over in the GO and get it changed. I've had multiple Airtran pilots and FAs on the same flight before...no charge.

 

[jball2]

I was talking with our jumpseat coordinator the other day and he says that the AirTran Pilots ARE trying to get rid of this. Apparently they have already lost one JS coordinator fighting this battle. Give them a break, they don't like it any more than we do.

To the Airtran folks- Thanks a million for all of the rides to work. You folks do a Great Job!

BTW- I have yet to pay anything, usually the gate agent just lets two of us on. It happened twice in the last week. Kill them with kindness and bring chocolate!

 

[Steeler Fan]

well at least delta takes as many as they can fit in the back. I think they are hurting more than airspan. They took 3 of us last Friday

Since when did DL start taking multiple JSers? That's news to me, and I hope you're right, because I've been left at the gate with 60+ seats open in coach numerous times (check airman in JS, FAA observation, NW Airlink guy beat me to the gate).

 

[Steeler Fan]

We carry a lot of their people, and it is becoming more than just an incident or two over there where we are being denied. Three last week. That is bullshat.

Individual cases of people being denied the JS should be elevated to JS committees for both airlines. I don't know who was right or wrong, but I do know that I've seen 3 things happen (some more frequently than others) in terms of jumpseating gone bad:

1. JS (in the back) never introduces himself to Captain and asks for a ride
2. JS is either not dressed appropriately (sandles and Jimmy Buffett shirt and shorts).
3. The Captain is a jerk, period

All of these are unacceptable, and if our pilots have wronged any of your friends, I'm sorry, because that's not professional at all. However, it's not always the Captain's fault, because some jumpseaters just don't get it.

 

[klhoard]

Why is the jumpseat being used as a negotiating tool? "We are cutting your pay here a little, but in return you can take a couple of offline jumpseaters".
Sorry Ty, can't agree with you here. IMHO, if there is a seat open and a pilot at the gate, he gets it...FREE. If I have a 100 seats open and 100 jumpseaters, they all ride...for nothing. BTW, when is enough enough with the NWA thing? We carry a lot of their people, and it is becoming more than just an incident or two over there where we are being denied. Three last week. That is bullshat.

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Now that's funny. . . a B6 guy beaatching about another groups negotiating ability!!!!
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[IB6 UB9]

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Now that's funny. . . a B6 guy beaatching about another groups negotiating ability!!!!
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What is it we need to negotiate? We have better work rules than most.

 

[CapnVegetto]

I agree.....this policy sucks. It is bull$hit. Nobody else out there charges anything, and some of them will take as many as can be put in the back. There is absolutely no reason to charge for this. I know it's not the pilot group's fault, it's some dam-n bean counter in the corporate office that thinks they can make an extra buck to stuff in their pocket.

 

[klhoard]

What is it we need to negotiate? We have better work rules than most.

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That's not the point. You were flipping Ty a ration of crap because the jumpseats were being used by AirTran management as a bargaining tool.
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We'll see what happens to your work rules once the legacies start putting the heat on JetBlue and y'all have a few more money losing quarters. It still cracks me up when you guys talk about your "pocket sessions" and your management "listens" to the pilot group.
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[wndshr]

Now that is Funny

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That's not the point. You were flipping Ty a ration of crap because the jumpseats were being used by AirTran management as a bargaining tool.
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We'll see what happens to your work rules once the legacies start putting the heat on JetBlue and y'all have a few more money losing quarters. It still cracks me up when you guys talk about your "pocket sessions" and your management "listens" to the pilot group.
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Now THAT is funny....a guy with 2000 hours who thinks he has got it figured out! Sorry Klhoard....couldn't resist! You are still playing in a sandbox that is for upperclassmen....come back when you get some more experience!! LOL