Wuzzup at Pinnacle

[kmox29]

A lot of other stuff going on here, all negative, not a fun place to work right now.

True. But if you look at what they're doing to us here at Mesaba, it might make you feel better

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Aren't Pinnacle's staffing problems due to horrible pay, working conditions etc? If those don't change I can't imagine the staffing issue will change. Someone on here a few months back made a comment that about less than half of a proposed class actually showed up. Obviously that may or may not be true but it didn't surprise me. Sorry I couldn't quote exactly the numbers involved but I didn't hear one pilot I know say they would take Pinnacle up on that USA Today ad. All just laughed and chucked the paper in the trash.

Mr. I.

 

[Quillpig]

The earliest source for this quote is Abraham Lincoln.

And perhaps Honest Abe had a bible, for we read in Proverbs 17:28 that:

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

http://www.bartleby.com/108/20/17.html#28

 

[Lear70]

But aren't the street CA's hired wthin the last 9 months junior to the recent upgrades? I would think they're the ones to get displaced, not the ones upgrading now.

Yup, that would be the street captains getting hosed. Good news is with attrition the way it is, they'll be back in their seats by March unless management comes up with some new way of staffing (don't put it past them).

The company has a new person in charge of staffing and he has a "new plan" on making the staffing work. Instead of building lines to 92 hours, they build lines to 80 hour averages, lower the average days off and spread the flying around (so now the senior guys are getting 11 or 12 days off instead of 14-16), then REFUSE TO LET lineholders pick up more than 82 hours of flying.

Assign reserves trips BEFORE THE MONTH EVEN STARTS, treating them as build-up lineholders, then junior assign and extend people to cover last-minute problems rather than use reserves as they were intended.

This is a COMPLETE departure from any previously used staffing plan, and may or may not require more people, depending on its success. We'll have to see how November and December work out before I think we'll see ANY vacancies or hiring booms (probably late Feb as someone else mentioned).

Mr. Irrelevant: you hit the nail on the head. What you neglected to include in your theorizing were the hundreds of schmucks who keep coming here under these working conditions and pay rates.

kmox: Mesaba's plight making me happier about my lot in life? No way, I have a lot of friends over there who are looking at displacement from the CA seat or possibly worse. If anything it makes my outlook worse - this industry just plain sucks until you get somewhere that an employee is actually considered an ASSETT!

 

[Mtnjam]

Pinchinickels

Yes, word is correct, just not exactly the most ideal place to be right now. They have ceased all negotiations because Uncle Phil wants more money out of the men and women that allow him to live in his Phat house with his Phat Cars!
The Displacement thing is a Hoax. There is no way they will displace any Captains. They can't afford to do so. I saw a Street Captain the other day in Minnie and he was sweating it. Don't buy it folks! It's leverage for another bad contract at 9E. Mesaba is hurting bad by January for sure and I have a feeling that they are in turn for a growth spurt by next year's end, "AKA" getting 70 seat aircrafts. 9E will not get these, and the new rumor is CRJ's belonging to Pinnacle will soon be entered into Mesaba's fleet. They only have what 1 or 2?? They have all the staffing for the CRJ training program? Thing's are fixin to get nasty at 9E, it's unfortunate, but like it was said before all you can do is try to make the best of it and keep looking for that next better opportunity, which right now there actually seems to be quite a few out there.

 

[kmox29]

kmox: Mesaba's plight making me happier about my lot in life? No way, I have a lot of friends over there who are looking at displacement from the CA seat or possibly worse. If anything it makes my outlook worse - this industry just plain sucks until you get somewhere that an employee is actually considered an ASSETT!

I wrote that tongue-in-cheek style. But I now realize, you can't actually see my tongue in my cheek. I've just come to the odd conclusion that Pinnacle is a better run company than Mesaba:

No bankruptcy
No 109 furloughs
No possible loss of an entire fleet
No 50% reduction in remaining fleet
Plus, a real possibility that as a 7 year pilot, my best hope might be a reserve SF340 FO

*sigh* I drink a lot nowadays...

 

[Lear70]

I've just come to the odd conclusion that Pinnacle is a better run company than Mesaba:

*sigh* I drink a lot nowadays...

And obviously smoke crack too...

Better run company than Mesaba?

Welllll... let's see if we can top you on stupidly-run companies:

D-Zero (on-time departures) is somewhere below 40% - that means over half of our flights depart late.

Attrition in all departments - our turnover rate in the scheduling department is 250%... yes, that means we replace almost all our schedulers more than twice per year - they stay about 3-4 months and get pissed off and leave. Dispathers are closer to 100% - they stay about 8-10 months, get pissed off, and leave. Flight attendants are about where schedulers are. Our current rate of pilot attrition is right at 30%... (unfortunately, it's all in the mid-level seniority range so my seniority doesn't go up). But the company doesn't see the training costs associated with all that linked with how they treat people.

The average days off for crewmembers is 11 while our credit/block has dropped into the mid 70's... that means we are flying LESS hours with MORE available crews with FEWER days off. Evidently they can't figure out how to increase productivity.

Only two to three months of operating capital saved - Mesaba had something like 5 months on hand (over $100 Million).

Pinnacle's cancellations are so bad that NWA is talking about getting rid of us as a carrier as part of their reorganization plan in Ch. 11 and we're going to have to pay a $1 Million penalty for missing our completion factor for the quarter (too many cancellations).

All-in-all I'd say your woes aren't management-caused; they're tactics by NWA in bankruptcy to either get better lease rates on those aircraft or possibly pave the way to replacing them with shiny new jets.

Your management seems to actually have its act together and is getting "screwed by The Man". Our management, on the other hand, can't run the operation correctly to begin with.

 

[kmox29]

And obviously smoke crack too...

Well, I am based in DTW imp:

Only two to three months of operating capital saved - Mesaba had something like 5 months on hand (over $100 Million).

I have been sufficently brainwashed now and (in robotic tone): "I...believe...MAIR...is...a...seperate...entity...than...Mesaba Airlines...and...their...cash...is...not...ours.""

Your management seems to actually have its act together and is getting "screwed by The Man". Our management, on the other hand, can't run the operation correctly to begin with.

I thought our management was "The Man"! Are you telling me that there might be more than one "Man"!?! Jeezus...how many "Men" are there!!!

 

[Lear70]

Well, I am based in DTW imp:

Well... that DOES explain a lot. :nuts:

I have been sufficently branwashed now and (in robotic tone): "I...believe...MAIR...is...a...seperate...entity...than...Mesaba Airlines...and...their...cash...is...not...ours.""

Funny how they do stuff like that...

I thought our management was "The Man"! Are you telling me that there might be more than one "Man"!?! Jeezus...how many "Men" are there!!!

Enough to ensure that you will ALWAYS need some type of lube working in this profession.

Find a fuzzy one named "Crusher" and maybe the rest will leave you alone.

 

[Notown]

We already have one of the lowest pay rates.

Yes the rates are low. Almost as low as MAG. But it might surprise you that MAG's retirement contribution is much higher than PCL's. The result is that PCL has the lowest total compensation of any regional airline flying comparable equipment (CRJ or ERJ).

Numbers don't lie.