XJET (ASA) New Hire class in April

[Leroy Smith]

Actually, many of our long legs are being done with Skywest 700s. So we have seen degradation of productivity but fortunately or unfortunately our contract doesn't allow anything more than 6 leg duty days.

Taking a look at the flow board, it appears that ERJs are, on average, flying considerably longer legs than the CR2s. I assume the pilots are doing the same thing as the aircraft. Even when the ATRs had these kind of scheds, the block times were considerably longer... And when you start to fly 6 leg, 14hr duty days (contractually the most we can be sched for- duty, not legs) worth 6.5 or so with min rest (whatever your contract or the FAA allows) is that something good? Its definitively better than no restriction other than the FAA's laughable limits, but this company, and it seems most others to some degree or other, treat what was designed to be a worst-case scenario as SOP.....

Same thing has happened to the CRJ ever since Skywest started operating their 700s in IAH. Yet we continue to benefit from pur contract despite management's attempt at cost cutting. But like you said, your contract offered huge improvements over what you had. Hence, my perspective comment.

And we continue to benefit from our current contract, despite management's attempts at cost cutting, immensely!! The contract is not the point - the way that the airline industry, regional airline segment, a specific renegotiated CPA, or next months mainline schedule can change the entire paradigm. Nothing to you in particular, but pilots seem to be very myopic - they see the world from their little bubble of cockpit and crew lounge. What is needed is some thinking that goes beyond a good game of checkers while in the middle of 3-dimensional chess.
If you think that your contract is really that boilerplate, outstanding!! I support anything that will keep my ox from getting gored. But my experience (and this applies out in the "real world" but is amplified many times in the alternate reality of airline operations) is that Capital is able to overwhelm Labor like floodwater, by simply moving around and over whatever imovable object is in its way. I hope to be proved wrong by what XJT people are bringing to the fight.

I dont have the answers, only the questions.