whats the deal with xjt?

Trip7 said:
Yea he painted a pretty gloomy outlook on that update. I always try to stay positive but I don't see much future for the combined Acey. At this point I'd rather be furloughed and go somewhere else then be bumped back to reserve
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I heard a bunch of you Vietnam guys were told you won't be going now. Sorry to hear that.

However, as someone that was furloughed and spent 17 1/2 months away from an airplane (largely by choice after the first few months) I will gladly take reserve again over spending even more time on the street. I challenge you to spend reserve at another company, our reserve system needs work..but it's better than most places hiring right now.
 
When you think about it maube the loss of those 30 planes has to do with those phantom tprops.
 
Trip7 said:
Yea he painted a pretty gloomy outlook on that update. I always try to stay positive but I don't see much future for the combined Acey. At this point I'd rather be furloughed and go somewhere else then be bumped back to reserve
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If voluntary furloughs are offered, we hope to see you sign up first!

Money---> mouth
 
I really don't know why they think we can cut costs any more than we have-it's not like our pay is out of line. I make about $1 more an hour than an equivalent Skywest captain at 7 year pay scale, and the ASA scale for CRJ700 is also $1 more an hour than Skywest. I chose Skywest as an example since we are so often compared to them, being one of the Inc. subsidiaries. GoJet for example is about $3 less an hour, worthy of comparison since they seem to be the darling of UAL and DAL now. Now other issues like insurance and work rules do have their role, but to a limited extent.

What's really our largest liability is what we fly-50 seat jets were instrumental in the post-911 era, but those markets targeted for 50 seat jets have recovered and now warrant larger equipment. They're just out of style. I really don't think ASA has a plan to get newer, larger equipment for the combined ASA/XJT, and even if they did I suspect Skywest would prevent it, keeping the better contracts on its side. I can see better equipment going to Skywest and letting ASA/XJT wither over time. We have 350+ 50-seat jets and you can't replace that lift all at once.

This will still be a great job for a few years, but I don't see another decade of growth.
 
pscraig said:
I really don't know why they think we can cut costs any more than we have-it's not like our pay is out of line. I make about $1 more an hour than an equivalent Skywest captain at 7 year pay scale, and the ASA scale for CRJ700 is also $1 more an hour than Skywest. I chose Skywest as an example since we are so often compared to them, being one of the Inc. subsidiaries. GoJet for example is about $3 less an hour, worthy of comparison since they seem to be the darling of UAL and DAL now. Now other issues like insurance and work rules do have their role, but to a limited extent.

What's really our largest liability is what we fly-50 seat jets were instrumental in the post-911 era, but those markets targeted for 50 seat jets have recovered and now warrant larger equipment. They're just out of style. I really don't think ASA has a plan to get newer, larger equipment for the combined ASA/XJT, and even if they did I suspect Skywest would prevent it, keeping the better contracts on its side. I can see better equipment going to Skywest and letting ASA/XJT wither over time. We have 350+ 50-seat jets and you can't replace that lift all at once.

This will still be a great job for a few years, but I don't see another decade of growth.
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As long as they choose to operate two separate airlines, complaining about not being cost competitive is not a valid excuse for me. I honestly don't think they really save that much by keeping Skywest non union since they get everything we negotiate for anyway simply to keep everybody happy and keep a union off property.

But yeah...I don't think they have much of a plan either. It seems this merger was based on the assumption that the UA/CO pilots will cave on scope. Which of course I hope they don't.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
As long as they choose to operate two separate airlines, complaining about not being cost competitive is not a valid excuse for me. I honestly don't think they really save that much by keeping Skywest non union since they get everything we negotiate for anyway simply to keep everybody happy and keep a union off property.

But yeah...I don't think they have much of a plan either. It seems this merger was based on the assumption that the UA/CO pilots will cave on scope. Which of course I hope they don't.
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Correction, everything + 1%.

So long as guys are pointing the fingers in the right direction and giving those folks lip service and - perhaps - doing so diplomatically (although that really doesn't matter anymore) towards the people actually driving this ship.

That is, afterall, all we can do.
 
So what do you guys see as the career prospects for someone just starting out in the company? For me I realize any regional is a risk but I'm hoping that going to express will be a good decision.
 
DenverPilot8 said:
So what do you guys see as the career prospects for someone just starting out in the company? For me I realize any regional is a risk but I'm hoping that going to express will be a good decision.
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Making any regional, or more appropriately - any sub contractor [re: someone who doesn't outright own their own flying...at least within passenger operations] - a career company is a nail in your coffin.

Spending 20+ years at a regional, starting now, may be very hard to come by as the changing landscape of domestic passenger flying becomes more and more brutal for the guys bidding on flying.

Over the past 35 years ASA has been operating, guys are finally retiring from this place as it was their career company, but one has to realize that these guys were hired over 20-25 years ago, saw the boom of sub-contract regional flying, such a change in the flying landscape, and have been lucky to be shielded from poor economic conditions as their seniority saved them. While those way way way down on the seniority list missed upgrades (or their expectation of an upgrade), were displaced, or worse - furloughed due to deteriorating economic conditions within the FFD (fee-for-departure) contract environment.
 
DenverPilot8 said:
So what do you guys see as the career prospects for someone just starting out in the company? For me I realize any regional is a risk but I'm hoping that going to express will be a good decision.
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I think coming to Express is still a good choice, although our growth is a wild card. We haven't had much good news in the last few years, and even what little good news we get (big UAL contract) is tempered with a dark side (it's not very long in duration). The top of our seniority list is packed with people who for one reason or another elected to make this their career destination, or are waiting for the call from Southwest. They have been here a long time and like the ASA folks mentioned above, have been shielded from reality by our former generous CAL contract and their seniority. We call them the lifers, and they are good folks but I would not want to be in their shoes. Many of them passed up chances to go to CAL or other places and are now stuck here. Or got so mired in debt (house, boat, Harley) they can't afford the pay cut to move on to a major, and are also stuck here.

But for someone starting out in the airlines, yes this is a good place. We have good people, decent equipment, and a good contract. I expect the merger with ASA will end well since we are similar in many respects, and they have some good people over there too. So for the next few years, you should be fine. Just don't get any delusions about making a career out of this place. Get some time, then apply everywhere you can to move on as quickly as you can. It's not just this company that will be heading downhill-it's the whole industry segment.
 
thanks for the info. I'm not planning on making any regional a permanant career spot although I definately plan on being at one for awhile. My ultimate goal is to fly for ANA (ALL Nippon Airways) since I'm half Japanese and am fluent in the language. Its been a difficult decision since all of the facts can never be known or predicted with this industry it seems. I interviewed at Great Lakes, American Eagle, and ExpressJet and ended up getting an offer from all three. I still think Eagle is a good choice and may be more stable for the near future but ExpressJet is where I ultimately decided where I want to be.
 
DenverPilot8 said:
thanks for the info. I'm not planning on making any regional a permanant career spot although I definately plan on being at one for awhile. My ultimate goal is to fly for ANA (ALL Nippon Airways) since I'm half Japanese and am fluent in the language. Its been a difficult decision since all of the facts can never be known or predicted with this industry it seems. I interviewed at Great Lakes, American Eagle, and ExpressJet and ended up getting an offer from all three. I still think Eagle is a good choice and may be more stable for the near future but ExpressJet is where I ultimately decided where I want to be.
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Good deal, it's a good company and - so long as our leadership gets their heads on right - will be a great combined company in the coming months. Welcome.
 
pscraig said:
I really don't know why they think we can cut costs any more than we have-it's not like our pay is out of line. I make about $1 more an hour than an equivalent Skywest captain at 7 year pay scale, and the ASA scale for CRJ700 is also $1 more an hour than Skywest. I chose Skywest as an example since we are so often compared to them, being one of the Inc. subsidiaries. GoJet for example is about $3 less an hour, worthy of comparison since they seem to be the darling of UAL and DAL now. Now other issues like insurance and work rules do have their role, but to a limited extent.

What's really our largest liability is what we fly-50 seat jets were instrumental in the post-911 era, but those markets targeted for 50 seat jets have recovered and now warrant larger equipment. They're just out of style. I really don't think ASA has a plan to get newer, larger equipment for the combined ASA/XJT, and even if they did I suspect Skywest would prevent it, keeping the better contracts on its side. I can see better equipment going to Skywest and letting ASA/XJT wither over time. We have 350+ 50-seat jets and you can't replace that lift all at once.

This will still be a great job for a few years, but I don't see another decade of growth.
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It isn't the difference in rate that's the issue. The reason GoJet has lower costs is that they have no one at the top of the scale, and we have a ton of people at the top of the scale.

Lower rate plus fewer at the high rate equals cheap labor. Labor isn't the only cost though. We have a lot of factors all conspiring to make us expensive. I'm glad it isn't my job to cut costs!
 
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