Strapped for pilots, Republic asks partners to reduce flights

I'm torn. While I recognize that RAH has it's MANY problems, my two years here have been mostly positive. I have experience none of the headache that most people who like to blast Republic claim to have. I am an optimist...I tend to think things often work out for the better and that's the line I've been taken with Republic for a while now.

Now I am not so sure. Uncle Bryan keeps reiterating how important it is to get a contract signed but then the actions of management contradict that. The management keeps harping about culture change. I've seen none of it. I want to...but I don't.

I feel like the ship may e sinking, but what do I know. I'm not a business analyst. I just want to advance my career. Last night I got a call from a Mesa recruiter and am seriously thinking about going.
 
"The issue behind the canceled flights, Bedford said, is that Republic does not have the ability under the current contract to force junior pilots to work on their days off. Instead, the company uses incentive pay to encourage pilots to fill the gaps."
 
I'm pretty sure there is another thread on here with this link. lol, I could be wrong, though...I've seen his comments pop up on just about every professional pilot board I frequent. It's hard to keep them straight.

EDIT. Here is it. http://forums.jetcareers.com/thread...ublic-asks-partners-to-reduce-flights.219619/

For the record I do tend to think that this can't be posted enough, though. I mean come on, Uncle Bryan, you know it's BS, we know it's BS, and I HOPE that the shareholders know it's BS.

Lol, blaming our cancellations on our lack of junior manning.

Que the ROFLCopter!
 
poser765 said:
I'm torn. While I recognize that RAH has it's MANY problems, my two years here have been mostly positive. I have experience none of the headache that most people who like to blast Republic claim to have. I am an optimist...I tend to think things often work out for the better and that's the line I've been taken with Republic for a while now.

Now I am not so sure. Uncle Bryan keeps reiterating how important it is to get a contract signed but then the actions of management contradict that. The management keeps harping about culture change. I've seen none of it. I want to...but I don't.

I feel like the ship may e sinking, but what do I know. I'm not a business analyst. I just want to advance my career. Last night I got a call from a Mesa recruiter and am seriously thinking about going.
Click to expand...

I too have tried to stay optimistic. As much as I hate to make a lateral move, I also would hate to try and wait it out and end up 500 numbers lower on someone else's seniority list because I didn't make the move when I should have. The industry is very much like the lottery. A lot of pilots try to play the game. Some hit the jackpot, some well.... they go broke.
 
pilotdw said:
I too have tried to stay optimistic. As much as I hate to make a lateral move, I also would hate to try and wait it out and end up 500 numbers lower on someone else's seniority list because I didn't make the move when I should have. The industry is very much like the lottery. A lot of pilots try to play the game. Some hit the jackpot, some well.... they go broke.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and I have not historically been a successful gambler.

The way I look at it is this. I've got little to lose in the long run...and just a few thousand dollars a year in the short run. Mesa's FO pay seems to be on par with our lousy FO pay. But offsetting that it looks like upgrading is a reality there. Who knows when I can upgrade at RAH...or even if there is going to be a RAH to upgrade with. I just really hate the idea of chasing an upgrade, but I hate the idea of being stagnant even worse.

Even if we get a super contract tomorrow we aren't going to see any serious relief on our staffing issues for months, even assuming the new CBA is good enough to draw people from other regionals. So I don't see us growing, and really the only movement is going to be from attrition. That's scares me.
 
poser765 said:
I'm torn. While I recognize that RAH has it's MANY problems, my two years here have been mostly positive. I have experience none of the headache that most people who like to blast Republic claim to have. I am an optimist...I tend to think things often work out for the better and that's the line I've been taken with Republic for a while now.

Now I am not so sure. Uncle Bryan keeps reiterating how important it is to get a contract signed but then the actions of management contradict that. The management keeps harping about culture change. I've seen none of it. I want to...but I don't.

I feel like the ship may e sinking, but what do I know. I'm not a business analyst. I just want to advance my career. Last night I got a call from a Mesa recruiter and am seriously thinking about going.
Click to expand...

I don't think you have to be a business analyst to see the writing on the wall... RAH is a failing airline.
 
Derg said:
Strapped for pilots, Republic asks partners to reduce flights
May 27, 2015
Kathleen McLaughlin

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. is so short on pilots that it’s asking major-airline partners to reduce its summer flying schedule.

The situation will mean less revenue for Indianapolis-based Republic, the company has said, and it could mean a noticeable lack of seats available from airports like Indianapolis International, where about 60 percent of flights are operated by regional contract carriers such as Republic.

“Essentially it would be less capacity,” said James Clark, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 357, the union that represents 2,300 Republic pilots. “It could actually change the schedules.”

Republic CEO Bryan Bedford told investors earlier this month that crew-related flight cancellations rose throughout the first quarter and continued at a high level in April and May. The labor shortage will reduce revenue by an estimated $15 million this year, the company said.

Bedford said the solution is to bring an end to protracted contract talks with the pilots’ union. The two sides have been meeting seven days a week since April and hope to have a tentative agreement in the near future.

Republic has been in off-and-on talks with the pilots’ union since 2007 and reached a tentative agreement last year, only to have it rejected by 85 percent of the pilots.

“There’s really no point in speculating as to whether or not our ongoing labor dispute is driving elevated levels of crew cancellations,” Bedford said during a May 8 conference call. “Regardless, we’re convinced that the most expedient way to get back to our historically high levels of performance is to reach a successful outcome at the bargaining table.”

In the meantime, Bedford said the company asked its major-airline partners to reduce its schedule in order to avoid disappointing customers. Republic said it's uncertain at which airports those schedule reductions will appear, since that's up to the major airlines.

Republic has a new executive team leading talks with the pilots. Chief Operating Officer Wayne Heller retired early this year, and he’s been replaced by human resources Vice President Matt Koscal and Chief Financial Officer Tim Dooley.

"It matters who's at the table," Clark said.

Clark said the union and Republic executives have been meeting almost nonstop since April. “This is a massive amount of effort on both parts," he said.

Although Republic executives believe the union thwarted their effort to fill gaps in crew availability, Bedford told investors that he won’t seek a legal remedy.

“If we go back over the tenure of the previous leadership team, it was very adversarial,” Bedford said during the conference call. “We spent a lot of time in court, and honestly, we generally prevailed in those arguments. We’re trying to approach this with a new spirit of engagement and cooperation. And we don’t have any intent to seek a legal process to resolve this.”

The issue behind the canceled flights, Bedford said, is that Republic does not have the ability under the current contract to force junior pilots to work on their days off. Instead, the company uses incentive pay to encourage pilots to fill the gaps.

When the company notified the union that it intended to activate incentive pay, the union responded by telling pilots not to pick up open slots. Clark said the union’s instruction to its members was appropriate because at this stage of the negotiation, which is overseen by federal mediators, neither side is supposed to change its behavior.

Regional contract carriers like Republic face pilot shortages that appear to be driven by significantly lower pay than at the major airlines.

Republic’s net income was $6.4 million in the first quarter, down more than 50 percent from the prior year. Earnings per share were 13 cents, half as much as a year ago.Total revenue rose 1 percent, to $341 million.

Company shares were up 7 cents Wednesday morning, to $10.33 each, but have fallen nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the year.
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.

Who ain't got no pilots?
 
poser765 said:
Exactly, and I have not historically been a successful gambler.

The way I look at it is this. I've got little to lose in the long run...and just a few thousand dollars a year in the short run. Mesa's FO pay seems to be on par with our lousy FO pay. But offsetting that it looks like upgrading is a reality there. Who knows when I can upgrade at RAH...or even if there is going to be a RAH to upgrade with. I just really hate the idea of chasing an upgrade, but I hate the idea of being stagnant even worse.

Even if we get a super contract tomorrow we aren't going to see any serious relief on our staffing issues for months, even assuming the new CBA is good enough to draw people from other regionals. So I don't see us growing, and really the only movement is going to be from attrition. That's scares me.
Click to expand...

Do your self a favor and leave now because if you don't, you will miss out on the quick upgrade opportunities available at the other airlines. I left RAH in Dec and I am already flying as a captain at Trans States. Mesa has a quick upgrade and PSA is hiring street captains. You will still upgrade quicker even if you go to Trans States now (probably around 1 year) just because I doubt you will ever see it at RAH. RAH is a sinking ship and as long as no one comes in behind you, you will never be able to upgrade. As RAH continues to shrink, you will also be left with just the lifers which there are a lot of at RAH.

Even if RAH gets an incredible CBA, they won't be able to attract guys away from other regionals as upgrade time will still be high there. People only leave other regionals if they are able to get a street captain position or quick upgrade, not a small pay increase. The only way RAH will attract pilots from other 121s is if they pay JetBlue rates which is not going to happen.

The only realistic option left for RAH to staff is for them to buy another regional and merge them in. Maybe if they bought Air Whisky, parked the 200s and adopted their contract with improvements. It still wouldn't solve their upgrade problems in the long run to attract new hires though.
 
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