Not to sure what to make of this

I don't get this. A day off is a day off. I would have no problem saying no to working if they call me on a day off. You should not have to even explain yourself by giving a reason. Either way, it is a good thing that I drink every day off while watching my kids!!!
 
subpilot said:
I don't get this. A day off is a day off. I would have no problem saying no to working if they call me on a day off. You should not have to even explain yourself by giving a reason. Either way, it is a good thing that I drink every day off while watching my kids!!!
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Not in the airline industry. Answer the phone here, and you don't have the option of saying "no." I have yet to meet a CA here that DOESN'T get called to get JMed on at least 2/3rds of their days off a month.

They call you on your day off, you answer the phone, you say "no" without a good reason, you'll be on the carpet in the base manager/chief pilot's office trying to explain why you didn't fly the junior assignment. It won't be long until this little staffing policy makes the jump from Pinnacle to Colgan....
 
I got called last night at around 10pm by scheduling. I wasn't really paying attention and answered the phone. They said they were junior maning for a 4:45am repo flight down to Charlotte and they they could have me back in base by 9:30. I politely told them that I had something at 8:30 and unfortunately couldn't help them. That was the end of it. Well, actually, they called back at 5:30am but I didn't bother answering it. The voice mail said they were still junior maning for the repo but it left "as soon as you could get over here".

I've never had a problem getting out of a junior man when I answer the phone. Granted, I accept about 1/3 of the ones they give me and I do try to help them out when I can so maybe I earned some karma points with them (although I doubt it). I'll keep playing the game this way until I get burned and then I won't do it any more.

The ONLY time I've had to do a carpet dance with a CP involved me calling scheduling to get released from the last leg which was just a deadhead (and them approving it) and then scheduling extending me for a turn out of base AFTER the deadhead. Obviously I wasn't there and they hit me with a no show. It took the union about a month to get the company to find the tapes and after that it was all ok.
 
They get mad at us if they try to call and can't get ahold of us. It's just that they get *more* mad if they try to call and do get ahold of us and we don't come in.
 
Baradium said:
They get mad at us if they try to call and can't get ahold of us. It's just that they get *more* mad if they try to call and do get ahold of us and we don't come in.
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Unless you have some REEEEEAAALLLY bizarre contract, you should be under no obligation to be "reachable" unless you are on reserve. I'm with the group--call me on my day off, and yer getting voice mail, unless I knows ya!

I even did that last night--got a call from a number I didn't recognize and let it go to voice mail. Turns out it cost me, though--I missed a chance to claim my FREE Ford Explorer, or something like that! :)
 
BobDDuck said:
I got called last night at around 10pm by scheduling. I wasn't really paying attention and answered the phone. They said they were junior maning for a 4:45am repo flight down to Charlotte and they they could have me back in base by 9:30. I politely told them that I had something at 8:30 and unfortunately couldn't help them. That was the end of it. Well, actually, they called back at 5:30am but I didn't bother answering it. The voice mail said they were still junior maning for the repo but it left "as soon as you could get over here".

I've never had a problem getting out of a junior man when I answer the phone. Granted, I accept about 1/3 of the ones they give me and I do try to help them out when I can so maybe I earned some karma points with them (although I doubt it). I'll keep playing the game this way until I get burned and then I won't do it any more.

The ONLY time I've had to do a carpet dance with a CP involved me calling scheduling to get released from the last leg which was just a deadhead (and them approving it) and then scheduling extending me for a turn out of base AFTER the deadhead. Obviously I wasn't there and they hit me with a no show. It took the union about a month to get the company to find the tapes and after that it was all ok.
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Man, do that here, and you'll get blasted from about eight different sides, and there's nothing you can do. This is the difference b/w an airline where scheduling and the pilots work together and one where scheduling basically has burned all good will towards pilots. Last I checked, we actually had potential "hostile work environment" lawsuits against scheduling.....
 
kellwolf said:
Man, do that here, and you'll get blasted from about eight different sides, and there's nothing you can do. This is the difference b/w an airline where scheduling and the pilots work together and one where scheduling basically has burned all good will towards pilots. Last I checked, we actually had potential "hostile work environment" lawsuits against scheduling.....
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Wow, I'm sooo glad I am now part of the PCL 'family.' Especially without Union representation or a contract. :banghead:

Life is gonna be great once Uncle Phil starts making things happen around here. :panic:

:hiya:
 
Again, I rest my case, folks. If you take the first company that hires you, you have little to complain about.

There are companies out there that don't JM. ;)
 
mtsu_av8er said:
Again, I rest my case, folks. If you take the first company that hires you, you have little to complain about.

There are companies out there that don't JM. ;)
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Eh, there are companies out there that don't JM BECAUSE THEY'RE STAFFED. Those same companies would do what every other airline does when they can't get things covered: call people on their day off in reverse seniority and tell them "you're flying." Now, if an airline has it in their contract that they CAN'T JM, then I'd say that's a huge coup for the union. Even SWA has the ability to JM if the need arises. The fact that they have proper incentives to get people to voluntarily pick up the open time keeps it from happening.

Ironically, if we get JM'd to do just an out and back, COLGAN has a better deal than we do. We just get 125% of the trip value, not 3:45 on top of it.
 
Here is one for ya! I'm deadheading home from CVG to MCO. The flight was overbooked so the gate agents asked me to sit in the jumpseat to accomodate. No problem I'm going home. About 30 minutes from landing an ACARS message comes up. It reads, "Please have Comair first officer XXXX call crew scheduling apon landing." I have 2 soft days off starting the next day. The Captain after showing me the message scribbles to me on a piece of paper, "We never got that message, enjoy your days off." Freakin' Sweet!
 
Soul Brotha' said:
Here is one for ya! I'm deadheading home from CVG to MCO. The flight was overbooked so the gate agents asked me to sit in the jumpseat to accomodate. No problem I'm going home. About 30 minutes from landing an ACARS message comes up. It reads, "Please have Comair first officer XXXX call crew scheduling apon landing." I have 2 soft days off starting the next day. The Captain after showing me the message scribbles to me on a piece of paper, "We never got that message, enjoy your days off." Freakin' Sweet!
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Well, there is NO guarantee that ACARS messages arrive intact, or arrive at ALL for that matter--no return receipt. Such a shame that your message ended up getting "lost in transit...." ;)
 
I might work on a MBA online while at an airline, but I sure as heck wouldn't call up the company and say "I have too much homework to fly".

That is just freaking irresponsible on the part of the pilot/student.

Heck calling in 'sick' for said homework is just as bad.

They are biting off WAAAAY more then they can chew.
 
OldTownPilot said:
I might work on a MBA online while at an airline, but I sure as heck wouldn't call up the company and say "I have too much homework to fly".

That is just freaking irresponsible on the part of the pilot/student.

Heck calling in 'sick' for said homework is just as bad.

They are biting off WAAAAY more then they can chew.
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Exactly. There are people earning a MASTERS while operating in a forward operating area on active duty in IRAQ!

If they can do it, then anyone can earn a BS degree working as an airline pilot.
 
Seggy said:
Let me preface this by saying we have a very young pilot group, a pilot group with a good bunch of guys and gals, nothing personal against them.

Was talking to a crew scheduler the other day; they have had some younger First Officers turn down trips because they had to finish their homework for last minute class deadlines for their online classes.

The company is dumbfounded about this. Usually you have problems with staffing restaurants because the young wait staff has exams, school work etc. Not airline pilots.
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There are two ways to get an employee to work on a day off: 1) Threaten his job, or 2) make it worth his while. For some reason managment always seems to go with number 1. If they'd try number 2 once in a while, they might be pleasantly surprised at the results.
 
Soul Brotha' said:
Here is one for ya! I'm deadheading home from CVG to MCO. The flight was overbooked so the gate agents asked me to sit in the jumpseat to accomodate. No problem I'm going home. About 30 minutes from landing an ACARS message comes up. It reads, "Please have Comair first officer XXXX call crew scheduling apon landing." I have 2 soft days off starting the next day. The Captain after showing me the message scribbles to me on a piece of paper, "We never got that message, enjoy your days off." Freakin' Sweet!
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Ha! That is sweet! That is a cool captain. Heck, I've probably seen him, or talked to him during my 3 summers of working for Comair.
 
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