Hey all, I am a dispatcher by trade. I recently got a offer with American Eagle to be a crew scheduler, and I am excited. I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience doing this for Eagle, and if they have any insight into the job. How is the training, what are the flight benefits like. Do AE crew schedulers have jumpseat privildges? I realize the drama that goes with crew scheduling, so please no negative comments. Your replies are welcome.
American Eagle Crew Scheduler
- Thread starter lostindfw
- Start date
RPM
Well-Known Member
DONT do it!! Eagle crew schedulers are the DEVIL and most of them only last about a month or two!! Seriously.. don't go to the dark side, they all start out fairly harmless, then after about a week they turn into bitter, heartless, lying, deceptive monsters without a soul. You will be hated more than you could possibly imagine.. better hope some lowly reserve whose life you just made HELL for 6 days doesn't find you in a dark parking lot after work one day.. lol
I don't understand how anyone with a conscience could possibly do this devil work.. Stay in dispatch..
I don't understand how anyone with a conscience could possibly do this devil work.. Stay in dispatch..
ready2fly
Well-Known Member
Oh...no doubt...we are. I don't think anyone will argue with you over that.
That said: Do some research. Talk to current schedulers at Eagle (my company as well) if you can. While stated bluntly, there is some truth to what RPM posted. I will add though that lately, at least in my eperience, our schedulers have had to deal with at lot of crap that's not within their control - the biggest part of that is that we are grossly short staffed and it's fallen into their laps to have to crew flights for which there are no crews.
Some schedulers do hang around long term, some don't. I think the aforementioned staffing has them under emense pressure and as a result, it can get nasty on both ends of the phone. Remember, we pilots also have families, children, friends, plans...and we are the ones out there on the line with the lives and safety of our passengers directly in our own hands. Believe it or not, we do get fatigued (which can be VERY dangerous)...and it comes out negatively after so many schedule changes and Junior Man calls.
But, (at least) I understand that schedulers are working with what they have to work with. From my recent experiences with our schedulers, they have tried to be more cordial, but it's quite obvious they are under a LOT of pressure right now to get flights crewed with very little to work with. Something to keep in mind. Until staffing levels come up, you may be asked to interpret the contract in ways that may or may not be entirely legal...and worst yet.....unsafe.
So, in sum: good luck. Try to talk to a current AE crew scheeduler and get the lo-down.
As for your questions: yes, the schedulers get travel bennies. Not sure about jumpseat prviledges though.
RPM
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you would be perfect for crew scheduling...
Well, i am not the one that got negative for no reason. We are all here to do our jobs, right? Your job is no more important that mine. I asked for advice, not negative crap from a disgruntled pilot. If you dont like what you do, then do something else. Your a pilot, right? Do your job, and and if you dont want to, then go throw your negative crap somewhere else.
DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
I'm not answering your question, sorry, but I'm wondering why someone would rather be a crew scheduler than be in dispatch? Does it pay better? You just need the job? Better location? I'd much rather be a dispatcher than a crew scheduler. By the way, if you've been in dispatch, you'll run into X percentage of pilots who are whiny babies. If you get into crew scheduling, you'll find you'll run into the Y percentage, which is exponentially higher. That's because airline management is constantly pushing the envelop and gray areas of the contract to save (pay themselves) a buck. As a crew scheduler, you will be perceived as airline managements representative who's sole duty is to fill a seat at any cost, contract be dammed, safety be dammed, and telling fibs be dammed. As a dispatcher, I see you as a professional, and someone to help me operate a safe and efficient flight. Where I work, crew schedulers were van drivers just last week. I still treat them with respect and understand they have a hard job filling the seats while management wants to give them less to work with. But I don't consider them part of my team in getting my job done, nor do they command the respect I'd give to a dispatcher.
RPM
Well-Known Member
Wow, this sounds just like a scheduling phone call and you havn't even started yet!
If you can't tell from my first post, I was just giving you a hard time (a comedic jab at schedulers) if you didn't catch the 'LOL" in there..
Like DE727 said, why leave dispatch??? Its a better job and you will actually be treated with some respect and be considered part of the team.. not just a hated slave driver crew scheduler.
From working here and what I've been told at Eagle, crew scheduling is a suck job and the turnover is 3-4 months.. I assume you will get travel benefits like all the employees but you won't be in the jumpseat.. I don't think locking up a scheduler with two pissed off reserve pilots in a confined space would be a very good idea.. I think it would be a fight to the death.. haha :yar:
Well I understand what your saying, but I am a person that gives respect to people I work with, no matter who it is. If I don't get respect back to me, you can better believe you will not get much of it back, no matter who you are and what you do. Dispatchers as well as crew schedulers are equally important in getting planes off the ground. We all have to work together. Doesn't have to be a battle
Nick
Well-Known Member
DE727UPS, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Inevitably, situations arise where it does become a battle though, through no fault of the crew scheduler.
Those would be the times where being a dispatcher would be thoroughly more enjoyable, I am sure of it, even though I have never been a dispatcher or scheduler. There is just no way a crew scheduler can get respect from the crewmember on the phone 100% of the time even if it is not the scheduler's fault.
Inevitably, situations arise where it does become a battle though, through no fault of the crew scheduler.
Those would be the times where being a dispatcher would be thoroughly more enjoyable, I am sure of it, even though I have never been a dispatcher or scheduler. There is just no way a crew scheduler can get respect from the crewmember on the phone 100% of the time even if it is not the scheduler's fault.