Aviation subcommittee hearing - Live as of 9:30am

[Nick]

I will preface this by stating, I wasn't there.....but the way you described the situation, I would say shame on the Captain for not ensuring everyone got at least a couple minutes on a turn to go to the terminal and grab some food. If there was a delay as a result, OH WELL! I would welcome the company to challenge a Captain on that one......FAA, media, NTSB, Senate, House......well, you get the idea.

Absolutely.

Flying a day like that on an empty stomach should not be done and if a flight is delayed then so be it.

 

[TUCKnTRUCK]

I will preface this by stating, I wasn't there.....but the way you described the situation, I would say shame on the Captain for not ensuring everyone got at least a couple minutes on a turn to go to the terminal and grab some food. If there was a delay as a result, OH WELL! I would welcome the company to challenge a Captain on that one......FAA, media, NTSB, Senate, House......well, you get the idea.

Grabbing a bite to eat in the back of an airplane is not a meal break. I'm sure that's what the crew did, but, to completely leave that out of the schedule is the real issue.

 

[Clocks]

6 of us Colgan pilots were in attendance today, in full uniform.

Very interesting to say the least. Cohen is a bag of . During the testimony a Dorgan staffer crept up to us and asked if we agree with what was being said. This was after Cohen said that the average FO pay is $35k and CA $75k. We told her, in more polite terms, that Cohen is full of . She quickly walked backed to Dorgan and whispered in his ear.

Cohen dodged every question regarding pay, and Prater disagreed on most things he said and did a very good job of representing us.

MANY family members of the vicitims of 3407 in attendance. We spoke to many after the testimony. It was great to talk to them, they had alot of questions and Im glad we could answer them without it going through media, politicians or management.

Hats off for going there Rob, sounds like you guys were a class act as well. Thanks for taking the time!

 

[v1valarob]

Hats off for going there Rob, sounds like you guys were a class act as well. Thanks for taking the time!

It was easy for me, I live just down the road. Hats off to the other 5 guys who traveled literally across the country to be there.

I plan to put my hot reserve time on friday to use by drafting emails to the Senators in attendance today.

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

This does leave things open to exploitation.

There has to be a countercheck. Personally, I think 10 hours rest should be the absolute minimum, with 11 the ideal.

If you can get to the hotel, have a few minutes to eat, wind down, get eight hours sleep, then get up, prepare, and show in your allotted rest period, it's too short.

I can do it in 9 hours. Increase the 15 min to 30 minutes (and add it on each side -- evening + morning) and prohibit the scheduling of reduced rest, or de facto scheduling or reduced rest (realistically take into account known or predicted delays.)

 

[Firebird2XC]

I can do it in 9 hours. Increase the 15 min to 30 minutes (and add it on each side -- evening + morning) and prohibit the scheduling of reduced rest, or de facto scheduling or reduced rest (realistically take into account known or predicted delays.)

That would be a good start, and truthfully, was about all I was looking for, for starters.

 

[wheelsup]

6 of us Colgan pilots were in attendance today, in full uniform.

Very interesting to say the least. Cohen is a bag of . During the testimony a Dorgan staffer crept up to us and asked if we agree with what was being said. This was after Cohen said that the average FO pay is $35k and CA $75k. We told her, in more polite terms, that Cohen is full of . She quickly walked backed to Dorgan and whispered in his ear.

Cohen dodged every question regarding pay, and Prater disagreed on most things he said and did a very good job of representing us.

MANY family members of the vicitims of 3407 in attendance. We spoke to many after the testimony. It was great to talk to them, they had alot of questions and Im glad we could answer them without it going through media, politicians or management.

Wow that's awesome you were there. However I must disagree with the pay question. I would say $35k average for FO's is probably on the low side, I bet it really is higher. $75k for CA's seems pretty much spot on though.

Although I think the Senator asked about starting pay and he responds with average pay...dodging the question.

I sent Prater a thank you note via my alpa email address, he got back to me tonight. That's kinda nice, to see him taking time out of his busy day to even say "thanks for the thank you".

 

[Roger, Roger]

I'm watching the re-broadcast on CSPAN. I'm not going to up and take sides, but as someone just entering this industry, I must say it's very interesting and informative to watch.

 

[v1valarob]

Wow that's awesome you were there. However I must disagree with the pay question. I would say $35k average for FO's is probably on the low side, I bet it really is higher. $75k for CA's seems pretty much spot on though.

Although I think the Senator asked about starting pay and he responds with average pay...dodging the question.

I sent Prater a thank you note via my alpa email address, he got back to me tonight. That's kinda nice, to see him taking time out of his busy day to even say "thanks for the thank you".

Sure the average might be $35k. But he point out asks Cohen "Do you think $18k is right?" and that dirt bag doesnt even answer.

Another thing that bugs the out of me, is when he was asked about fatigue, he said "we can get our resources together and do research on the subject" and the female senator ( I think it was mcaskill) basically says that she has read enough research to know that when your tired, you dont function as good

Those averages are no where near Colgans.

 

[Getburned]

I am going to send my W2 to the senator from my first year at my regional. Around 20k with per diem. Kinda sickening.

 

[juxtapilot]

Mr. Cohen, averages mean nothing to me.

:clap:

 

[kellwolf]

Grabbing a bite to eat in the back of an airplane is not a meal break. I'm sure that's what the crew did, but, to completely leave that out of the schedule is the real issue.

We have a couple of those. The FAs have a clause in their contract if they don't get XX amount of time for a meal break, then they get paid XX amount extra. It's amazing how many FAs try to get you NOT to take that break so they can get the extra food. Those FAs don't like me. If I've got a schedule like that, the crew knows pretty much upfront that at some point in the day, we're getting delayed so my hungry ass can eat. Period, end of story. I consider it a safety risk, and if the company doesn't like having flights delayed, they can either a) fix the schedules (I had a 10 hour day today with a whopping 37 minutes for food....which turned into over an hour b/c the FO and I were hungry) or b) take it up with the FAA after I file a complaint over safety issues.

 

[aloft]

I wonder if Roger Cohen realizes just what a blathering idiot he sounded like virtually every time he opened his mouth.

A few gems:

"Regional airlines and our major airline partners operate as a single integrated system. One ticket...one trip....one safety standard."

[ALPA President Prater's response: "I'll say it succinctly: we have one level of regulation; we do not have one level of safety."]

"...we'll be bringing together our safety professionals to review all of the procedures and address any issue that could even be perceived as a contributing factor to an accident." Then...

"Compensation and safety are not related. The NTSB has never in all of its accident investigations ever cited compensation or pay as a causal factor--even a contributing factor--to an aircraft accident."

[In other words, "we won't be addressing the issue of compensation."]

"First of all, 100% of all the maintenance is being done in FAA-certified um...ah...maintenance operations, otherwise, it wouldn't be...wouldn't be allowed to fly."...

"...actually the regional airlines outsource less of it [maintenance] overseas than than even the mainline carriers do. Virtually ALL of the maintenance by the regional airline members is done here in this country..." "including our manufacturers [Canada-based Bombardier and Brazil-based Embraer] which have locations in the United States."

[then, after being corrected by a senator far more knowledgeable on the subject, that there is no requirement to use FAA-certified repair stations]

"Senator, a-again, um, it...it's my understanding on...on...on the maintenance, that the heavy maintenance here we're talking about--the heavy...heavy maintenance checks, the C&D checks--are conducted by, um, what...what I'm assuming are FAA-certified....um..."

 

[CAPIP1998]

I wonder if Roger Cohen realizes just what a blathering idiot he sounded like virtually every time he opened his mouth.

I love that guy. No seriously... We couldn't ask for a more disorganized, ignorant, poor speaking representative for our regional managements. I think his obviously poor responses are just as helpful to our cause as Prater's succint, well thought out ones.

 

[Firebird2XC]

I love that guy. No seriously... We couldn't ask for a more disorganized, ignorant, poor speaking representative for our regional managements. I think his obviously poor responses are just as helpful to our cause as Prater's succint, well thought out ones.

Agreed. "Debunking the RAA: Un-Spinning Roger Cohen" will soon be a feature on Remember3407Project.

 

[kellwolf]

I love that guy. No seriously... We couldn't ask for a more disorganized, ignorant, poor speaking representative for our regional managements. I think his obviously poor responses are just as helpful to our cause as Prater's succint, well thought out ones.

Sure we can. The RAA could hire this guy: