Christmas meltdown 2020 competition entries!

[invadertim]

CVG starts the party with...Baggage belt system failure at 5am w/ reduced ramp crews! Will this be enough to take the Golden Lav Cart award 2020? Only time will tell. Who else will enter this exciting competition?

 

[CFI A&P]

You haven’t lived until Teterboro clearance tells you don’t call me, I’ll call you to start engines. Which is the beginning of a great Charlie Foxtrot between crews trying to convince the controller to move them up in the line because they’ll run out of duty with an EDCT like that. Then the no GPU/ APU crowd chimes in and says they can’t keep the power on to listen for their clearance, so they’ll check back in a few minutes “Hey clearance, this is citation N123AB, I had the batteries off, did you call us?” The finale is when clearance calls for someone to start engines, then that airplane responds with “We haven’t been fueled yet.” and ATC tells them that they’ll go back to the bottom of the queue. Now that crew very angrily calls the FBO on the radio and asks where is the fuel truck?

 

[BobDDuck]

Company adds a large amount of flying to several fleets in the second half of the month which, coupled with crews dequaling due to lack of landings (very little flying to be had over the past few months), crews quarantined due to covid exposure, and seasonal sick calls, leads to multiple days over the holidays with lots of uncovered trips and very few available reserve pilots.

Company utilizes a not very well known bit of contract language which allows them to move uo to 6 unprotected reserve days on each reserve pilot's schedule. Mid senior guys who bid reserve so they could get the holidays off suddenly find themselves working those days. Junior guys who took lines with trips over the holidays suddenly see good coverage on the days they are working, and drop their trips back into open time (causing low coverage again) and have the holidays off.

Hilarity ensues.

 

[Richman]

Company adds a large amount of flying to several fleets in the second half of the month which, coupled with crews dequaling due to lack of landings (very little flying to be had over the past few months), crews quarantined due to covid exposure, and seasonal sick calls, leads to multiple days over the holidays with lots of uncovered trips and very few available reserve pilots.

Company utilizes a not very well known bit of contract language which allows them to move uo to 6 unprotected reserve days on each reserve pilot's schedule. Mid senior guys who bid reserve so they could get the holidays off suddenly find themselves working those days. Junior guys who took lines with trips over the holidays suddenly see good coverage on the days they are working, and drop their trips back into open time (causing low coverage again) and have the holidays off.

Hilarity ensues.

While I grant you there is considerable appeal to bidding and flying your schedule in "EZ Mode", I have mad respect for the pro-league, all-star players.

That being said, it's important to know the pitfalls in any contract. Seniority is as valuable in avoiding as it is in getting.

 

[NovemberEcho]

You haven’t lived until Teterboro clearance tells you don’t call me, I’ll call you to start engines. Which is the beginning of a great Charlie Foxtrot between crews trying to convince the controller to move them up in the line because they’ll run out of duty with an EDCT like that. Then the no GPU/ APU crowd chimes in and says they can’t keep the power on to listen for their clearance, so they’ll check back in a few minutes “Hey clearance, this is citation N123AB, I had the batteries off, did you call us?” The finale is when clearance calls for someone to start engines, then that airplane responds with “We haven’t been fueled yet.” and ATC tells them that they’ll go back to the bottom of the queue. Now that crew very angrily calls the FBO on the radio and asks where is the fuel truck?

idk wtf was going on with TEB yesterday. They were on automatic releases with us (meaning they don’t have to call us before clearing you for takeoff like usual) and they still were only getting people off like 15 miles in trail. AFAIK thrrr weren’t many TMU restrictions.

 

[CFI A&P]

idk wtf was going on with TEB yesterday. They were on automatic releases with us (meaning they don’t have to call us before clearing you for takeoff like usual) and they still were only getting people off like 15 miles in trail. AFAIK thrrr weren’t many TMU restrictions.

I wasn’t part of yesterday’s fun and games, but I heard through friends and colleagues about it.

 

[NovemberEcho]

I wasn’t part of yesterday’s fun and games, but I heard through friends and colleagues about it.

someone actually called us on the phone asking how much longer they’ll be waiting lol

 

[KLB]

You haven’t lived until Teterboro clearance tells you don’t call me, I’ll call you to start engines. Which is the beginning of a great Charlie Foxtrot between crews trying to convince the controller to move them up in the line because they’ll run out of duty with an EDCT like that. Then the no GPU/ APU crowd chimes in and says they can’t keep the power on to listen for their clearance, so they’ll check back in a few minutes “Hey clearance, this is citation N123AB, I had the batteries off, did you call us?” The finale is when clearance calls for someone to start engines, then that airplane responds with “We haven’t been fueled yet.” and ATC tells them that they’ll go back to the bottom of the queue. Now that crew very angrily calls the FBO on the radio and asks where is the fuel truck?

Add deicing and runway switching due to EWR and LGA switching directions as the icing and cherry on top.

 

[bLizZuE]

My two year old yells at me if I carry her stuffed animals the wrong way.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

My two year old yells at me if I carry her stuffed animals the wrong way.

A meltdown in the truest fashion.

 

[Burrito]

I broke a finger on the ramp last week, ten minutes prior to going home and with merely three weeks left of this three-month fiasco! Radio miscommunication led everyone to think someone lost a finger entirely. Ambulances still took half an hour to arrive.

Surgery looks to go smoothly, tomorrow AM. I'll update this status if I die, no worries.

 

[NovemberEcho]

When Gammajet decides to go NORDO from 15 miles to 3 miles from the IAF and then answers all chipper like nothing happened.

 

[Boots2Wings]

When Gammajet decides to go NORDO from 15 miles to 3 miles from the IAF and then answers all chipper like nothing happened.

“Errr umm, Sorry i was on the landline”
Is my typical responce in a moment like that

 

[JordanD]

I broke a finger on the ramp last week, ten minutes prior to going home and with merely three weeks left of this three-month fiasco! Radio miscommunication led everyone to think someone lost a finger entirely. Ambulances still took half an hour to arrive.

Surgery looks to go smoothly, tomorrow AM. I'll update this status if I die, no worries.

Can you still give the one finger salute?

 

[NovemberEcho]

“Errr umm, Sorry i was on the landline”
Is my typical responce in a moment like that

I didn’t have time to chastise them, I was too busy getting people out of the way

 

[KLB]

I didn’t have time to chastise them, I was too busy getting people out of the way

Pretend to go NORDO to get to the front of the conga line...."smoove" move.

 

[Burrito]

Can you still give the one finger salute?

So I didn't die, so that's an update I guess.

With one hand, very much yes. With the left hand arm cannon on for another two weeks, ehhhhh not so lucky.

 

[Murdoughnut]

Company adds a large amount of flying to several fleets in the second half of the month which, coupled with crews dequaling due to lack of landings (very little flying to be had over the past few months), crews quarantined due to covid exposure, and seasonal sick calls, leads to multiple days over the holidays with lots of uncovered trips and very few available reserve pilots.

Company utilizes a not very well known bit of contract language which allows them to move uo to 6 unprotected reserve days on each reserve pilot's schedule. Mid senior guys who bid reserve so they could get the holidays off suddenly find themselves working those days. Junior guys who took lines with trips over the holidays suddenly see good coverage on the days they are working, and drop their trips back into open time (causing low coverage again) and have the holidays off.

Hilarity ensues.

You tried to get away from CLT and it's coming back to haunt you

 

[T/O w/FSII]

3 hour delays in TEB the other day, 1 guy working all 3 freqs. 30 minute wait just to get on the engine start list that was 120 minutes long. At one point the 1 controller got fed up and went silent for over 5 minutes. He must of got up for a cigarette. Someone keyed the mic and said “I think he just raged quit”

Glorious.

 

[Crockrocket94]

You haven’t lived until Teterboro clearance tells you don’t call me, I’ll call you to start engines. Which is the beginning of a great Charlie Foxtrot between crews trying to convince the controller to move them up in the line because they’ll run out of duty with an EDCT like that. Then the no GPU/ APU crowd chimes in and says they can’t keep the power on to listen for their clearance, so they’ll check back in a few minutes “Hey clearance, this is citation N123AB, I had the batteries off, did you call us?” The finale is when clearance calls for someone to start engines, then that airplane responds with “We haven’t been fueled yet.” and ATC tells them that they’ll go back to the bottom of the queue. Now that crew very angrily calls the FBO on the radio and asks where is the fuel truck?

Oh yeah. And the call about 30 minutes before your PAX actually get there for engine start, because if you call when they actually arrive you'll be sitting for an hour plus in the queue with pax on board... And then they call you earlier and you conveniently have a passenger in the FBO (they haven't arrived yet) or you have a MX issue about 5 mints after the start clearance.. (pax haven't arrived yet)...

Oh the fun.