Continental to furlough 148?

jtrain609

Antisocial Monster
Rumor has it Continental is only going to furlough 148 on September 9th. Anybody heard any other info? I'm taking this off another forum, but if the number is that low it'd be sweet!

I know SOMEBODY is going to get on here and moan about how 148 is too many, but I think they were looking at 400-500 furloughs before, and this is one heck of a great number if it is indeed true.
 
Rumor has it Continental is only going to furlough 148 on September 9th. Anybody heard any other info? I'm taking this off another forum, but if the number is that low it'd be sweet!

I know SOMEBODY is going to get on here and moan about how 148 is too many, but I think they were looking at 400-500 furloughs before, and this is one heck of a great number if it is indeed true.


I haven't heard that specific number, but there are about 4 or 5 new hired CAL guys in my crash pad, and they don't think its gonna be the 400 or 500 number. These guys on reserve fly 80 plus hours every month, and say they are understaffed. This would be awesome news.
 
148 is way better than 500. Unless you're 147 from the bottom....

It's still better because it means you will be the second guy recalled, not the 353rd.

Not that it makes that much of a difference when you are first being shown the door.
 
It's true

We regret to announce that today official notice of furlough, giving notice of a September 9, 2008 furlough date, was sent to 148 of our most junior pilots. This represents pilots hired on or after the December 4, 2007 class.

These notices are being sent before full application to the Enhanced Retirement Window, Company Offered Leave, and Long Term Voluntary Reduced Flying programs are finalized because, even with our mitigation efforts, it appears that the extent of the furlough will be substantial.

Current participation in the 3 programs has exceeded 125 people. As such the mitigation strategy has proven to be benficial. Subscription to the EWR, COLA and LTVRF programs remains open through August 8.
 
Letters

About two months ago a CAL pilot in my crashpad said Continental was going to send out about 500 impending furlough warning letters. He said back on that day that CAL never predicted needing to furlough more than 200-300 unless oil really went berzerk to $170+ a barrel or something.

What he said then was pretty accurate with this information today. They needed to send out more letters to cover their butt in case they did actually need to furlough that many.
 
Looks like it might be closer to 185 furloughs and 146 Captains displaced, based on the bid that was just posted after the early retirements and COLAS were accounted for.
 
A little "Less Worse" news for Continental:

From the SLC CPO Daily Bulletin:

Continental trims need for pilot furloughs, cutbacks start Sept. 9: After notifying 500 pilots that they might be laid off, Continental Airlines Inc. now says it plans to furlough just 140 to 180 pilots when it begins cutting flights after Labor Day. "Most of the other reductions were made through voluntary buyouts, early retirements and job sharing, reducing the need for layoffs," Continental said. The pilots union called the adjustment "a dramatic improvement."
 
Kudos to ALPA/CAL for mitigating furloughs through other measures. 180 is a small number considering the size of the pilot group, and most downgrades are probably guys who had a very fast <4 yr upgrade. I know it doesn't make it any easier for those involved but it could have been much worse.
 
Ouch. Where's that put your dad?

Based on the preview, just about where he was before, very junior EWR 756 lineholder.

There are 2 777s coming next spring that are accounted for in this bid, so thats 11 more captains, and 22 more FOs in EWR than before.
 
The "pay per day away from home" (which really is the important number) is about the same as a 777 FO lineholder, 737 CA lineholder, and 756 CA reserve at his seniority.

He'd go be a 777 FO and get tons of days off before going on reserve. But it looks like he is safe from most of the 737 cuts.

You know how much commuting to reserve blows. Now imagine doing it on the CAL contract.

There is a reason that 80% of the pilot group could hold EWR 737 CA. Nobody wants to be junior.

Sucks for the guys that just got hired. He's flying with a stand up guy to EDI tonight that won't have a job in 3 weeks. Those are the ones that this hurts the most.
 
Oh I know it man, every single CAL guy in my crashpad is getting the axe. It's kinda frustrating to watch, because I have little to worry about in my life, but these guys have families to take care of.
 
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