continued furloughs at comair

[dakovich]

yup, I'm outta here as well and have decided to get out of the industry and go back to school. not real sure I want to potentially play this same game for the next 30 years of my life. sucks. I got into this thing by following my heart, and now I'm following what my brain says and getting out. it was a fun ride, and it taught me much more than just pushing metal through the sky. I'm better for it as a person, but financially...not so much. It was a pleasant sacrifice.

 

[Lowlevel]

Comair did ramp up hiring for a short period last summer in expectation of Freedom's 145 contract getting canned. 300 pilot were to be hired and things seemed it would work out. For a about 2 months we had a huge increase in block hours. I finally was a line holder for the summer (after more than a year of reserve) Comair planes were the only RJ's you saw around the JFK horseshoe at Terminal 2. But now not so much.

I'm out the door here. Not sure what I'm doing yet. I threw my stuff into Mesaba to see what happens. Problem is, even if I do wait for recall, its still going to be a 5 or 6 or more year upgrade. It seems like they're doing the exact same thing they did to Mesaba. Shrinking us down to nothing. Maybe in 5 or 6 years we'll be properous again and upgrade will be two years. But I just can't wait that long. So I'm probably outa here for good.

I think, if it ever happens, upgrades are going to be more than 6 years. I've already been here 2 years. When they finally start upgrading, all the captains that got downgraded will have to upgrade before they even get to an FO that was always an FO. Some of those captains were here 5-6 years before they upgraded, now they're back to FO, with pay cuts to match.
I really have a hard time seeing how Comair will even stay in business, let alone grow. If you read the letter I posted on here from Richard Anderson, it appears that DL will concentrate on growing Mesaba and Compass, and at the same time, do away with 50 seaters. Get rid of Comair's 50 seaters and what do you have left? A few 70's and 90's that can easily be reassigned to Mesaba and Compass.

 

[dakovich]

we're a top heavy pilot group, maybe its their way of triming the fat. shrink it to almost nonexistance then rebuild it. In my opinion, at the moment we're the only real place they can cut costs because of contract issues. they've put down the hatchet and are right now putting gas in the chainsaw.

 

[Baronman]

I really have a hard time seeing how Comair will even stay in business, let alone grow. If you read the letter I posted on here from Richard Anderson, it appears that DL will concentrate on growing Mesaba and Compass, and at the same time, do away with 50 seaters. Get rid of Comair's 50 seaters and what do you have left? A few 70's and 90's that can easily be reassigned to Mesaba and Compass.

Really you never know. Ok, Mesaba has a growth and a fast upgrade, but two years ago they were on life support. Now they're the place to be. Who's to say 3 years from now they are a bit too "expensive," and Comair which had be whittled away is now the most "cost competitive" delta connection carrier. Or PNCL, let's say a year or two from now they get a great contract...well guess what, they're too expensive too now, say bye-bye to your DL flying. It seems very cyclical, don't think Comair is down and out forever.

 

[kellwolf]

I didn't say PNCL is wholly owned. I said it must be frustrating being in Comair's position (being wholly owned and furloughing) while companies such as Mesaba, PNCL and Compass are hiring. Comair having 50 seat aircraft IMO has nothing to do with who gets the next batch of ultra-shiny-ultra-sjs-satisfying-900's.

FYI, PCL's not hiring. In fact, the way things look, we're not gonna have any vacancies for people to move around, upgrade or bring on new FOs for at least 6 months, and that's assuming people actually leave. When the new hire FOs got their new schedules, they probably thought about quitting, too. I know of one guy that's got 17 days of RR.....9 hours a day.

 

[H46Bubba]

we're a top heavy pilot group, maybe its their way of triming the fat. shrink it to almost nonexistance then rebuild it. In my opinion, at the moment we're the only real place they can cut costs because of contract issues. they've put down the hatchet and are right now putting gas in the chainsaw.

LOL!:laff: They'd have to pry the yoke from the senior pilots' cold dead hands before they'd leave. They'll ride the sinking ship till they hit the water. I've heard that the senior guys have been picking up open time while we have guys out on the street. I've been talking to some of the crew scheds guys and it seems to be more than just a few of them!
This whole "Comair is too expensive", is bullcrap! If you provide growth, the costs distibute out which in turn lowers the total operating costs. Delta is dumping all the 50 seaters it can dump, which of course are from Comair because we don't have a contract other than the side letter agreement that the pilots have which states that Comair/Delta can't go below 90% of the total fleet we had in Feb 07 and can not remove aircraft other than scheduled lease returns. Comair/Delta is actually violating that agreement by putting 6 aircraft that are owned by Comair up for sale immediately back in September. That's what the MEC should be fighting for as well as furlough mitigation.

 

[Lowlevel]

LOL!:laff: They'd have to pry the yoke from the senior pilots' cold dead hands before they'd leave. They'll ride the sinking ship till they hit the water. I've heard that the senior guys have been picking up open time while we have guys out on the street. I've been talking to some of the crew scheds guys and it seems to be more than just a few of them!
This whole "Comair is too expensive", is bullcrap! If you provide growth, the costs distibute out which in turn lowers the total operating costs. Delta is dumping all the 50 seaters it can dump, which of course are from Comair because we don't have a contract other than the side letter agreement that the pilots have which states that Comair/Delta can't go below 90% of the total fleet we had in Feb 07 and can not remove aircraft other than scheduled lease returns. Comair/Delta is actually violating that agreement by putting 6 aircraft that are owned by Comair up for sale immediately back in September. That's what the MEC should be fighting for as well as furlough mitigation.

I wanted to pick up some flights in open time back in October, and I didn't out of respect for the furloughed pilots (and to not help the company that furloughed them). I really could have used the extra money with the holidays coming, and now that I will be furloughed in January it will be tight around here. It is unbelievable that the older pilots are picking up time. They should be the ones sticking up for the rest of the pilot group.

 

[CrippleHawk]

Sorry to hear that. We are in for a wild ride. And it won't end soon.

 

[SpiceWeasel]

FYI, PCL's not hiring. In fact, the way things look, we're not gonna have any vacancies for people to move around, upgrade or bring on new FOs for at least 6 months, and that's assuming people actually leave. When the new hire FOs got their new schedules, they probably thought about quitting, too. I know of one guy that's got 17 days of RR.....9 hours a day.

A friend of mine got just above that.... 20/9 in September. 75 hours of pay for 180 hours of commitment to the company. That's really fair.

 

[dakovich]

capt i flew with the other day picked up the trip in open time...well, actually from what I figure he traded for it so he could be home on Turkey-day. I was unsure if I should have said anything because of the fact it was a trade.

 

[kellwolf]

capt i flew with the other day picked up the trip in open time...well, actually from what I figure he traded for it so he could be home on Turkey-day. I was unsure if I should have said anything because of the fact it was a trade.

Nah. Trading to optimize your schedule isn't a problem, IMO. The trip he originally had went into open time, so it's pretty much a wash.

 

[SoCalAprch]

As long as you leave the pot with more or an equal amount in flying then it is OK.

Keep your heads up Comair peeps.

 

[WalterSobchak]

FYI, PCL's not hiring. In fact, the way things look, we're not gonna have any vacancies for people to move around, upgrade or bring on new FOs for at least 6 months, and that's assuming people actually leave. When the new hire FOs got their new schedules, they probably thought about quitting, too. I know of one guy that's got 17 days of RR.....9 hours a day.

Please tell me thats not in one month. The most we can do is 10 is there a cap for you guys? Somebody in scheduling must hate him

 

[SpiceWeasel]

Please tell me thats not in one month. The most we can do is 10 is there a cap for you guys? Somebody in scheduling must hate him

No cap... and no extra pay.

 

[WalterSobchak]

No cap... and no extra pay.

I guess I learn something new every day.:hiya: Maybe if our guys knew that and when they bitched about sitting RR 2 days they would shut up.anic:

 

[jtrain609]

I guess I learn something new every day.:hiya: Maybe if our guys knew that and when they bitched about sitting RR 2 days they would shut up.anic:

There's a CAP at Express too. I think 6 times in a month? And it pays 4 hours when you do it and you get per diem. It was usually a good excuse to sleep in the crew room while getting paid. And you could only be there 4-5 hours and then you were gone and your rest starts over again.