Latest on Pinnacle

[pilotlight]

Still waiting on October bid pack..... and my DeltaNet login.

Well, reserve in Atlanta is fun!

Staffing in January should be about 107 CA / 104 FO

Well bid packs are out for ATL finally. A lot of flights through CVG and LGA. We have 12 lines of flying for October and so far officially only 11 total planes, of which 9 are only officially supposed to be used with 2 as a spare. How is that possible? I don't speculate I just say the facts.

 

[higney85]

Well bid packs are out for ATL finally. A lot of flights through CVG and LGA. We have 12 lines of flying for October and so far officially only 11 total planes, of which 9 are only officially supposed to be used with 2 as a spare. How is that possible? I don't speculate I just say the facts.

Nothing ever makes sense or shows up "clear" around here. I think it is unfortunate that PNCL mgmt has turned into a Wh*re for flying. We have the cheapest costs (mainly labor) and with the nmb putting us on ice all mgmt has to do is scare everyone into completing flights (ground/ops) and we (pilots) stay cheap and p*ssed with our hands tied by the gov't. I for one am so upset that I now try to avoid the job that I really enjoy. I have no problem FLYING 100 hours a month, but the frustration that erupts with every memo/crew message/ scare tactic and the moral that is in the toilet keeps me trying to stay away from work. I found out PBS has a "Avoid work" preference. That is now my top preference. Call me debbie downer, but I have lost all respect for this mgmt team that treats everyone like a number. I know my identity is far from "hidden" but the message of this post is the moral of every time I walk into ops and get in the cockpit before the door closes. Nobody has the notion that "help is on the way", which was helpful for the past couple years. Stay professional, do the job to the best of your ability, and stay by the book- safety first.

 

[kellwolf]

Ken, you're just saying what the rest of us feel right now. I honestly don't care if management knows who I am or not. It's not like they can fire or discipline you for being hacked off at your job. Heck, I got the "You bad boy, you called in sick THREE TIMES IN TWELVE MONTHS! Watch out!" note in my V-file the other day. Most jobs would REWARD you for only calling in sick 3 times in twelve months (although it's actually been 3 times in two and a half years, but they don't look that far). Not here, and that's an F'n crime that they think that little of their employees.

The mystery that surrounds our flying does nothing but drive yet another wedge b/w management and the pilots. I think they like the idea of being the Wizard of Oz behind the green curtain rather than being open and sharing with the team what's going on.....

 

[kellwolf]

Haven't seen it mentioned much anywhere else, so here's the new latest on Pinnacle.

CA displacements in MSP, MEM and DTW. Here's the breakdown.

Reducing CA seats by

2 in MSP
9 in MEM
13 in DTW

Details are still a bit sketchy, but if you do get displaced (or volumteer for it), then it's not a bad package. Roughly $4000 cash (if my math is correct) since we get 45 days of per diem and 45 days of lodging paid for. The contract also has the company paying for house hunting trips, broken leases and moving companies to move your stuff. Bonus: you don't have to be moving domicile to domicile. So, to use another example, if you live in SHV and commute MEM, get displaced, then you can use your moving benefits to move to MCO.

Not sure how it's gonna shake out for me. We don't really even know for sure where the displaced guys are going, but all signs point to ATL. If that's the case, I might volunteer for it. Difference in pay b/w -200 CA and -900 CA is roughly $500/month (before taxes). Add the cash and the free move, and the wife and I might be moving back to Orlando. I'd have to commute either way (not moving to ATL, sorry Josh and Todd), so I might as well live where I want to live.

More details supposedly coming this week, so we'll see what happens. Right now, I'm 15 from the bottom in MEM, so I'd be safe on the first round. However, if more senior people in DTW or MSP volunteered to be displaced to MEM, I might get hit in a secondary displacement bid.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

You're going to actually try the MCO-ATL commute? You're a brave man, Steve. Worst commute in the country.

 

[airlinetoATC]

At comair we had alot of senior FO's go to pinnacle last year and take CA slots. Are these guys gonna get displaced back to FO?

 

[pilotlight]

At comair we had alot of senior FO's go to pinnacle last year and take CA slots. Are these guys gonna get displaced back to FO?

here is the thing, we are still hiring 2 classes a month right now. I think what this all adds up to is that we are a little fat on captains on the NW side right now, and something is going on in the delta side right now and rather than train new upgrades, this company has decided to displace the extra captains. I could be completely wrong but why displace when you are hiring new fo's? Look, every regional is facing cutbacks, Pinnacle is no exception on the NW side. I think we might be starting to see the big picture evolve because this displacement is effective January 1st which is post merger and I think Pinnacle will have less of an impact in its 3 NW bases and more impact eslewhere. I myself am in danger of being displaced from CA and having lived in my base my whole life, I am a little worried, I guess we will all have to wait and see.

 

[derg]

You're going to actually try the MCO-ATL commute? You're a brave man, Steve. Worst commute in the country.

That's pretty wicked! I did it for a year and I was ready to stab my eyeballs out and that was when Southernjets Innanashnul was flying L15's back 'n forth.

 

[airlinetoATC]

here is the thing, we are still hiring 2 classes a month right now. I think what this all adds up to is that we are a little fat on captains on the NW side right now, and something is going on in the delta side right now and rather than train new upgrades, this company has decided to displace the extra captains. I could be completely wrong but why displace when you are hiring new fo's? Look, every regional is facing cutbacks, Pinnacle is no exception on the NW side. I think we might be starting to see the big picture evolve because this displacement is effective January 1st which is post merger and I think Pinnacle will have less of an impact in its 3 NW bases and more impact eslewhere. I myself am in danger of being displaced from CA and having lived in my base my whole life, I am a little worried, I guess we will all have to wait and see.

I absolutely understand you are still hiring im just worried about some guys I knew being displaced back to FO. Our contract reads that if you are displaced you will be assigned whatever you bid for what your SENIORITY can hold. Im just hoping these guys arent forced to the right seat because they essentially came in as street captains and there seniority wouldn't be able to hold CA if they had to rebid now.

Another thing. I had heard delta might give the Freedom 900's to anyone who would be willing to trade 2 50's for 1 900. Do you think pinnacles management took the offer and thats why you are seeing a movement from the 50 to the 900?

 

[kellwolf]

I absolutely understand you are still hiring im just worried about some guys I knew being displaced back to FO. Our contract reads that if you are displaced you will be assigned whatever you bid for what your SENIORITY can hold. Im just hoping these guys arent forced to the right seat because they essentially came in as street captains and there seniority wouldn't be able to hold CA if they had to rebid now.

Another thing. I had heard delta might give the Freedom 900's to anyone who would be willing to trade 2 50's for 1 900. Do you think pinnacles management took the offer and thats why you are seeing a movement from the 50 to the 900?

Honestly, they're probably in danger of being sent back to the right seat. If they're in the bottom 24 of the CA side, it's a real possibility.

As for trading the 50 seaters for the 76 seaters, NWA owns our 50 seaters. So, in a roundabout way, I guess that's Delta's call since they own the 50 seaters now.

As for the MCO commute, yeah, I'm willing to give it a shot. Makes the wife happier than living in MEM. Delta has a flight pretty much every hour starting at 6am-8 pm. Smallest thing is an MD88, and that's the last flight. Everything else is either a 757 or 767. AirTran has 12 flights, and FedEx has a couple. AirTran alone has more flights MCO-ATL than all carriers (FedEx included) combined flying MEM-ATL. Not sure what the loads are on them, but with the economy taking a hit, leisure travel's down. So, we'll see. Basically, it's either a tough commute or my sanity. I'm picking sanity. I can only take so much uber-fundamentalism in my place of residence before I wanna start shooting....and I don't like guns.

 

[blee256]

I absolutely understand you are still hiring im just worried about some guys I knew being displaced back to FO. Our contract reads that if you are displaced you will be assigned whatever you bid for what your SENIORITY can hold. Im just hoping these guys arent forced to the right seat because they essentially came in as street captains and there seniority wouldn't be able to hold CA if they had to rebid now.

From what i am hearing no one will probably be "flushed" down to F/O. Just over to ATL. Dont quote me on that tho. this whole displacement thing is very confusing to me. I might volunteer for it to get the cash. I have to commute no matter which base it is. So its not a bad deal for me. But i have a feeling that this is going to go senior. We should know more by the end of the week.

Another thing. I had heard delta might give the Freedom 900's to anyone who would be willing to trade 2 50's for 1 900. Do you think pinnacles management took the offer and thats why you are seeing a movement from the 50 to the 900?

PInnacle doesnt own any of there -200s, so I doubt thats whats going on. Unless NW/DL made the agreement themselves.

 

[kellwolf]

From what i am hearing no one will probably be "flushed" down to F/O. Just over to ATL. Dont quote me on that tho. this whole displacement thing is very confusing to me. I might volunteer for it to get the cash. I have to commute no matter which base it is. So its not a bad deal for me. But i have a feeling that this is going to go senior. We should know more by the end of the week.

The memo was weirdly worded, so I don't know if people are gonna get flushed to ATL or to FO. It just said "displaced." It didn't say where to. SE said he's gonna have more info for us this week, so I'm holding out until I see that before I do anything.

I also heard it's gonna go senior. Which means even if I want to take the deal, I might not be able to hold it. Regardless, things here are gearing up for the Orlando move. If I get the displacement deal, it'll probably happen first part of next year. If I don't, it'll probably happen the end of next year when I can NOT have to deal with ready reserve in ATL. 'Course if MEM gets closed in the merger, that might move things along faster..

 

[pilotlight]

The memo was weirdly worded, so I don't know if people are gonna get flushed to ATL or to FO. It just said "displaced." It didn't say where to. SE said he's gonna have more info for us this week, so I'm holding out until I see that before I do anything.

I also heard it's gonna go senior. Which means even if I want to take the deal, I might not be able to hold it. Regardless, things here are gearing up for the Orlando move. If I get the displacement deal, it'll probably happen first part of next year. If I don't, it'll probably happen the end of next year when I can NOT have to deal with ready reserve in ATL. 'Course if MEM gets closed in the merger, that might move things along faster..

Thats the thing, we have no idea where the displaced people are going, could be FO, could be ATL, could even be LAX for all we know, wouldn't put it past this place!

 

[blee256]

Thats the thing, we have no idea where the displaced people are going, could be FO, could be ATL, could even be LAX for all we know, wouldn't put it past this place!

That obviously isnt the case, but just hearing someone say it gets me all excited. haha. one can dream!

 

[kellwolf]

Thats the thing, we have no idea where the displaced people are going, could be FO, could be ATL, could even be LAX for all we know, wouldn't put it past this place!

Hell, could be CVG, too. The new TDY plus the fact someone apparently went to book a flight from CVG-EWR for next July and discovered it was "operated by Pinnacle Airlines" has sent the rumor mill into OD.

Remember how long they kept us in the dark on the original Delta base? It's LAX. No it's ATL. Wait, here's a paper trail filed with the FAA that shows LAX. Bid comes out....it's ATL.

I don't think Brian can take much more toying with his emotions.

 

[higney85]

Hell, could be CVG, too. The new TDY plus the fact someone apparently went to book a flight from CVG-EWR for next July and discovered it was "operated by Pinnacle Airlines" has sent the rumor mill into OD.

Remember how long they kept us in the dark on the original Delta base? It's LAX. No it's ATL. Wait, here's a paper trail filed with the FAA that shows LAX. Bid comes out....it's ATL.

I don't think Brian can take much more toying with his emotions.

Don't forget SLC was in there too... I was going to go if that was the base..

 

[blee256]

I don't think Brian can take much more toying with his emotions.

haha, seriously!

 

[kellwolf]

And the reason for the annouced displacement is......Freedom's airplanes. Apparently, from the conference call with management today, we're getting them (at least some of them) until we finish taking delivery of ours.

Now, this is really weird seeing as part of the "we're not gonna drop you" deal from a couple of months ago was for us to defer the delivery of our planes. Curiously, those deliveries were pushed back past when the merger is projected to be done. I'm starting to wonder if we were one of the pieces used to get Freedom's contract nixed. Delta needed someone to operate those -900s, and they didn't want Freedom. But they didn't want to be operating too many -900s, so Anderson calls up his ole buddy Trenary, and they work out a deal. Conspiracy theorist, me?

Supposedly, we're losing the Freedom planes as we take delivery of ours, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a "Delta will leave the planes with us if the pilots sign this contract" type thing a la the 15 -200s and Mesaba.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a "Delta will leave the planes with us if the pilots sign this contract" type thing a la the 15 -200s and Mesaba.

It's really kind of sad how predictable they are, isn't it?

 

[surreal1221]

At least you weren't told 1 -900 for every 2 -200s you take off property. . .