Ready Reserve, Hot Reserve, Involuntary Reserve?

Airdale......a question for you??? Why did you come to Colgan?

I mean no disrespect; but the topics for your gripes with the company (while valid) should be no surprise to you. All of the things you are talking about, reserve, pay rates, etc.... were certainly covered in indoc. If you thought these things would not satisfy your QOL standards.....you could've quit right then and there.....or before accepting the job in the first place.

Again, I'm not trying to say you're wrong in your gripe....I agree many of these policies should be changed....unfortunately, not enough of our peers felt the same way. But your incessant whining/ bitching about not seeing your wife or making enough money is getting old. Go be a mechanic. You'll be home every night, in your bed, and probably be making more money to start. However, if you want to be a pilot......then be a pilot. Realize these are all parts of the current state of the job/ industry. Should they change? HELL YEAH.....a lot of it needs to change and I think working conditions/ pay rates across the industry are going to improve sooner than later.

The question becomes, can you make the current sacrifice for the rewards later in your career?

So again I ask you, why did you come to Colgan? Try to remember why you did it and hang in there. If, for some situation, your reason no longer exists, leave. Hopefully you'll find greener pastures, whatever you decide! Good luck! :)
 
You're right, I should quit complaining about a job I took.

Colgan was no where near my first choice of a company to work for. I instructed right next door to the HQ in HEF and got to know Colgan a little bit during that time. While not the worst place to work, they certainly weren't top of my list.

I applied to Colgan because I needed to make a move forward in my career with the situation I was in. I also applied to Xjet, AWAC, Eagle and a few others. I applied to Colgan and was offered an interview within 24 hours. Just so happened I did well on the interview, was offered a job and took it.

So basically I took the first place that offered me a job. I know, I have no right to complain.
While in training at Colgan, Eagle called me for an interview, but I wasn't going to burn a bridge and leave Colgan during training.

Don't get me wrong - I don't hate this place so much that I'm willing to leave for anything. There are plenty of airlines that treat their employees better and pay better. I was optimistic when I came here that ALPA would get on board, things would improve and after some months of toughing it out doing the commutting thing, I'd get the Q400 and be EWR based and life would be awesome. Now without the union, it doesn't appear as though things will improve. I just want to be paid, something, for being responsible to the company while sitting at an airport.

And time away from the wife - well that comes with the territory. But I have a problem with spending so much time away for such little compensation. I knew the pay scale sucked, but when you're flying you're getting paid. I assumed that when you're scheduled to fly 7 hrs, you get paid for what you fly. But then they go and change you're schedule the day before, so now instead of getting paid for 7hrs of flying (8.5 credit), I sit in Boston for 6 hours and fly 1 hour. I get paid for 3. They mentioned nothing of that sort of thing during "indoc". Indoc was a joke. If they told everyone how it *really* is here, half the class would leave. Why is it that Colgan looses so many FO's? Why is that so many people have quit since the vote failed? Obviously management doesn't get the picture. If a better opportunity comes along, I'm taking it. Its ashame things can't change.
 
Oh believe me man.....I know plenty of stuff sux around here. Like I said, I wasn't trying to say you're bitching for no reason. The industry, in general, needs serious reformation in they way employees are treated. However, you really need to make up your mind. Either you're sucking it up and you're gonna 'Do da Colgan' or you're not. Lot's of stuff needs to be changed. I, like you, fully believed ALPA would pass. It didn't and we can only hope it'll pass next year and changes will be made.

Many on JC will say you get what you get when you accept the first regional job offer.....if the reason you take the job just because it was the 'first company' that hired you. That's what you did....and now you're in the trench that is Colgan.

Seriously, good luck on what you decide. But please, no more bitching about the pay here and missing your wife.....BROKEN RECORD. :drool: Many, many pilots commute and they miss their wives/ family as well. We all know the pay sux at the regionals....some are worse than others. That's why you need to upgrade and get out of here ASAP. Or just bail now and go somewhere/ do something else if that's what it take for you to improve your QOL.
 
plan your battles/companies very carefully. Nothing will ever change at the regional level. These companies have always run lean and mean. The schedules have always sucked, and the pay has sucked even more.

Don't get frustrated. You picked your pony...ride the F***er till you can get to a major.....the work rules are much much better there. You won't be dealing with this crap for much longer............


on a side note, skywest pays 2 for 1 on any duty time...including ready reserve :bandit:

It's not much, but it's better than nothing..
 
Well at least we aren't on reserve for a year or so like some other companies.
If I add up all the days I've sat reserve so far it's probably been like.. 4 or 5 total.

But yea... commuting sucks.. I couldn't imagine doing that if I was married or had a family.
 
meritflyer said:
Well, you are correct. They've made money for the last several years however their operating margins have steadily decreased 50% since 2003. This is no reason to panic though. Obviously we took a $25M loss last quarter and most likely will encounter one (or two) more with the expenses the branded is going to have. The 50 seat market is a hot topic for debate. Most the bears say the flying is trending towards 70-90 seat operations and rightfully so. The 50 seat E/CRJ have a notorious amount of inefficiency with respect to the CASM and RASM.
Click to expand...

It's also worth noting that Xjet's BOD and executive staff are fairly smart people - at least, they make smart decisions. They'd not have gone into the branded flying arena without some real careful consideration and good research to back it all up.

What it indicates to me is that they're taking a long a view, and betting that the branded flying will allow a sort of microcosm of the same type of success that SWA has had.

In short, it looks like some smart people are applying what they've learned and growing the business. Which every business owner should do.
 
jtrain609 said:
There's always going to be a 50 seat market, but it will not be what it has been. I think Express is going to capitalize on that and try to be the best provider of 50 seat lift out there.

And Express hasn't figured out how to make money with 70 seat jets, but they sure do know how to do it with 50 seaters. Why change something that's working?
Click to expand...


50 seat jets dont make money unless your getting paid on contract.... Indy Air and Midway have shown us that. The CASM for a 50 seat jet is very high. You can't be a LCC and operate 50 seat jets unless your load factor is 100%. 50 seat jets make money for places like UAL/CAL/AAL etc when a pax buys a ticket from RDU to HKG via EWR/ORD etc. Because they are paying 3000$ for a ticket. When a pax buys a ticket from RDU/EWR the parent airline makes little or no profit on that ticket unless its a walk fare for 500$ roundtrip....
 
JBUCREW said:
50 seat jets dont make money unless your getting paid on contract.... Indy Air and Midway have shown us that. The CASM for a 50 seat jet is very high. You can't be a LCC and operate 50 seat jets unless your load factor is 100%. 50 seat jets make money for places like UAL/CAL/AAL etc when a pax buys a ticket from RDU to HKG via EWR/ORD etc. Because they are paying 3000$ for a ticket. When a pax buys a ticket from RDU/EWR the parent airline makes little or no profit on that ticket unless its a walk fare for 500$ roundtrip....
Click to expand...


This is why im skeptical about the branded flying thing.
​
 
JBUCREW said:
50 seat jets dont make money unless your getting paid on contract.... Indy Air and Midway have shown us that. The CASM for a 50 seat jet is very high. You can't be a LCC and operate 50 seat jets unless your load factor is 100%. 50 seat jets make money for places like UAL/CAL/AAL etc when a pax buys a ticket from RDU to HKG via EWR/ORD etc. Because they are paying 3000$ for a ticket. When a pax buys a ticket from RDU/EWR the parent airline makes little or no profit on that ticket unless its a walk fare for 500$ roundtrip....
Click to expand...

So then ahh....how's Express making money with 50 seat jets? For that matter, why hasn't 9E gone into the crapper with all the 50 seaters they have.

Load factors are approaching 80%, we only need 34 people in the airplane to turn a profit, so if we've got 40 on board then we're makin' cash money eh?
 
Question - I've heard one of the main reasons for the branded flying is that XJET is stuck with the aircraft leases, regardless if they have flying for them. The charter market is probably saturated, so management had to get creative. Additionally, they probably don't want to allow any XR models to be snatched up by anyone else. I'm not sure how the leases work exactly, but was wondering if anyone could explain.
 
jtrain609 said:
So then ahh....how's Express making money with 50 seat jets? For that matter, why hasn't 9E gone into the crapper with all the 50 seaters they have.

Load factors are approaching 80%, we only need 34 people in the airplane to turn a profit, so if we've got 40 on board then we're makin' cash money eh?
Click to expand...

Don't know on XJT, but the reason 9E hasn't fallen out is b/c NWA owns the planes, buys the gas and schedules the flights. Like he said, we're making money hand over fist via contract values. It's a different ballgame than the risk taking branded flying is.

What you're saying is you need a load factor of 68% to turn a profit. I'll buy that, seeing as the larger planes need a lower load factor to break even. Thing is, from one of you're other branded flying CAs, some of the routes on the east side of the country are hauling 9-10 people around. So, while the west coast routes might be raking in the dough, they MAY be subsidizing losing routes until Ream and Co can re-evaluate the schedule. I highly doubt EVERY XJT flight is operating at such high load factors. Even SWA has crappy load factors on flights like MCO-FLL. They don't mind since they make tons o' cash on MCO-BWI, though, to offset the loss.

Bottom line is, don't assume that EVERYTHING is roses over there. The minute people start getting comfortable is the minute things start going wrong.
 
Kell, I think Johnny is saying 'word' to much drinking the....




ohyea3.GIF
 
kellwolf said:
Don't know on XJT, but the reason 9E hasn't fallen out is b/c NWA owns the planes, buys the gas and schedules the flights. Like he said, we're making money hand over fist via contract values. It's a different ballgame than the risk taking branded flying is.

What you're saying is you need a load factor of 68% to turn a profit. I'll buy that, seeing as the larger planes need a lower load factor to break even. Thing is, from one of you're other branded flying CAs, some of the routes on the east side of the country are hauling 9-10 people around. So, while the west coast routes might be raking in the dough, they MAY be subsidizing losing routes until Ream and Co can re-evaluate the schedule. I highly doubt EVERY XJT flight is operating at such high load factors. Even SWA has crappy load factors on flights like MCO-FLL. They don't mind since they make tons o' cash on MCO-BWI, though, to offset the loss.

Bottom line is, don't assume that EVERYTHING is roses over there. The minute people start getting comfortable is the minute things start going wrong.
Click to expand...

You're 100% spot on, not all the routes are making money. The overall load factors are approaching 80%, though that's because some of them are 100% and some are 10%.

Routes are being re-evaluated as I understand it, and I hope they continue to do so or we're HOSED.

But Express can make money with 50 seaters. In fact Ream has said he doesn't know how to make money with larger aircraft, and they won't bring them on property until they can figure that out.
 
jtrain609 said:
You're 100% spot on, not all the routes are making money. The overall load factors are approaching 80%, though that's because some of them are 100% and some are 10%.

Routes are being re-evaluated as I understand it, and I hope they continue to do so or we're HOSED.

But Express can make money with 50 seaters. In fact Ream has said he doesn't know how to make money with larger aircraft, and they won't bring them on property until they can figure that out.
Click to expand...


kellwolf... Thank you for understanding for what I am saying.

You are making money on your 50 seat contract flying that you are doing at XJT, but your banded flying will not turn much profit for XJT as a whole. You guys just furloughed some of your training guys back to the line. I used to work at ACA/Indy Air and the samething happend to us over there. Now of course Im not saying that you guys are going to share the same fate as we did, because you didnt sink your entire airline into a branded LLC flying 50 seat jets. That is a smart thing. David Neelman the CEO at jetBlue (a very smart guy) was offered a great deal on the E145 and did not take it, because he said no matter how you try to break it down you cant make money with 50 seat jets, unless your flying them for one of the big boys and he had mucho data to back that up... the numbers dont lie... but I wish you guys then best of luck.
 
Personally I think the guys who can see the downside of this industry for what it is have the most potential to make it better.

Doesn't mean you have to complain about it. In fact it makes for a pretty boring trip if all you talk about is flying, good OR bad. But an objective look at the realities of airline flying combined with more than a 'suck it up and take it' attitude can make a difference.
 
JBUCREW said:
kellwolf... Thank you for understanding for what I am saying.

You are making money on your 50 seat contract flying that you are doing at XJT, but your banded flying will not turn much profit for XJT as a whole. You guys just furloughed some of your training guys back to the line. I used to work at ACA/Indy Air and the samething happend to us over there. Now of course Im not saying that you guys are going to share the same fate as we did, because you didnt sink your entire airline into a branded LLC flying 50 seat jets. That is a smart thing. David Neelman the CEO at jetBlue (a very smart guy) was offered a great deal on the E145 and did not take it, because he said no matter how you try to break it down you cant make money with 50 seat jets, unless your flying them for one of the big boys and he had mucho data to back that up... the numbers dont lie... but I wish you guys then best of luck.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you were with FlyI, you guys really got the raw deal there.
 
jtrain609 said:
Sorry to hear you were with FlyI, you guys really got the raw deal there.
Click to expand...


Thats life in the airlines! You guys stay in a lot of the same hotels we do, I hit the town in OKC with one of your crews... Jetlinkers are coooooool in my book! Now if we could only get our hands on your contract here at Pinnacle it would be nice....
 
JBUCREW said:
Thats life in the airlines! You guys stay in a lot of the same hotels we do, I hit the town in OKC with one of your crews... Jetlinkers are coooooool in my book! Now if we could only get our hands on your contract here at Pinnacle it would be nice....
Click to expand...

And see, even that isn't written in stone. The first sign of financial trouble and the first thing on the chopping block is the "industry leading contract". Thats the problem today, management screws up and pilots make the sacrifices to fix it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top