Not at all. The FFD landscape has completely changed over the past decade. When I was starting at Pinnacle, the regionals were growing like a weed. Upgrades were plentiful and fast even though there was no attrition, and there was no end to the guaranteed profits. The air service agreements were almost all cost-plus agreements, guaranteeing managements profitability, no matter what. And most importantly, longevity was low.
Today, the landscape has completely changed. The cost-plus contracts are gone forever, and FFD carrier is pitted against FFD carrier. Rather than mainline carriers being pitted against regional carriers to outsource the flying, it's now regional against regional fighting for the same dwindling scraps. And longevity has skyrocketed at some carriers, while staying very low at others, making block-hour costs vary widely from carrier to carrier. These are completely new problems. Problems that need to be focused on rather than ignored.
So if the landscape has changed in the FFD world, how can pilots at places like XJT/ASA, Eagle, etc. be expected to hold a line when their holding companies can't make money as they are getting squeezed by their mainline partners?
If I was sitting next to you I'd slap you upside the head.
No you wouldn't.
What a bunch of BS, 'Squatch.
No it is not.
That guy wasn't the problem, and he wasn't just soaking up FPL. He's worked his ass off for pilots for a very long time, and he's a true believer trade unionist. The problem wasn't him, it was everyone else refusing to play ball.
I agree he wasn't the problem, but he didn't really do much to fix it. With the FPL issue I bring up, you know that I am extremely reasonable in this regard. You know that I have no problem if one needs to be on full time FPL, needs a trip bought, or if a volunteer group has a nice dinner, even with alcohol on the union dime. Part of doing business. But for the amount of work he did, there is
NO WAY he should have been on
FULL time FPL for four years in that position.
He also knew early on that there were folks refusing to play ball yet was powerless to sway others into another view point.
Everyone claims to want to fix the problem, but nobody wants to actually take the steps to do it. And with no real leader at the top to press the issue, it won't happen. That's not the fault of the guy getting FPL.
What steps did he actually take to fix it then? Hold more meetings? Hold more conference call? Do you know how much R.H. was up my and other small FFD groups asses about our budgets, yet we were expected to attend these FFD meetings? Instead of pressing issues, such as covering the money to get the groups there, he didn't press that issue as he didn't want people looking at him and his little niche.
Once again, the fact of the matter is, and I am being frank here, is that his group, even after years of trying to raise the bar, was the first to be tested and they lowered the bar for the FFD group. Now they were in Bankruptcy so they had two options, either take these cuts, or there was a good possibility of being liquidated. That was the economic situation they were in and the pilot group made a decision. I respect them for that.
However, after spending thousands of hours between these FFD group calls, meetings, begging the company to let guys off for these FFD group meetings, getting my ass handed to me by R.H., wasting my time listening to an ass at the meeting saying why a flow isn't a good idea up to majors as they 'may' flow down, etc., I have every right to share my view on what turned out to be nothing more than a large waste of my time and energy. There is
NOTHING to show for all of this work.
Of course there was a way. It was suggested by the guy who should have been elected president: portable longevity. The reason everyone is willing to undercut everyone else is because they have to to save their own asses. They can't move from one regional to another without starting over again, which no one in their right mind will do unless they're forced into it. That's the source of the problem, and the solution is making longevity portable.
Todd, ok, so you suggested a way. But how in the hell are you going to get pilot groups and management teams onboard with this, when, in your words, the FFD world has no money to be made?
When we were in negotiations with Colgan, during Leaves of Absence Section negotiations, management wasn't going to give FMLA leave to pilots who got pregnant in our small outstation bases. They didn't have to by law and told us they couldn't handle it with their staffing model at the time. So when you are going up against that, how in the hell is your pipe dream of this portable longevity going to work? How would you and your friend make it happen at the negotiating table?
For starters, at least act like you give a . That goes a long way towards not losing the faith of the elected leaders at the FFD carriers, and that's a big part of preventing it all from collapsing. But when every word out of your mouth is about Emirates, Qatar, or Abu Dhabi, it's pretty clear that what goes on at EGL or PSA isn't on your mind.
Once again, ok, say he starts actually giving a you know what. Then what? How is he going to make it happen at the negotiating table? @
amorris311, instead of liking Todd's post, tell me how you would make this portable longevity work at the negotiating table?
With talking to someone Todd, Andrew, and I know very well at Eagle, it sounded like the plan Doug Parker presented to the Eagle MEC on where, the pay would be cut at Eagle, but there was a clear path to American sounded like a damn good solution to the FFD problem.
It sucks.
No doubt about it.
But is what the Eagle pilots are facing now better than what Doug Parker presented?
