Originally Posted by johnso29

Bingo. The product has so big and so outsourced it's terrible. Just a few weeks ago I was helping a lady going DLH-MSP-ATL-EYW. She rode a CRJ200 from DLH to MSP. Then she rode a A320 from MSP to ATL, and then went on to EYW.

Her problem was when she arrived in ATL she was looking for her rollerboard on the jetway. She assumed since she was allowed to gate check it from DLH that she could do the same from MSP. Now she is ATL with 1 hour until her flight to EYW. Why didn't the agent in MSP find out whose bag it was so he/she could check it to the final destination rather then assume the final destination was ATL?

To make things even more confusing DAL allows customers to planeside claim bags while flying on CRJ100/200/700/900's but not while flying on E170/175's. How is that not confusing to a passenger? It's not a seamless product for the customer, and it's embarassing. It's managements fault because they don't keep things the same for everyone, and the customers suffer.

I'm not knocking RJ drivers either, I'm knocking the crappy policies that our management have put in place.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid

And they say this next generation is a worthless bunch of kids who feel entitled to everything they want. Meanwhile I watch my in-laws deal with members of the greatest generation who are so demanding and have no problem with pushing kids over a cliff for a social security check.

Truth is, it's not a generation thing that's the problem, it's a gene pool problem.

And too often we bury the best of the gene pool at Arlington and are stuck with pilots who thought it was their right to never save a dime and buy multiple homes, boats, planes and cars. And then unsurprisingly the pension disappears and so they're willing to throw everyone under a bus for a pay raise most feel is inadequate even if we tightened scope.... ?

The man is a douche bag and if I was a drinker I'd like to propose a toast to all of the senior guys here who bother and actually enjoy interacting hanging with those of us on the bottom. They don't pull up the ladder but instead stand up for everyone on the list especially where it matters most - employment.

Thanks, you guys rock.

Originally Posted by JABDIP

Almost Nobody from MSP went to ATL, imagine that. A few 747-400 displacements from the 330A bid. ATL 330A went into low 2500s. 16 744A early outs as of now 30 330a early outs as of now. AE out by noon.

Originally Posted by dragon

And to pile on, was in DTW this week and the agent, who was already waaay behind the power curve was telling the pax that DAL has instituted a new policy that says you can't gate check (pink tag) a bag on a commuter if it won't fit into the size-wise container. He then went onto check every single bag and gate check them, all while taking a huge delay that didn't need to be taken.

Now I don't know if we really have started this policy, but on the last flight of the day to an outstation, is this really necessary. Luckily I was not in uniform and was able to hide from the very angry passengers who complained bitterly not about the DCI carrier or the gate agent, but about Delta!

Originally Posted by Wilbur Wright

I wonder if crew resources will take the early outs into account with the award? The problem with doing that is those pilots can rescind their requests as late as July 15th.

Originally Posted by NuGuy

Heyas T,

Not digging at ya, but there seems to be an overriding generalization by guys that the only way to do things is the one way, and even the way that other airlines do things, despite being successful at it, can't possibly work because of the way the some guys have to squeeze it into THEIR experience, rather than the experience of the people who actually used BOTH systems.

We've already been through this with a number of topics, where once it's explained the way things REALLY worked, the same guys go "huh, yea, I guess that would work pretty well." Some of those topics already discussed include the APA process for bidding, paperwork, and now we get to do it for seniority list instructors.

Certainly, after all the things we gave up in BK, somehow the requirement to use seniority list instructors anytime the motion was on was considered pretty important by the fNWA guys, because we kept it in the contract.

Anyway, enough of that rant. Here's how instructors worked at NWA, with no judgment on other systems:

1) It was a combined department. Training/checking. You might just do OE, or just Sims (which included training, and doing MVs, LOEs, etc), line checks, or all of the above. APDs also did training, and ordinary events along with type rides.

Because it was a combined department, there was a VERY tight feedback loop between the line and training. OE was a complete NON event. There was ZERO "you'll get that on OE". The way you flew the airplane was identical to the way you flew the sim. There were no fiefdoms because there weren't any "fiefs".

There was ZERO variation between instructors. The way you learned things was identical from IP to IP, and from sim to OE.

2) You could only become an instructor for an aircraft that you currently held. If you got displaced, you lost your instructor gig, too. If you got a bid for a new airplane, you lost your instructor gig. You were free to sign up for your new airplane, but no guarantees.

3) You were a line pilot who instructed, NOT an instructor who flew the line once in a while. IPs doing sims were expected to be "in the box" 6 months out of 12, but which 6 were up to the training department (they'd take your requests "under advisement"), but when things were slow, you might fly 8 months. More often you'd do 2 months in the sim and 2 on the line.

4) A regular month was 16 events. Max was 19. "Seat support" counted as an event. Two events a day had restrictions. Events 17,18, and 19 were "overtime" and paid %150.

5) Pay was the max for the month, obviously for the airplane you held, with a $600 override. Hotels were provided, as was PS to work.

Last I heard, SLIPs were worth 350-500 pilots in staffing.

NU

Originally Posted by alfaromeo

The net change is more like 100-125. Not arguing with the concept, but your numbers are wrong. You only count manning changes for pilots that are actually in the sim for the month. If he is out on the line he is just another pilot. Just think if we had 450-550 pilots off the line in any one month. We don't have that many sims.

Originally Posted by Fly4hire

Any intel on when the AE will be out?

Originally Posted by JABDIP

Almost Nobody from MSP went to ATL, imagine that. A few 747-400 displacements from the 330A bid. ATL 330A went into low 2500s. 16 744A early outs as of now 30 330a early outs as of now. AE out by noon.