sinca3

Article from "The Street" about unions in the south:

'Union' Now 'the U-Word' in the South - TheStreet

orvil

Airline Biz Blog | Sep 01, 2011

An unusually high number of American airlines pilots retired early as of Sept. 1 -- 111 in all.

As the Allied Pilots Associations points out, 2010's average was 11 per month, with a high of 24 in August 2010. Some other factoids:

* 23 of the retiring pilots are check airmen -- the pilots who make sure other pilots are doing it right.
* 46 of the 111 were Boeing 777 captains, plus another three 777 first officers. About one in every four 777 captain based at D/FW Airport retired.

* The average age, by my calculations, was just under 61. The youngest was a Dallas-based pilot who turned 54 in August. Eight were 63. Less than 20 were under age 60. The bulk fell in the 60 to 62 bracket.

* The average seniority among the retirees, by my calculations, was 29 years. The list included three 777 captains -- one from D/FW, two from Chicago -- with 35 years' experience, and another that would have hit 35 years in October.

As American Airlines pilots know intimately, their B Plan has an interesting feature. A pilot can lock in the value of the B Plan shares backwards for 60 days. If the shares fall sharply, they can retire and still get the shares' value from 60 days before their retirement.

The B Plan shares this summer have dropped a lot, like the entire market, and quite a few pilots decided to take their retirements now rather than hope the B Plan shares recover in value in the near future.

As more than one pilot pointed out to me in the past few weeks, a long-time pilot with a lot of money in the B Plan could have seen the value of those shares drop $200,000 or $300,000 in the past two months. They would have to work a long time just to make up in salary the amount of the decrease in their B Plan accounts.

So why not go now?

That's the B Plan, a defined-contribution plan into which American Airlines contributes an amount equal to 11 percent of a pilot's pay.

Then there's the A Plan, the pilots' defined-benefit plan. There's been a lot of pilot communication back and forth about the possibility of American filing for bankruptcy protection at some point in the future, a step that would likely result in reduced pensions and an inability to withdraw a lump sum upon retirement.

Another reason for pilots to go now rather than wait to see what happens.

Of course, the stock market didn't have a good August, either. There could always be another large group of pilots who decide to retire Oct. 1 if the B Plan shares don't recover from the market's recent dip.

111 American Airlines pilots retire on Sept. 1 : The Airline Zone

It is my understanding that the lookback period may be 90 days rather than 60 per their contract. But, I don't know that for a fact. As an experienced deadzoner, all I can say is take the money and run.

forgot to bid

This is what I think and it's not as good of a quote its just my experience having been a part of or watched family members and friends take tremendous risk and start businesses and most failing. As well having been employed for years by companies and individuals who tried and succeeded.

All I can say, if you want to start out on your own make it an all cash business and work alone.

If you want to lose money, hire someone.

If you want to make money, hire the right person.

forgot to bid

fwiw, I think we're the right people. People forget a commercial air carrier by FAA rules only requires 1 employee. A pilot. An airline on the scale of our operation we're not the only ones required nor are we the brains behind the operation. Frankly we are a unionized group of over 10,000 pilots turning screws on an assembly line with over 12,000 in total.

But if any of one or two of us, and this goes for mechanics as well, turn that screw wrong...

You're front line employees matter. And beyond safety its important I think for some to remember that it is our noses that are to the grindstone so chances are we may know who that grindstone is doing?

The one thing Delta has always had a reputation for was that people mattered. I may be bias, but as a pilot and even pre employment here I always thought that was pilot driven. So whatever has happened in the past and whatever course some may have plotted to change that, so be it, we don't have to give in.

Check Essential

Good post ftb. I agree.
Many have noted the death of the "Delta family" and indeed, that cultural mindset has been systematically erased from the property starting with Ron Allen and "Leadership 7.5" right through Mullin, Grinstein and bankruptcy. But I'd like to think it can still be revived. I know it still lives in the hearts and minds of much of the workforce. The beatings from our past corporate overlords were relentless, but guys still push wheelchairs and fetch strollers.

Bringing that spirit back will require some visionary leadership and a commitment to treat people as assets rather than costs. I think labor (meaning primarily DALPA) has given management every opportunity since we emerged from bankruptcy to restore some of that old sense of loyalty and commitment to the company that used to exist. Constructive engagement has been a bold experimental olive branch. We'll find out next year whether it will bear fruit.

At first glance, some may read Lincoln's words as a thinly veiled call for socialism and an attack on capitalism.
I don't see it that way. I think he's talking about simple dignity and respect.
The Delta pilots have made an enormous contribution to the survival and now the new prosperity of this company. I hope management has the wisdom to acknowledge that as they craft their approach to Contract 2012. We have earned it and we deserve it.

ExAF

Looking over bid package for Oct and SAL is now on the 320 list. Where is SAL? Not on "My Crew Guide" yet, and all of my pubs are on the airplane now!

Ferd149

Comalapa International Airport (SAL) Details - El Salvador

gloopy

DL used to have one of (if not the) best reputations among customers for service and over all competency. Needless to say, that has faded significantly over the tenures you mentioned, right along with the executive frenzy of rampant outsourcing. NW was synonymous knowing how to run a global route structure and dominating the competition wherever it chose to do so.

Yet we pilots tend to be romantics in that we want to believe in that kind of airline(s) again. Maybe that's how we are wired. I think that is where a lot of "Delta pride" or "SWA koolaid" or whatever you want to call it comes from. "My airline can beat up your airline" is as emotionally fascinating to us now as the "my dad can beat up your dad" mentality as kids. We all know we benefit from pattern bargaining and that a rising tide raises all boats, but we all want to be on a winning team.

So there is some level of hope that RA, who is undoubtedly very smart in general and particularly in this industry, will be worth his exponentially ballistic airline executive compensation and restore the new Delta to its rightful place, if not its outright manifest destiny, of greatness and industry dominance.

And so we forge ahead with "constructive engagement" which in and of itself isn't a bad thing,...as long as we have internal checks and balances and ways to evaluate the progress of this methodology and more importantly, a non emotional "exit stratedgy" for the day its clear that it isn't working.

You could argue that we gave the company an extension of a bankruptcy emergency 9-11 crisis survival contract to facilitate a merger and build the new Delta or whatever. OK, fine. Water under the bridge, although Ron Allen's 7.5 water under the bridge caused a lot of erosion as well as Grinstein's "do it once and do it right" and Leo the CEO's sequential billion dollar blunders which were rewared with insanely inappropriate compensation packages. But we are very close to the next chapter so where do we go from here? Does management and/or the union really believe such an emergency crisis contract is now the new norm, only to be adjusted by cost of living adjustments painted as "raises"?

We want to believe in our company (and RA and his team in particular), and we want to believe in ourselves (ALPA or DPA, but right now its mostly ALPA either outrightly or by active indifference). But who will watch the watchers?

We are agressively outsourcing the bottom end of our flying by continuing to subsidize a fare trashing competitor (Republic air group) even recently by giving them additional planes. Forget for a moment the potential scope violation or the legal malpractice that went into crafting rediculous language in the first place that even makes this a gray area. Why is our beloved and esteemed company and RA in particular doing this?

We sell CPZ to the TSA air group, which is bad enough, but then we hire one of the worst cut throat predatory bargaining labor busting airlines in modern outsourcing history. TSA has 100 seaters on order and when asked who they intend on flying them for, they laugh and say they will get future scope relief from someone. Are we not supposed to connect these potential dots? Why is our beloved and esteemed company and the supremely talented RA so deserving of our followship in particular doing this? Are we actually trying to run a global airline, or is it just "merge shrink outsource, repeat"?

On the eve of openers and with the dawn of C12K's ammendable date soon upon us, we are starting to get hassled for sick calls. We got an awesome new commuter policy, which was almost immediately laced with threatening inuendo and borderline harassment for even daring to use it. RA supposedly "puts on his game face" whenever we hint at talking about money.

The Alaska code share is flat out being abused and we are adding every available international airline to our sky "team" as fast as we can mail them pens and agreements and unless we order 747-800's and/or 380's, both of which seem highly unlikely, it appears we will eventually be out of the 4 engine jet business...at least with our pilots at the controls.

And there seems to be a mentality among our representatives that we can't/won't get scope back, never mind not even being able to grasp the elementary differences between inflationary cost of living adjustments and a "raise over the life of" a contract.

Hope and faith for a better tomorrow is great. It really is. But "by their deeds you shall know them" and that goes for the company as well as the union. Its important that we continue to watch the watchers and call things as we see them.

A good start is when C12K is here, its vital that we understand that a 4 or 5 year contract is at least a 20-30% loss via cost of living. We must back that amount out of any and all claims of "a raise over the life of" nonsense.

Maybe RA is as awesome as some want to believe. But should we continue to trust any airline executive in advance? Or is it more reasonable to be cautious of all of their intentions until they prove otherwise by their actions?

80ktsClamp

Very beautiful! I"ve done a couple turns down there on the 737. It's a nice day trip- low threat with several decent duty frees.


In other news, I spotted NewK's airport car in the employee lot yesterday:




(yes, apparently they built a wal mart at the employee lot... just got with it.)

tsquare

I *sniff sniff* am *(choking back the tears) leaving Sao Paulo tonight...

Click here. But skip the first couple of pics.

Or try one.

This is at our layover hotel.