Lennon

How much of a morale boost could be realized by simply building decent pairings?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to travel to NYC, be productive, and get the hell out with minimal time in the pad.

It's increasingly difficult to do that with the pairings that are being built. Our airplanes are the most productive in the industry and yet we are not.

Why?

FNG320

Ditto. Unless you are in the top 10% at JFK and LGB, or the top 30% in FLL it ain't gonna happen. Kevin Kelly builds the pairngs and thus the man responsible. Now, I also blame Dave Bushy. I have no doubt that he has but all kinds of restriction on the builidng of pairings. All in an effort to save $$$$. From the pairngs here is what I see:

1. Eliminate the 13:30 trips to not have to pay the rig. Even at the expense of making unproductive trips.

2. Reduce the number of 3/4/5 day trips to elimnate the number of hotel rooms needed (saving $$$$),

3. Reduce the number of 3/4/5 day trips to reduce the perdiem by not paying another for another rest period. Let us sleep in the crash pad on our own dime and no perdiem. (saving $$$$)

4. Maximize overnights in those cities that have the cheapest hotels.

5. Don't go over the contracted number of rooms in our hotels, or don't require the need for new contracts at increased cost.

All of these save money, but they sacrifice our quality of life. If you live where you are based (like most of FLL) it doesn't hurt much. But at JFK and some in LGB, it kills productivity and hurts commuters.

The result is there is no caring in Kevin Kelly and the scheduling committee or they would stand up to Dave Bushy. Hey the the Fight Attedants can ***** and get their 13:30 trips back! Our committee has no balls that I can see. Everyone seems to say wait till the transcon turns. But what if that is not approved?

Kevin Kelly needs to go. He has lost his JB way.... Caring only for himself and FLL....

Dave Bushy needs to go. He never was JB and will never be JB.... He has no caring value at all (unless he is forced to care by D and D. Just like he was forced to keep the leather jackets program that he wanted to get rid of).

Where is the values committee on these issues? Anyone know? I don't mean to slam these guys, but we haven't heard a peep from them on any of this stuff. If they are doing something for us, tell us. Even ALPA tells its members what they are working on.

Just my opinion.

FNG

bluebrother

so the jest of your reply is: its all a conspiracy............ you really typify the paranoid alpa pilot mentality

oh, my mistake, your trying to make things better here.....

FNG320

Well, the scheduling committee just posted the new members of the committee. Yet, Kevin Kelly is still there! Two guys who have been there 2 years are stepping down, but Kevin Kelly is still there. I can only hope that the new guys can change things, but I doubt it. Looks like we will be screwed for a couple more years. BOHICA

Just my opinion....

FNG

FNG320

Hey, it fall on the back of Kevin Kelly. He is responsible for building the pairings. If there other constraints that he is forced to use, he should tell us what they are, and where these constraints come from (i.e. Dave Bushy). If he is loyal to the pilot group he owes it to us to keep us informed.

I know that the scheduling committee has some info concerning future cities and trips which becomes insider trader stuff. But any constraits he has to use in pairing construction should be published to the pilot group for us to reveview. Then if the company is screwing with our QOL, then we can speak up to fix it, or if necessary ORGANIZE to stop it and fix out QOL. Hey, if they won't fix our pay, then they can at least give us good schedules/pairings that are productive.

Just my opinion...

FNG

Blue 2

FNG I think you are correct about KK. I think he has been in the position way to long.
There should be an effort to train a pilot from JFK and LGB that can do KK's job. When they are up to speed the KK responsibility can be rotated quarterly or on some schedule to allow JFK/LGB reps to be the writer.
I think it would do a few things:
1) Give KK a break. You gotta believe he spends a lot of time at work with his 85 - 90 hour line and still having to put out a scheduling product.
2) Get more people trained to do the job.
What would happen if KK was unable, for whatever reason, to perform his duties?
3)Get some new ideas in the mill.

.02 ..........

OldBlue

Hey FNG - How about a reality check?

Kelly builds the pairings, but the entire committee reviews and signs off on them. Scott Burke, Bob Lyhne and others. These are straight up guys and would have no part in forcing hours or productivity on to one base over another.

The 13:30's appear to come and go month to month. If they can save rig and still meet a productivity goal, why not? The long SLC layover does suck, but what else can you do with it until they add some service there? Anyway, the ski guys love it.

Most guys I talk to would rather see a bunch of good two-day trips that can be bid back-to-back using the Followed-by command than they would a 5-day trip, even if it's worth 29 hours and commutable on one end. Plus, the committee says they only build 5-day trips when nothing else works. There are really very few of them.

And those 4-day pairings with one leg a day? How else can you do the SMF-IAD service? They've built a bunch of dead-end cities in their service with only a couple of ways in and out.

And, I don't think the scheduling committee has any idea of the number of rooms contracted at the layover cities. I was talking to a guy in the hotel committee who said they don't know what the rooms requirements are going to be until just before the bid is posted.

Obviously you think the entire scheduling committee is under some sort of mind control and they allow Kelly to give FLL the best pairings. That's nuts, FNG. FLL has the worst productivity in the system, and has since they threw the LGA flying at them. LGB usually has the best productivity (if you can stand trans-cons) and look how far down the seniority list the high daily productivity goes at JFK.

Kelly has been around here since before jetBlue had an airplane. He helped form the values committee. I understand he recently beat the Nazis in the people department on an appeal over the legality of a conviction over some complaint a bimbo made about his PA's. I'll bet loosing really p***ed Bushy off.

And, by the way, your Bushy comments, I will not argue with. See, we do agree on something.

I've flown with Kelly. He's an original Pan Am guy that races Harleys, uses the "F" word, hates office politics, and is fun to fly with.

Pick on the Double-Dipping Delta Dolt. He's the one that is force feeding us all the crap. Leave the scheduling committee along. I think our pairings Rock.

jblumindtrick

Everyone has a job to do. Management positions by nature will squeeze water out of a rock. I only blame myself for putting up with everything and not being properly compensated.

We all work very hard and put up with a lot to keep this operation chugging full steam ahead. Although, at the end of the day if it falls on the back of the pilot labor group frustrations will ripple out of control.

When they sqeeze the water out of the rock they shouldn't forget to water the troops! I am not talking about devalued options and untouchable variable profit sharing I am talking about a real and honest RESPECTABLE wage!