jetlaggy

This is a part of Fedex’s contract

TFAYD

I wouldn’t expect no furloughs but maybe fewer furloughs?

reduced hours are the best option. The company is highly motivated to bring hours up again on their own. Pay rates not so much.

if 50 hour lines reduce furloughs by 1500 pilots or so - isn’t that worth it

Kung Flu Master

Reduced hours are better than reduced wages. Though looking at it I don’t know if there’s anything preferable right now besides a clean shot of vodka.

rvfanatic

Oh ya 4.a.2.b.

With some pilots facing furlough #3 in less than 20yrs, you think we’d try and negotiate similar.

Freight Dawg

Don’t be ridiculous. The point being that during the last two UAL furloughs ALPA did quite a bit to alleviate both furloughs and the pain from resulting furloughs. They (we) hardly ate their own. Somehow this seems to be forgotten.

AirMicronesia

It doesn’t work that way. Are you somewhat new to the industry? You don’t seem to have personal knowledge of living through a downturn before.

A significant portion of the total cost per pilot is not wages. Everybody at 50 hour lines is still more expensive than furloughing and having the remaining pilots flying a lot. It’s all about efficiencies and the bottom line. I’m on the chopping block but I’ve been furloughed before. I know how this story ends: You give; company asks for more to simply do what they were going to do anyways but now is able to say, “see, you saved some furloughs”.

Ask the old timers how it worked out for them when they took concessions to save their pensions.

89Pistons

You mentioned that you'd remember that post when voting for the assessment. Which implied it was a variable on how you would vote. I'm well aware that ALPA did quote a bit. I was a recipient of the fund. Twice.
Some might not remember or acknowledge it. But that shouldn't be a variable in your decision process. Now I know it's not.

oldmako

Are we actually having this discussion?

Pilots can work for FREE and the company will still furlough, still steal from you, still declare BK, and still LINE THEIR POCKETS in the process. Pilots will return from furlough to a flimsy contract and much lower pay. Those not furloughed will be working under a flimsy contract and for much lower wages and will enjoy stepped up "supervision" from management. The concession stand will NEVER close. The monies wrested from ALL of the employees will never be repaid, their loyalty and sense of "duty" to save the company will be laughed at in Willis.

We have a contract. Let's just enforce it while we eat the GIANT fecal sandwich.

LeeFXDWG

Well, you’re just looking at one part of the whole financial cost of each pilot widget. The company wants less yet more efficient widgets to reduce costs significantly. See PBS and LCO mistakes made by us post 911. Caused at least 1000 furloughs. But the A plan still went poof....

Also, comparing us to FedEx isn’t apples to apples. The only common aspect is the airplanes. They fly cargo.

My neighbor is in international sales for UPS and things are going very well believe it or not. Heck we are doing 200 plus dedicated cargo flights a week right now.

Sadly, our revenue base is passengers. Cargo is our side business.

The fact is we could work for free and still have the additional costs the company pays for each of us. And working might give them 2 days cash burn every month at most.

Concessions never yield the desired outcome. And they take decades to get back. Heck, they rarely come back all the way.

And manpower is driven mainly by block hours not the cost of the pilot. Remember that.

Be safe,

Lee

TFAYD

why does it not work that way?

if you have 15000 block hours to cover. You can do that with 2000 crews at 75 hours each or 3000 crews at 50 hours.

yes, I realize that there are other fixed costs associated with pilots. That’s why the company y would prefer the 75 hour solution over the 50 hour option. I also realize that the 50 hour option will be more expensive overall than the 75 hour option. But it should be more desirable to the pilot group if the interest is avoiding furloughs.