EWRflyr

At the company crew room visits it has been stated that the company will make do with current staffing through the remainder of the year. I wouldn't be holding my breath for any vacancies on either side until the company is absolutely forced into them by FT/DT rules and age 65. Oil is currently not going in a direction favorable to needing more pilots unfortunatelyl

oldmako

united used to say that furloughs made no sense unless the time line was greater than 24 months. Note that I said "used".

That being said I am planning on a spring furlough and I'm trying to stockpile cash. smisek wants to toss us a minimal bone of a pay raise, and have us all flying with continentals work rules. When the coach turns to a pumpkin on Dec 31, he'll start flexing muscle to that end, and the UAL guys are going to take it in the shorts first.

He wants to cut domestic capacity. Oil is through the roof and from watching the news will remain so for some time.

How's that for a happy post?

While I can see scenario's which would fuel recalls and actually grow the airline in anticipation of the age 65 retirements, I'm not going to hang my hat on them. This place is a turd.

If not flying on May third, I will be there.

SoCalGuy

(complete.....)
+ "Old" United's current SCOPE = Smisek's wet dream.

Ottopilot

Yea, but age 65 is still a long ways away from kicking in. Don't think of 2012 as the year, but 2013. It's only the last few days of 2012 that counts. I'm not impressed by the actual retirement numbers when you figure that there are 11,000 pilots on the new list. I'd add a year to your calculation. Sorry. I hope they bring guys back sooner, but I expect them to cut flying and aircraft.

syd111

They already are cutting flying and I think shortly aircraft. Does anyone know where our leaders hedged fuel?

I was positive for a while but this looks like the same old song and dance.

kc135driver

I'd agree with you, my prediction above could easily slip 12+ months. I think we will hear something soon, heck UAL dropped another 6% today alone due to oil.

Coto Pilot

The retirements are huge, one pilot every 18 hours beginning December of next year and continuning for years. The training department on the United side is a ghost town and will have to begin staffing to accomadate this at least 6 months before the retirements begin. As they pull pilots back into TK this in itself will create vacancies. I don't see them parking planes on the United side, but it wouldn't surprise me if CO' older 737's and 767's are retired.

kc135driver

Thinking out loud here, but if both sides have furlough protection through the end of this year, and then CO after that, AND it is only CO aircraft that are being talked about being parked (I know anything can change), it would seem to me that mgmt CAN'T really park ANY CO airplanes for the foreseeable future until they negotiate a JCBA? So mgmt has tied their own hands for now?? What am I missing.

I still say they need to park about 100+ 50 seaters, give us a new contract then we move on.

EWR73FO

Not sure but CA I flew with today said CAL had already sold 2 of the 10 767-200's we were looking to get rid of. Anyone substantiate?

SpecialTracking

I could not find the hedge price, but UAL was/is hedged 63, 50, 34, and 17% for the four consecutive three month periods of 2011.