757 Crew Rest

[Skymess]

PHL,

AA's 757 is a cramped piece of garbage. The layout stinks and so do the lavs. The plane is unbearable on a 5 hour flight. The passengers NEVER sit down and there is no place onboard for them to even stretch their legs. AA has a seat crammed into every available space and now they've even removed a closet and the galley space to put more seats in.

You can keep your weird dog trips and your crazy scheduling ideas to yourself. If I did such a trip I would most likely drop dead. Thank GOD I don't work for Continental. And you guys actually have a union? Really?

 

[HottootrotNyc]

Who the hell said anything about terminating the pension plans? Not I! I said AA needs to RESTRUCTURE! If they didn't need to RESTRUCTURE, then you wouldn't be sitting where you are today with thousands and thousands still on furlough and still being furloughed. Every single airline just about has avoided any further furloughes, some even hiring. Your assertion about me being a new hire to the company is far from fact, I flew for Delta for years and prior to that worked for Continental before finally coming back to Continental. Delta was one of the worst companies I ever worked for in my life. Reason being, NON-UNION. The really sad part is you think the company is conservative, what a way of walking through the terminal with blinders on! Your company is "Conservative" because it HAS NO MONEY, and is slowly buring through whatever assets it has left, all the while operating the oldest fleet out of any major.

As for trips and being productive, AA yet again falls behind everyone, your own union says so. Do you really think you insulted me with the "dog trip" and girlish poke "who wants to layover in Houston"? That's really sad, because I could careless about layovers. I care about MONEY and the fact that the way my company is being run will keep it around for me to have the option to retire from. People at my company at 10 years and under are not biting nails, wondering if they will get furloughed. Thank god we are not "Conservative" and rather "Productive". If we didn't have anything but 737's in our fleet our trips and turns would be on par with Southwest, you know the company that is most PRODUCTIVE, and yet has the highest labor costs of any airline in America. I'll take my -EWR-LAX turn compaired to your 2-day JFK-LAX, any day of the week and fly with some of the most senior crews we have.

It appears AA has taken whatever joy you have had left in your life and job and you sit and worry about the only thing you can find important at this time, your pension. Hopefully, you didn't follow the former TWA people and actually prepared for the future, you sound like you have been flying for many decades. Instead of b itching about everything your company has to offer, be thankful it's still there to offer, and open your damn eyes old man!

 

[Hopeful]

CO's bankruptcy was almost 20 years ago. And, while their current CEO seems to be respected and running a great airline, the turnaround began with the prior CEO, Gordo. The path he put the airline in during the mid 90's is why they are where they are now. Fleet rationalization to Boeings, getting rid of the DEN hub, strengthening EWR, pioneering the concept of RJs much earlier than the competition, thinking outside the box and putting 757's on intl. thin routes, oh - and treating the employees with respect through it all. He had all the stars lined up nicely and the airline and its people reflect that today.

Gordon Bethune's first priority was fixing employee morale. He dedicated a lot of his agenda to it. He realized that after years of Lorenzo, workers were demoralized and beaten up.

But Lorenzo was a hero to many, including a couple of anti-union posters here.

 

[HottootrotNyc]

Skymess, your name suits you well. It appears as if you are nothing more then a big hot mess. Thankfully our aircraft are suited to be worked on, and are properly staffed. When we work a trip as such, we are not running around like a chicken with our heads cut off, we do our service and then still have time to relax. I guess since you guys go by minimum staffing, you would never have the same benefit. Is your advanced age also affecting you? Maybe you can't work anything but a simple turn?

You seem to ask about my union, and yes we have one. One that listens to us and manages to keep all of our employees employed. I only wish APFA could do the same for the few thousand you guys have on furlough and the others who would of been furloughed had it not been for the 1500 leaves. AA needs to buy people like you and jersey out and become a more productive company. It's sad you think you have it better over anyone else.

 

[Skymess]

Skymess, your name suits you well. It appears as if you are nothing more then a big hot mess. Thankfully our aircraft are suited to be worked on, and are properly staffed. When we work a trip as such, we are not running around like a chicken with our heads cut off, we do our service and then still have time to relax. I guess since you guys go by minimum staffing, you would never have the same benefit. Is your advanced age also affecting you? Maybe you can't work anything but a simple turn?

You seem to ask about my union, and yes we have one. One that listens to us and manages to keep all of our employees employed. I only wish APFA could do the same for the few thousand you guys have on furlough and the others who would of been furloughed had it not been for the 1500 leaves. AA needs to buy people like you and jersey out and become a more productive company. It's sad you think you have it better over anyone else.

Why are you on here blathering about things you don't know anything about? You obviously know nothing about our staffing or you wouldn't be saying ridiculous things. The only minimum crew flights we have are those that just have beverage services in coach. All of our international flights and transcons are usually 4 over minimum crew.

Your union is not what's keeping you employed, it's your management.

We have enough productive trips at AA. We don't need to do transcon turns. You can scream all day long about how great they are. I worked for Tower Air where we did transcon turns. I hope to never have to do another one again. I don't care how well staffed you think you are, working a 757 to Europe is not going to be pretty and being on your feet 13-16 hours for a transcon turn is just plain hellacious.

There are other ways we can become more productive without having to give up more layovers and work like clydesdales. You guys can keep it. If that's what makes you happy over at CO than more power to you. I work for American Airlines and I want longer layovers and bigger airplanes. I didn't become a flight attendant to only see the inside of an airplane or an airport. I also didn't become a flight attendant with the idea that I would make a lot of money. If I wanted to be wealthy I wouldn't have gone for this job. I do need more money than what we make right now, but I have no delusions I'm going to make really big money.

Jersey and I are only 40. Both of us look great too, if I do say so myself. Why would we need to be bought out? Why would anyone need to be bought out if they could still do the job, do it well, and like it? Save the crazy talk for your own airline.

 

[HottootrotNyc]

Because your both the most miserable and defensive people and if you don't think so, read through all your own posts. This is a career and it's wonderful you want bigger planes and you want longer layovers, but this is not the airline industry you entered. You will never be doing MIA turns on 747's again and thank god for that. Most people don't want what you want, and I am one of them. I want productive high time trips and to make as much money as possible, in the shortest amount of time, flying the smallest plane. I could careless if I layover in LA, MIA, or Paris. It's all the same to me, and if I want a vacation I go on my own time and own dime, and I don't expect my company to make my layover longer so that one or two of my co-workers can enjoy it more. I guess the difference is I came to Continental knowing I can make more money here, then any other airline and still have a life and I also have the benefit of working and being home every night. Staying in hotels is not enjoyable to me and for me it is about the money.

If you can't handle changing times and the fact that your company is not working in it's current state, you should move on to something that fits your needs. If you want big planes and long trips, go to a charter airline. There are plenty of 21 day trips at World and Omni, the problem is you will find something else to complain about. As I said before be thankful your company is flying and not parking the planes and laying off thousands more. I find it shocking your worry is bigger planes and longer layovers, when thousands from your airline are on the street and AA hasen't hired in years and from the looks of it won't be for many more. Talk about mixed up priorities!

As for management keeping us employed, um DUH, they run the main part of the company. If it wasn't for our union working so closely with our CEO, we would not have just hired 3 classes, and would not of been able to offer COLA's and had furloughes after last summer. I guess the difference is we are treated well and our job is easy. A trancon turn is not "hellacious", it's easy, and come and work our 757 to Europe and I guess you will know comfort.... Bettter yet head over to Airliners.net and check out our 757 and compair it to yours. It's just sad a simple comment makes you people turn into beasts.

 

[Skymess]

Because your both the most miserable and defensive people and if you don't think so, read through all your own posts. This is a career and it's wonderful you want bigger planes and you want longer layovers, but this is not the airline industry you entered.

I don't think we're bitter at all. We're fighting for something we're passionate about. There
s nothing wrong with that. The fact that you think there is says a lot about you. It also affirms, once again, that I am greatful you don't work for the same company that I do. You keep your CO ideas over at CO and stop trying to cross the fence into our airline and our airline business. You don't belong here. Keep your nose out of our business.

You will never be doing MIA turns on 747's again and thank god for that. Most people don't want what you want, and I am one of them. I want productive high time trips and to make as much money as possible, in the shortest amount of time, flying the smallest plane. I could careless if I layover in LA, MIA, or Paris. It's all the same to me, and if I want a vacation I go on my own time and own dime, and I don't expect my company to make my layover longer so that one or two of my co-workers can enjoy it more. I guess the difference is I came to Continental knowing I can make more money here, then any other airline and still have a life and I also have the benefit of working and being home every night. Staying in hotels is not enjoyable to me and for me it is about the money.

Once again, I am happy for you that your long duty days and lack of layovers is doing it for you at your company. More power to you. Now keep yourself over on the CO board and fight for what YOU (Continental Airlines FAs) want because it is not what WE at American Airlines want.

If you can't handle changing times and the fact that your company is not working in it's current state, you should move on to something that fits your needs. If you want big planes and long trips, go to a charter airline. There are plenty of 21 day trips at World and Omni, the problem is you will find something else to complain about. As I said before be thankful your company is flying and not parking the planes and laying off thousands more. I find it shocking your worry is bigger planes and longer layovers, when thousands from your airline are on the street and AA hasen't hired in years and from the looks of it won't be for many more. Talk about mixed up priorities!

It's called fighting to make something worth coming back to. We can give up everything but then why would it be worth working here and why would anyone want to get hired here? We fight to make this place better for everyone. I'm not gonna lay down and die because people like you take the cop out stance that we should be greatful we have a job so we should let them roll over us. You're really not making a good case for anything that you believe in because you seem to be a company tool.

As for management keeping us employed, um DUH, they run the main part of the company. If it wasn't for our union working so closely with our CEO, we would not have just hired 3 classes, and would not of been able to offer COLA's and had furloughes after last summer. I guess the difference is we are treated well and our job is easy.

Don't know how great you can be treated if you are doing transcon turns and 2 days worth 20 1/2 hours.
Guess it is all a matter of perspective.

A trancon turn is not "hellacious", it's easy, and come and work our 757 to Europe and I guess you will know comfort.... Bettter yet head over to Airliners.net and check out our 757 and compair it to yours. It's just sad a simple comment makes you people turn into beasts.

I already told you I worked transcon turns. They suck. Glad you like them because YOU have to do them. I don't. Hopefully I never will. Jersey and I already stated that your 757 is probably different than yours. You don't seem to get the fact that we said OUR 757 sucks and working OUR 757 over 4 hours is bound to make for a miserable experience. I don't claim to know what yours are like to work because I don't work for Continental and I'm not on your board making weird statements and proclamations about what you all should like and what would be good for you.

I fly all over the world as a passenger. Knowing how miserable it can be to be cooped up in an airplane for a long period of time I can already tell you how bad I will feel for our passengers who will not have anyplace to go on an AA 757 to stretch their legs and hang out for a short period of time. We do not have any extra space on our plane. There's nowhere to stand that you won't be hovering over another passenger or flight attendant.

You keep on flying around working like an animal and loving your 757. I'll keep fighting for what I think is right. If it takes me to bankruptcy I'm ready to go rather than lay down and let them take it all away from me for free. If that makes me stupid in your eyes, so be it. I'd rather go down fighting than be anyone's pawn.

 

[HottootrotNyc]

And that's exactly where you will find yourself Bankruptcy and it's sad you can't see past your own personal needs and know you are one of over 17,000. Everything that is in our contract at CO is there because WE as a GROUP wanted it. I can't imaging going back to living life like I did at Delta and it appears thats how things are run at AA. The oldies ran everything and what they said went and never took into account that they are not the only ones working at the company. They would rather work a leg a day, have a 40 hour layover and then complain they make no money. Well when you don't work you don't make money and you don't make your company money either.

So if you are happy that you have a pension, have the wide-body option, and to work unproductive trips... Why are you always complaining? You don't have to work the 757, so why are you crying about it? I can imagine there are plenty of peope that are happy AA is doing this, since it keeps them competetive and allows it to tap into smaller cities to make money and to fit the pane with the route and also to start newer thinner routes. Are you saying you would rather AA not fly a new route and make money? I don't understand your complaint, aside from you crying that you don't like the 757's and attempting to be a 40 year old child and bash my ability to be productive and make more money and have many more days off.

So what is it that you want the company to do? Park the 757? Fly new routes with planes that are to big for the route? If management cut all of it's bonuses and pay, AA would still be losing money, and yes thats a FACT, do some internet research. I love me some airline finance! So what exactly do you want the company to do to make money, while having ZERO affect on yourself?

P.S. This is a open forum and I can't find any rules that state you can't post anywhere BUT your own airline board, because you don't like what another person has to say. I haven't had to say something like that since I was 15 and signed up for AOL LOL.

 

[FWAAA]

Your airline is in poor financial shape compared to mine and my airline's flight attendants enjoy a vastly superior contract to yours.

What an oddly familiar tune. Slightly different lyrics; definitely same melody.

 

[Hopeful]

Your airline is in poor financial shape compared to mine and my airline's flight attendants enjoy a vastly superior contract to yours.

What an oddly familiar tune. Slightly different lyrics; definitely same melody.

Be careful using former quotes of others...FWAAA will file a lawsuit against you.

 

[meechy36]

So what is it that you want the company to do? Park the 757? Fly new routes with planes that are to big for the route? If management cut all of it's bonuses and pay, AA would still be losing money, and yes thats a FACT, do some internet research. I love me some airline finance! So what exactly do you want the company to do to make money, while having ZERO affect on yourself?

P.S. This is a open forum and I can't find any rules that state you can't post anywhere BUT your own airline board, because you don't like what another person has to say. I haven't had to say something like that since I was 15 and signed up for AOL LOL.

You know, I bid SNN and MAN exclusively when we had these routes, they were always on the 757 and I loved working them. As long as you had a good galley F/A it was extremely easy. The hardest part was duty free, it could take anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 hours to do since we sold so much stuff, which in it's on way was good, I made good commissions and the flights would literally fly by because you were busy most of the time.

That said, I am looking forward to working the 75 to CDG this summer with the new configuration. As always there will be a learning curve and the first couple of days will be frustrating as it was before but you know what? After a couple of days the ones who fly this will make it work.

As for transcon turns I say bring them on, I am here to get my hours in, I have layed over in West Coast cities enough to want to just get off the plane to grab something to eat and head home. I loved when I was domestic and we had the early morning LA, layed over there for 8 hours and worked the all nighter home, great trip, gone 24 hours. Same on International with the London rockets, get into London around 7am and work the 6 pm flight home, gone 25 hours for 14 hours of pay. I am all about the time off. Layovers can be fun at times but I'd much rather be home.

MikeBOS

 

[nbmcg01]

This exchange is a perfect example of how different all of our needs are when it comes to schedules. Due to family obligations, I wanted to be gone as little as possible, ergo the long turns. STL-SJU, STL-SEA, loved the all nighters. LAX-IAD (turn) was our most senior trip in the system, only 7 days on the property. We had a protection of no more than 2 legs on the long (over 8 hr) days. My most favorite TWA trip was STL-ANC, leave @1400,arrive around 1800, 25hr layover, all nighter back to STL, get home 0700 the 3rd day. LOVED IT!! My most favorite after acquisition trip was STL-MCO, 24hr layover, MCO-STL-SEA, 11 to 12 hr layover, all nighter back to STL. I would have happily flown that forever. I hated multi-leg days. I think meeting and greeting and good-byes are like additional legs. If I were looking at work rule changes leg restrictions would be a top priority..lol The next "rule" I would want is on "practice layovers" or those long sits...penalty pay is the only way to get rid of that. Many non crewmembers do not understand the adrenalin crash one experiences during the fly-sit fly day. There are very few times you should have to fly through your base (especially on the last day of a trip) and not get off the plane. For me that was cruel punishment!

Work rules are what makes the contract industry leading, not necessarily $$ per hour. The AA f/as seem to be terrified of even having trials on Pref bidding. What they don't seem to understand is the fact that they already have pref bidding, its just that the Company controls the "pref". Understaffing pay, should be 1 hr of a f/as rate of pay for every hour. Same with holding time. Until there is a "blended" pay scale, you probably won't see the trading rules change. Shame about that. More flexibility creates more in pocket money. Defined benefit-keep for current f/as, age weighted 401K for newhires.

See how much fun one can have with the contract and the "what ifs".

 

[galleyguy4u2]

Nancy, you beat me to it. You could not touch the LAX-IAD turns or the stand up's. The international back to backs were also very senior. We also had a bid package that you could bid high time or low time trips. As a commuter, I always would bid the high time trips and have my month done in 9 or 12 days with 85+ hours.

I could care less about long l/o's been there done that. I wanted to get my time in as fast as possible and if I wanted to go somewhere I would do that on my own time. At CO they seem to have that choice.

Hottotrot, you work for a very good airline that knows how to treat their employees with respect. As I have said, I have traveled on CO many times since my furlough from curb side to the in flight experience has been great. CO is one of the very few airlines that still serves real free food in Y. Your f/a's come to work in regulation uniforms not just something piece meal.

As far as some of the posters on this board, don't let that bother you. It is the same people bashing someone all the time.

 

[Skymess]

Hmmm, guess I'm the only one to find it ironic that Jersey and I are being told we're miserable, old, and need to get out when we are the only ones who still get enjoyment out of the job and don't have the 'been there, done that' attitude that is prevalent throughout the posts of our detractors.

The rocket flights to south america and London may be popular and go senior, as well as the high time turns, but that doesn't exactly recommend them to the rest of us and to passengers. Customer feedback on those flights is the most negative we have. Cruise through some passenger message boards and you'll find the complaints are mostly geared toward the flights where the flight attendants have no layover or worked haggishly long duty days.

There are ways to be productive without taking away the enjoyment and benefits of being a flight attendant. The people who should leave aren't the ones who are enjoying themselves, it is those with the been there done that attitude who want to whore themselves out for more and more hours in less and less time. If you need money that badly you should find a different profession because you're not going to make it here even if you slept on the jetway.

 

[Itestwell]

If you need money that badly you should find a different profession because you're not going to make it here even if you slept on the jetway.

Exactly what upper airline management loves to hear. Beat down employee expectations until they fully accept it. Bravo, Skymess.