A New Round Of Mid-atlantic Classes...

[kid5mule]

I have been on the 170 quite a few times, and from a passenger point of view it is a very nice aircraft. And I agree it does not rate "express" on the side, after all remember the F-100 and the BAC's, they were about the same size. Whether the E-170 is a long term aircraft or not remains to be seen. Embrier has brought a product to market that the airlines have asked for in price and capacity, everything is a compromise in business, are they a long term aircraft or disposable?
With the reduction in turbo-prop flying, both in the Piedmont operation and also with contact carriers, more 170/190 aircraft might make sense. Crystal city will cut costs, even if it means reducing the "big" fleet in the long run. And more of us will be at a lower pay scale or "downsized" to match the business plan. <_<

[post="228678"][/post]​

MOD NOTE: WAS THERE A MESSAGE HERE???

 

[Air conditioned]

also..the express is to come off the A/C by Feb.....that is what the FAA says..can anyone tell me if they have heard any of this to be actually true??

[post="228453"][/post]​

That would be a good move. Passengers seem so turned off by the words "Express". What was the reason for why they might be taking that off? Did he say? I guess MidAtlantic really is the "new" mainline?

 

[GroundedBoricua]

Does anyone have an inside pitch on when the first class will start. I'm still trying to evaluate to see if I sign up or not. I'm going to wait until the last minute to send my fax.

 

[westcoastflyer]

It is my understanding that US Airways is operating the Embraer 170's on the Mainline operating certificate, so the FAA says they must take the Express off of the airplanes. FAA probably thinks it is confusing and deceitful. It should add some prestige to the aircraft, which is well deserved. MDA is mostly smoke and mirrors; it's Express when they want it to be (for wages, workrules, etc.) and a division of Mainline at other times when it suits their needs.

 

[WestCoastGuy]

FAA probably thinks it is confusing and deceitful. MDA is mostly smoke and mirrors; it's Express when they want it to be (for wages, workrules, etc.) and a division of Mainline at other times when it suits their needs.

[post="229219"][/post]​

USair Exec's confusing and deceitful????? OMG. Im sure Al Crellin will get to the bottom of this immediately....... <_<

 

[OldGuyinPA]

Crellin isn't worth the time....It's amazing he still has his job after what's gone on in some cities......

Oh well...Board of Directors..go ahead and pay him more and make him boss..It doesn't matter anymore. The end is near.

 

[DCAflyer]

Does anyone have an inside pitch on when the first class will start. I'm still trying to evaluate to see if I sign up or not. I'm going to wait until the last minute to send my fax.

[post="229216"][/post]​

The letter states that the first class will be in January. Exact date I cannot tell you.

 

[Art at ISP]

With the reduction in turbo-prop flying, both in the Piedmont operation and also with contact carriers, more 170/190 aircraft might make sense. Crystal city will cut costs, even if it means reducing the "big" fleet in the long run. And more of us will be at a lower pay scale or "downsized" to match the business plan. <_<

[post="228678"][/post]​

Now I have heard rumors that PDT has been looking to obtain MORE Dash 8-300's on the used market, and even perhaps 300Q's. Perhaps they are looking to replace the -100's which are getting old.

By the same token I had also heard that the original plan had LGA all jet by February.

So the story keeps changing--all I know is I would LOVE to see jets at ISP. When AE left we went from RJ's to 1900's to BOS--and they are ALL FULL.

My best to you all...

 

[xoxo]

The classes that were scheduled for Dec. are now in Jan..do not know exact date..probably some time around the 10th..but, all of those f/a must go to DC. So, we will see how many will not show up again. MAA is losing f/a's because of the bases being shrunk down. If you want to have a block DC is the place to be. DC is going to be the new PHL and junior f/a's will have a block. So, if ya do not live in any of the 3 bases..my guess is DC is the one to be able to commute to work because of having a block. My guess is in a few months it will all shift again. I will not chase a base down for a block. But, that is just me. I will stay put.. and just ride it out.

 

[Twicebaked]

If you have a deadheading crew on a full 170, that's one or two more fare-paying passengers which must be refused boarding.


They would be denied anyway....deadheading crews do not ride jumpseat. Not many will sit on an uncomfortable jumpseat when they contractually are entitled to a real seat.

 

[Air conditioned]

I heard the next training class for MAA is January 10. I think there will be 40 in there. The deadline for bidding for the next round of recall classes is today at noon. It will be interesting to see how many return.

Here's a question...if for some reason the mainline should start to recall again, will the flight attendants at MAA be contacted to go or will they only contact those that passed up MAA? Also, if the contract proposal passes at mainline, which contract is better? Would many flight attendants even leave MAA to return to the mainline?
Just curious.

 

[Light Years]

In a recall situation all furloughees are contacted, regardless of whether or not they are active in the division. However, MAA people would probably get back online alot quicker as they would not have to go through any training at all, except a quick base orientation on the contract. They are current on all aircraft (there won't even be a need for MAA recurrent until March/April) and operational procedures as they are, technically, active mainline F/As already. A furloughee would have to go back to training.

The mainline contract is undoubtedly better than the Mid one, cuts and all. There are some benefits to the MAA one like better flexibility for blockholders and longer call-out times for reserves, but the work rules and pay at mainline is still leaps and bounds ahead, particularly the higher up the pay scale.

If the opprtunity arose, I think people would be surprised at how many people STAY at MAA. Most of them have blocks, which they'd never have at mainline. Alot of them say that the extra few bucks isn't worth the drama of mainline- the attitudes, the displacements, the reserve, the constant worry of furlough. The nice thing about MAA is that everyone who is there wants to be there, everyone has been through the same, and are pretty much the same seniority. It's smaller and growing (or attempting to), so there are more opportunities for seniority and career growth. There's a family feeling there, they fly a great aircraft, and people are very professional. My friend told me she'd rather have her block, her friends, and her "baby" (the 170) than deal with the emotional torture of mainline again. She said she can go to Aruba or London on her off day whenever she pleases.

 

[flyguy121]

In a recall situation all furloughees are contacted, regardless of whether or not they are active in the division. However, MAA people would probably get back online alot quicker as they would not have to go through any training at all, except a quick base orientation on the contract. They are current on all aircraft (there won't even be a need for MAA recurrent until March/April) and operational procedures as they are, technically, active mainline F/As already. A furloughee would have to go back to training.

I may be wrong about this, so feel free to correct me if I am, but when I was reading the Language of the MAA agreement, I was of the understanding that a MAA F/A would not be permitted to leave for Mainline Recall until his/her Replacement were trained and on the line flying. If this is true, wouldn't it be possible for Involuntary Furloughed F/A's go go through a quick Requal Training (which I believe is only 3 days) and be on the Line a lot quicker?

Just a thought, and maybe I'm completely wrong about this...

 

[Light Years]

I do remember that, something to do with operational neccessity and such, but I think that was resolved when they ironed out the flow through/flow back etc. The union was not happy about the company trying to freeze people at MAA in an effort to play with seniority (eg keep a 99 person at MAA and bring the 01 person to mainline to save a couple bucks).

Training for a furloughed mainliner for MAA, unless they were from the last furloughed group would be five or six days- requal for mainline, recurrent for mainline, and Embraer. Then wait for background check and IDs. The more recent MAA classes have taken a bit longer because many of them were from the first batch of furloughees who had thier uniforms taken (thankfully MAA is not like the ghetto Express carriers, you need your uniform to fly) plus pretty much all of them needed requal as they had been on furlough a lot longer.

 

[DCAflyer]

I do remember that, something to do with operational neccessity and such, but I think that was resolved when they ironed out the flow through/flow back etc. The union was not happy about the company trying to freeze people at MAA in an effort to play with seniority (eg keep a 99 person at MAA and bring the 01 person to mainline to save a couple bucks).

Training for a furloughed mainliner for MAA, unless they were from the last furloughed group would be five or six days- requal for mainline, recurrent for mainline, and Embraer. Then wait for background check and IDs. The more recent MAA classes have taken a bit longer because many of them were from the first batch of furloughees who had thier uniforms taken (thankfully MAA is not like the ghetto Express carriers, you need your uniform to fly) plus pretty much all of them needed requal as they had been on furlough a lot longer.

[post="229688"][/post]​

What's the story with the uniforms? Does the company still have them or know where they are? Since it's been more than three years for the initial batch of furloughs (the "terminated probationaries") I wonder how many uniforms are still going to fit! Also, why so long for the background and ID routine? Can't the company get the background check rolling once they assign a class so it's all done... the company can just space poz the trainees well ahead of time to wherever they need to be fingerprinted. It doesn't seem like it would take more than a week to get an ID replaced for 40 people.