Are wholly owned express carriers to become one?

[jetstewus]

Does anyone have any information on this rumor?

Alot of us who are furloughed and waiting (not holding our breath) for either Mid-Atlantic to start up or for the WOs to start hiring (so we can keep our mainline seniority numbers, whatever that''s worth) have been hearing this rumor around the system.

I''ve been avoiding PSA even though they seem to be the only WO actively hiring cabin crew. I don''t care too much for PSA bases but if they are going to be merged with Piedmont and Allegheny anyway, it doesn''t really matter much.

Probably just more hot air being blown.

 

[CLIPPEDWINGS]

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On 5/11/2003 10:56:00 AM jetstewus wrote:

Does anyone have any information on this rumor?

Alot of us who are furloughed and waiting (not holding our breath) for either Mid-Atlantic to start up or for the WOs to start hiring (so we can keep our mainline seniority numbers, whatever that''s worth) have been hearing this rumor around the system.

I''ve been avoiding PSA even though they seem to be the only WO actively hiring cabin crew. I don''t care too much for PSA bases but if they are going to be merged with Piedmont and Allegheny anyway, it doesn''t really matter much.

Probably just more hot air being blown.

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Jetstewus...I am not sure of that "rumor", but this I do know. Mid Atlantic is scheduled to start training flight attendants in late August. Mid Atlantic is supposed to be operational by October. That was the last I was told. However, you know this company, things change on a dime. Hang in there. We are all in this together.

 

[jetstewus]

I hope you are right, ClippedWings! Mid-Atlantic isn't exactly my dream job, nor am I confident US is ever going to call me back to mainline. Having said that, I really like most of the folks I work with at US Airways and would like to stay in the group if possible. I think we could do a MUCH better job of treating each other with kindess and respect but after six airlines, I'm willing to put up with a few irritations in order to finally, maybe move up the seniority list and someday have a schedule and a life.

Even with the pay cuts the base hourly rates for flight attendants aren't SO bad. The staffing level cuts and reductions in vacation and sick time suck...but if I'm still around if/when we get to "negotiate" a new contract, I plan to be very involved in stopping the backward momentum our jobs are on. I'm looking forward to working toward making this a decent career again. Maybe I'm dreaming...I hope not.

Please feel free to message me if anyone hears anything about Mid-Atlantic and I'll do the same for y'all. Good luck and take it easy!

 

[Light Years]

The W/Os have merged in some ways like payroll, accounting etc... the evidence points to a full-on merger like Continental Express (Daves alma mater) especially with the jets coming. Someone on the board did point out that they may remain seperate for the delivery stage, so each airline can bring in one or two new aircraft a month, rather than a single entity recieving one or two. One reason management might want to keep them seperate is so they can pit them against each other in competition for lowest labor costs, routes etc. However, I''d think the benefits of having one of everything (HQ, training facilities, maintenance facilities, management) rather than three, and some level of standardization would outweigh that idea.

As for MidAtlantic, does anyone have information (or educated guesses) on how many aircraft MDA will initially have, how quickly a/c will be delivered? And how many F/As will they initially "hire"? There are actual MDA employees out there, so perhaps someone has some info to cheer up some of us furloughed but hopeful F/As?

 

[CLIPPEDWINGS]

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On 5/11/2003 3:18:18 PM Light Years wrote:

As for MidAtlantic, does anyone have information (or educated guesses) on how many aircraft MDA will initially have, how quickly a/c will be delivered? And how many F/As will they initially "hire"? There are actual MDA employees out there, so perhaps someone has some info to cheer up some of us furloughed but hopeful F/As?

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Light Years,
I know I myself get really frustrated over this whole US Airways thing, but there HAS to be a light at the end of the tunnel. With that said, this is what I know. There is yet to be an announced number of aircrafts off the bat. They will be the ERJ''s which seat over 70, which means they need 2 flight attendants. The CRJ''s will be in there somewhere at some time. For each aircraft (ERJ), I am told they need 12 crews, which means 24 f/a''s per aircraft. I am quite certain they will not start off with just 1 aircraft. They will put 40 f/a''s thru each class. How many classes at one time? I am not sure of that. If they start in August and plan on being up and running by Oct.... with 40 f/a''s in each 2 week class, classes for at least 6-8 weeks, I would assume this would be at least 120-160 flight attendants by Oct. . I personally feel it would be much much higher. The last 2 sentences are my guesses to the number they will start with. I know of a few MDA employees ( they are all in managment) and this is what is being said, with the exception of the number of f/a''s off the bat. Please keep in mind that MDA is still in the building process, things can and will change very rapidly. All of this could change, but let''s hope not. Keep your chin up! I will keep you posted to what I hear. Hopefully, it WILL be all fact.


There is life outside the US Airways system! This too shall pass!

 

[USAirBoyA330]

What''s truly sad about this entire MDA vs. Mainline drama is the fact that we are going to have boatloads of VOL FURLOUGH F/A''s returning in DEC and beyond. So what that means is, those F/A''s get slotted back in with their seniority thus pushing the JR mainline F/A''s over to MidAtlantic...thus re-furloughing the flight attendants that were called to MDA in the 1st place. This will be ongoing for YEARS to come. Every F/A at USAirways hired after 1989 is on "borrowed time." If every VOL FURLOUGH F/A came back today F/A''s hired in 1989 would be gone. So unless we grow some in the next year (which isn''t going to happen) I myself with 5 years FULLY expect to be pushed to MDA by December and eventually furloughed. As here DAVE is warning of further fleet reduction in September!
It''s never ending and for the JR Flight Attendant group I don''t see ANY end to this cycle. It''s just depressing and uncertain. I can only hope a miracle of some sort happens and the "free fall" somehow stabilizes.

 

[CLIPPEDWINGS]

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On 5/11/2003 5:28:15 PM USAirBoyA330 wrote:

.....DAVE is warning of further fleet reduction in September!
It''s never ending and for the JR Flight Attendant group I don''t see ANY end to this cycle. It''s just depressing and uncertain. I can only hope a miracle of some sort happens and the "free fall" somehow stabilizes.

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One more thing...I THOUGHT that the only way that Dave could reduce again is with permission from the pilots? Am I wrong on this? If I am not, I would hope to god the pilots would not send anymore of us to Dave''s slaughter house.

 

[CLIPPEDWINGS]

Usairboy...I agree with you, but many of those flight attendants will not come back. I would say half won''t come back. As for those who where hired on MDA in the first place to get shoved out by "new" invols, I don''t see that happening. Two reasons:

1) Many of those flight attendants will be on A scale at that point. making $32+ dollars an hour. MDA will only be paying them somewhere around $19 an hour at that point. That is a $13 an hour pay cut. Many will NOT go there. Plus many don''t want to work the smaller jets. It''s all about the overnights to some.

2) I believe that the total number of RJ''s coming on the property is somewhere around 400. I am not sure how many of these will be MDA''s but a huge amount will be. Let''s just say maybe 300 will be MDA''s. 300 planes at 12 f/a''s per plane, that is 3,600 flight attendants.
This is only MY guess.

My point being, that although all does look gloomy, we should have been furloughed in 2001 and here we are in 2003 and still hangin'' on. Yes, it may get us, but we''ve managed to dodge the bullet from Siegel this long. How many people can actually keep on running? Not many.

You know what else we need. New managment to build us and not keep molding us into obscurity.


There is life outside the US Airways system! This too shall pass!

 

[USAirBoyA330]

It''s a little something called Force Majeure in the contract and he will do whatever he likes. Violate now and grieve later. Also it depends on what he terms "MODEST" Fleet Reductions.
And just a note on the fact that things look gloomy....yeah they do and I know more F/A''s that are on antidepressants than you would believe. ALL BECAUSE of this crap. Heck...we are sick of having our lives yanked around wondering if we will be furloughed...displaced or God only knows what. Any Flight Attendant hired after 1997 in PIT was just kicked out.
It will be 2007 and we will be on VF#115....but whoo hoo...still hanging on to the bottom of the list and probably displaced 5-6 times with no moving expenses.

 

[PITbull]

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On 5/11/2003 5:28:15 PM USAirBoyA330 wrote:

What's truly sad about this entire MDA vs. Mainline drama is the fact that we are going to have boatloads of VOL FURLOUGH F/A's returning in DEC and beyond. So what that means is, those F/A's get slotted back in with their seniority thus pushing the JR mainline F/A's over to MidAtlantic...thus re-furloughing the flight attendants that were called to MDA in the 1st place. This will be ongoing for YEARS to come. Every F/A at USAirways hired after 1989 is on "borrowed time." If every VOL FURLOUGH F/A came back today F/A's hired in 1989 would be gone. So unless we grow some in the next year (which isn't going to happen) I myself with 5 years FULLY expect to be pushed to MDA by December and eventually furloughed. As here DAVE is warning of further fleet reduction in September!
It's never ending and for the JR Flight Attendant group I don't see ANY end to this cycle. It's just depressing and uncertain. I can only hope a miracle of some sort happens and the "free fall" somehow stabilizes.

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USAirboy,

You hit it right on. That is exactly the fate of many Invol furloughed folks as well as those junior folks that are on mainline. Eventually, they will back flow into Mid Atantic, as you well know...there is no growth in the business plan for mainline. In the meantime, many folks on mainline who are at the bottom will be bounced around for the next couple of years. I saw this way back in the summer when mangagement offered the employees jobs on Mid Atlantic in exchange for the furlough language, as if that was such a great deal to have. Its like saying....hey don't worry about losing your jobs, we just built 3 MacDonalds around the corner.

Clipppedwings,
Dave can't reduce the fleet without ALPA to give them relief, as there would have to be a "force Majeure" situation in order for the company to do this without ALPA's consent, and that would have to be another war event. So, unless Dave plans on outright violating ALPA's agreement, it can not happen just because mangement would like it to, and just to suit their ever changing plans.

 

[Light Years]

Well all we can do is hope for the best. I hope MidAtlantic kicks off soon and grows quickly... US Airways lost a lot of not only great flight attendants but wonderful people. If they initiated the training classes right now, the folks who do choose to go back will be the ones who are most committed to building a great airline out of this current mess. There are plenty of furloughed F/As, myself included, already employed, or seeking employment, with the various Express carriers and remaining positive. The only catch is trying to guess which one has the most stable future- a contract carrier with RJs, or a wholly-owned that may end up as part of a single-entity all jet subsidiary. There are hundreds of furloughees who just want to be back in the air working towards the future.

Best of luck to all.

 

[CLIPPEDWINGS]

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On 5/11/2003 11:15:43 PM Light Years wrote:

Well all we can do is hope for the best. I hope MidAtlantic kicks off soon and grows quickly... US Airways lost a lot of not only great flight attendants but wonderful people. If they initiated the training classes right now, the folks who do choose to go back will be the ones who are most committed to building a great airline out of this current mess. There are plenty of furloughed F/As, myself included, already employed, or seeking employment, with the various Express carriers and remaining positive. The only catch is trying to guess which one has the most stable future- a contract carrier with RJs, or a wholly-owned that may end up as part of a single-entity all jet subsidiary. There are hundreds of furloughees who just want to be back in the air working towards the future.

Best of luck to all.
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Light Years, I like your attitude. Yes, we all get down and PO''D at this sucky management. We need the people like you to come back and get rid of these bitter ones that have been around WAY TOO LONG.

Hope to see you back on line soon.

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