Flight Attendant Recalls In 2005

[flydcoop]

Jim,

IMA had some pretty crappy layovers on Carribean before the RPA...10 hours, I believe.

Deep South DEFINITELY suffered after the RPA. It became "the RIO turn" instead of an entire crew of gay men headed to GIG to enjoy 20+ hours of Brazil. That was the "fabulous" flight when I was an agent.

JFK and BOS-I suffered the LHR "turn" for quite a bit.

At the same time, IDF/IMA/IOR have very specific European and/or Asian routes with the same layover times. I believe RDU-I still has 25 hours in LGW...that must be the easiest bid-sheet in the system...LOL! Do they have AVBL in RDU?

I think "8 behind the door" should be the standard...it's humane. I know, I'm preaching to the choir (except the FAA).

For guys it's a bit easier, no makeup. Like I wear it...LOL! I do actually, you just can't tell. If I didn't I would look like a wraith or Little Orphan Annie! I have to wake up a minimum of 1-1/2 hours before pickup time.

Tim, waiting for a van is fairly common on DOM. I avoid DEN like the plague for this reason.

The short layover is a nightmare (if you have that much time to sleep) for pickup times and distance from DEN. DEN apparently subscribes to the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) principle. No, I think it's more like the BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) principle in this case.

The SEA short layover is another to avoid, especially if you arrive late at night. You are fighting with 3-5 other crews to get on a van (which can be VERY nasty) or make a VERY long walk to the hotel.

You get to the hotel and spend another 15 minutes trying to find your room and, unless you know to crumble up your warm cookie on the floor en route from the elevator (so you can find your way back at o'dark hundred!), you should plan a 10-15 minute cushion for the AM as well. The short SEA layover is a complicated property.

For INTL, the minimum should be 11 hours...you go through customs/immigrations fer crying out loud.

Tim, I find it interesting that you expect to be off RSV on IDF in 5 years (19 years seniority for you). ORD DOM just hit 19 years on RSV recently! What's DFW's RSV seniority these days? I think the whole enchilada is about to get VERY interesting!

Coop

SLT

Coop, to be fair, there ain't all that many 20+hr layovers left in International either. I was talking to an IMA f/a--long story involving van from Breckenridge to Denver last winter--she was on her way to work a Buenos Aires trip. That used to be one of the premier layovers in the entire system. She told me it is now 12 hours on the ground! Get in at something like 0700, depart to return to MIA at 2000. Ugly.

 

[FA Mikey]

Coop, to be fair, there ain't all that many 20+hr layovers left in International either. I was talking to an IMA f/a--long story involving van from Breckenridge to Denver last winter--she was on her way to work a Buenos Aires trip. That used to be one of the premier layovers in the entire system. She told me it is now 12 hours on the ground! Get in at something like 0700, depart to return to MIA at 2000. Ugly.

[post="281134"][/post]​

Not really to the people based here and who fly it. Takes 32 plus years to hold that crappie EZE, GIG and GRU. The people I hear complain are the ones who cannot hold it. I don't know anyone who bids it who is complaining. If they are, should I take serious someone who knowingly bids a super senior trip and then complains about it?

Its to the point I cannot even buy one. They just don't open up, and the ones that do are snapped up in a second.

 

[kirkpatrick]

Hey, that beats being a lot loader.... But I do have to admit that I miss my apron & loading mulch and Pavestone by the pallet at Store 587.

[post="281318"][/post]​

587? 1218 here. You musta been in gardening. Although I work in Kitchens and Baths, I'm sent out to gardening every now and then when they can't find anyone with a forklift license.

MK

 

[kirkpatrick]

I've always coveted one of those arnge aperns.

[post="281347"][/post]​

The aisles are wider, but people are still people.

MK

 

[kirkpatrick]

Takes 32 plus years to hold that crappie EZE, GIG and GRU.

[post="281404"][/post]​

I remember dreading my first morning LHR back in the 707 days. How could anyone enjoy flying when you got to the hotel at 2200 and had a 1430 crew call the next day? I quickly discovered a new routine. Get in, have a bite to eat and a couple of beers, stay up as late as possible reading and watching the telly, then sleep until the phone rang. You don't see anything, but two on four off was still a nice change from three on three off.

I wouldn't want to see all the flights like that, but it's nice to have a mix.

MK

 

[Corinth2103]

"Tim, I find it interesting that you expect to be off RSV on IDF in 5 years (19 years seniority for you). ORD DOM just hit 19 years on RSV recently! What's DFW's RSV seniority these days? I think the whole enchilada is about to get VERY interesting!"



The 5 year comment is a rough "guesstimate"...the RSV list at IDF varies but as of late, it's been sitting at about the 7000+ threshold. That's about 18-19 yrs seniority but of course it changes all the time. The back up list goes beyond 20 yrs so that might be a more realistic view. Either way, I know I have to pay my dues for a while.

Tim

 

[jimntx]

Just heard from my mole in Center Port. If Wright Amendment is repealed, not only will there be no recalls this year, there will probably be layoffs. Arpey said at a management meeting that repeal of the Wright Amendment will threaten AA's survival. DFW is the major money-making hub these days.

Mole said that there would have to be so many junior flight attendants furloughed that reserve might go above 25 years!

Just passing along the rumors, don't you know.

When things look blackest, I'm always there with the voice of doom to cheer you all down.

 

[FWAAA]

Just heard from my mole in Center Port. If Wright Amendment is repealed, not only will there be no recalls this year, there will probably be layoffs. Arpey said at a management meeting that repeal of the Wright Amendment will threaten AA's survival. DFW is the major money-making hub these days.

Mole said that there would have to be so many junior flight attendants furloughed that reserve might go above 25 years!

Just passing along the rumors, don't you know.

When things look blackest, I'm always there with the voice of doom to cheer you all down.

[post="281842"][/post]​

God - the whining from Arpey about this is reaching new highs.

Funny how AA's position on low-fare competition is usually that it stimulates demand for new flights, except, of course, from Dallas.

Layoffs? I thought the new duplicate hub at DAL would require more FAs, not fewer.

 

[eolesen]

I thought the new duplicate hub at DAL would require more FAs, not fewer.

[post="281848"][/post]​

Not necessarily. As I understand it, this won't be like the F100 operation, where DFW was untouched. Adding flights at DAL this time won't be incremental flying -- it will require taking flights out of other markets.

In a worst case domino effect scenario, it's entirely possible that there'd be layoffs...

* Assuming there's no stimulation of new traffic, adding flights from DAL to LAX, ORD, LGA, DCA, etc. will directly dilute the number of people flying from DFW to those same markets.

* That in turn means that some of those trips become unprofitable, and would therefore be dropped at some point.

* Start dropping trips in the business markets, and you indirectly impact every other market operated at DFW, which eventually results in dropping frequencies, which means fewer flight attendants.

Again, I think that's a doomsday scenario more than anything else. Somewhere in between doomsday and net zero are probably where this will wind up. It's also possible that we could be stimulating new traffic, but that's way too optimistic of a possibility for me to believe.

 

[flydcoop]

Tim,

That's still pretty amazing that IDF and ORD are about the same for RSV.

I'd rather fly INTL (knowing I would be on RSV) and get more $$$ and better layovers and sequences (on most trips) than fly ORD, wondering if my RSV number was finally up the next month.

That's a junior perspective though. I'm on RSV no matter what base I go to.

Different people want different things, as we all know. Some would rather fly the crappier DOM trips and not deal with time changes and jet-lag.

DFW has been the problem-child this past week, weather-wise...and I avoided ORD this month like the plague...LOL!

One SLT S80 crew was reassigned 3 times in one day. I was supposed to hang out with my BOS roommate during her 3 hour sit in STL but she got reassigned today. The R/As are not as rampant as I was expecting for the summer, but they are happening.

I'm lucky to be on a pure 752 line (a strange qualification, not as likely to be reassigned, unless it's the 2nd day of the 3 day). We have experienced many delays though (AWTEQ, mostly).

Just some highlights from DOM for you. What about INTL?

Coop

SLT

"Tim, I find it interesting that you expect to be off RSV on IDF in 5 years (19 years seniority for you). ORD DOM just hit 19 years on RSV recently! What's DFW's RSV seniority these days? I think the whole enchilada is about to get VERY interesting!"
The 5 year comment is a rough "guesstimate"...the RSV list at IDF varies but as of late, it's been sitting at about the 7000+ threshold. That's about 18-19 yrs seniority but of course it changes all the time. The back up list goes beyond 20 yrs so that might be a more realistic view. Either way, I know I have to pay my dues for a while.

Tim

[post="281839"][/post]​

 

[Bear96]

As a side note, due to attrition, UAL is said to have almost exhausted its FA recall lists, and may need to hire off the street before the end of the year....

[post="281196"][/post]​

Here's what's happening at UA these days...

Last week (maybe it was two weeks ago now) UA officially announced that all voluntary furloughs will be recalled by November. (UA has not had any F/As on involuntary furlough for a few years now.) I have heard that only around 50% of each batch of voluntary furloughs being recalled are actually coming back, so that has created a need to hire. I think the timetable for new hires is recruiting in the fall, classes starting in the new year, and starting on the line in spring 2006.

 

[s80dude]

Here's what's happening at UA these days...

Last week (maybe it was two weeks ago now) UA officially announced that all voluntary furloughs will be recalled by November. (UA has not had any F/As on involuntary furlough for a few years now.) I have heard that only around 50% of each batch of voluntary furloughs being recalled are actually coming back, so that has created a need to hire. I think the timetable for new hires is recruiting in the fall, classes starting in the new year, and starting on the line in spring 2006.

[post="282558"][/post]​

Just had a UA f/a on leave on a recent flight into Houston. She had 17 years, but hasn't worked in 3. She doesn't plan to return and said the decision is a hard one, but she just doesn't want to work for UA under those conditions.

 

[Garfield1966]

Just had a UA f/a on leave on a recent flight into Houston. She had 17 years, but hasn't worked in 3. She doesn't plan to return and said the decision is a hard one, but she just doesn't want to work for UA under those conditions.

[post="283348"][/post]​

She has not worked in 3 years and it's a hard decision? That's funny.

 

[ArtTang]

Attrition numbers are out for June: 105 total including 35 retirements. Out of these retirements, 29 flight attendants have over 20 years seniority.

Art Tang
IMA

 

[jimntx]

She has not worked in 3 years and it's a hard decision? That's funny.

[post="283418"][/post]​

Not really, Gar. A friend of mine is in training at Alaska airlines right now. His roommate just left UAL after 17 years to train with Alaska. When my friend asked him why, he said the year before UAL went into bankruptcy he was a lineholder and made $48,000 that year. With all the BK concessions he made $34,000 last year flying the same number of hours and was back having to serve reserve on and off.

Everybody has a point at which they say, No More!

P.S. You don't know enough about the personal situation of the flight attendant mentioned in the earlier post to comment on whether it's funny or not. For all you know, she may be married to a Texas oilman and flew just for the fun of it.