IAM Fleet Service topic 6/21-6/27

[perserverance]

Another code share partner :

''US Airways announced this morning that it has entered into a codesharing partnership with Air China. Both are already members of the Star Alliance frequent-flier group. In a press release, US Airways says the agreement puts US Airways' "US" code on Air China service to Beijing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York JFK. US Airways will also put its code on connecting flights to Shanghai via Air China's Beijing hub.

However, US Airways says the connecting options via Beijing "are only available for bookings that include Los Angeles or San Francisco-Beijing service." The new codeshare options are available for booking beginning Wednesday. As for Air China, it will put its code on US Airways flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.''


and this means.................??
and to those of you saying that you work a bin solo per the company, I suggest you ask
your ''sup'' to put that in writing and give that to a union rep. The 1st priority though not
really promoted by management, is WORK SAFE your knees and backs are well worth it.

''The injury and illness rate per 100 full-time workers for airline workers was 13.0 percent, compared with the private sector average of 8.6''

 

[JoeDirt]

I've worked thousands of bins alone and it was usually out of respect for who I was working with. It's all in the approach. No yelling or running allowed on the ramp.
Priority one is your back.
Priority two is your partner.
Priority three your team lead.
Priority four... on time departure. I know it's sad, but true.

I agree completely. The bottom line is give me two competent people to work with and leave me alone and let me do my job. We can turn any flight we have and still have it go out on time no matter what type of A/C we are working.

 

[pit_till_death]

We are expected to work in a bin by ourselves.

One time on a quick turn- a SUP came an got on our case for not loading the front AND the back at the same time. The flight was packed full of cargo, bags, mail, etc. There were only 3 of us working the flight.

GET HIM IN THE FRONT, AND START THROWIN BAGS!! The sup screams.

Trust me, we aren't staffed for 2 people in a bin in PHX. Not on a quick turn, at least.

First of all, there is no such thing as a quick turn. If a flight needs to be turned that quickly it's because of an operational problem or scheduling.....either way, if they want a flight turned in less than 35 minutes (45 for a heavy), they better double team the flight. NO WAY should a flight be turned in 20 minutes by a 3 man team........that's just ridiculous.

You're not helping your back and knees by flipping these flights in record time and helping the company with it's on time performance. If a flight is late inbound there is a reason for it, don't kill yourself by trying to get it out on time......again WORK SAFE!

 

[cltrat]

do you guys in PHX think the company really cares or appreciates the effort you make to do that? NO! if you get hurt they will say tough sh!t and deny your workers comp or fight you like a tiger to keep you from getting it. no body in an east hub is working in less than 3 man teams
I'd like to be there post Nov. when some 20 plus yr philly guy transfers in and a SUP as you called him screams and tell him to hit the back of the 321 by himself..LOL that my friend will be a Kodak moment

seriously guys lose the ego tell the company to go F themselves their own policy says two in the bin,don't wake up in your forties hurting to move for a company that don't give a da*n about you

 

[Jester]

Mr Jester
That was a real weak load and pretty sloppy. I have done that more time than you will ever know and with a lot more than 43 bags. I was not impressed at all and it still doesn't address my original question. The bin looks like a FWD bin of a 737-300. My original question was this: How do you propose we unload an A321 with 6 to 8 thousand pounds on it and then turn around and load another 6 to 8 thousand back on with one guy in the bin? SWA whole fleet is 737 ours is not. FWIT: Most days I do 5 turns in an 8 hours day. The nature of the business we are in is we are either working wide open or doing nothing at all. The schedule dictates that for us not laziness on anyones part.

P.S. Looks like tickets to a BB gun show.

Mr. Dirt,

You continue to speak about the A321 as if that to be the dominate aircraft type in the fleet when most of us desert folk mostly deal with A319's and A320's. However, your station maybe different, so I found the actual number of aircraft type within the US Airways fleet: A319- 93, A320- 74, A321- 28, B737- 88, B757- 43
http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=c...;opp=US+Airways

The total number of mainline narrow body fleet to be 326 aircraft of which 255 to be the smaller types (A319, A320, B737) for a percentage of 78% versus 71 of the larger type aircraft (A321 and B757) for a percentage of 22% of the mainline narrow body fleet. In essence, on average someone has a 1 in 5 chance on a narrow bodied gate of working either an A321 or a B757, but you act as if this is the norm.

Before when West did not have the A321 it inherited from East, two teams would be assigned to handle a B757 in order have two people within the aft bin and one in the forward bin (assuming the magic carpet was working), while the orphan did the water, air, power, etc. More times than not, the assist team would be gone well before the push time as they were not needed once a bin was closed for additional loading. Before the loading was complete we would be down to one team and this was generally accepted and common practice. My point being is to stay flexible based upon the aircraft type and the turn time as not every gate requires two teams.

Now I do not wish to imply that people are lazy on the ramp, especially as ramper can only work when there is a plane at the gate and that's a function of management scheduling both work and flight times. However, clearly there would be some great inefficiencies if people come to work only to handle two turns in eight hours or an union demanding two people in the forward bin of either an A319/B737 or when short stacking an A320. By the way, where was that SWA kid's TWU union rep to remind him of that "unsafe" practice where he downloaded those 43 bags all by himself? My point being in offering that video clip is that is was not unsafe and as Tim put it once to paraphrase, the SWA employees aren't Supermen jumping out of phone booths. No, that kid certainly wasn't Superman, but more akin to Olive Oil.

As I said a few months ago, if I am getting some "help" in the forward bin of either an A319 or a B737, then I am assuming this to be a ramp version of Fire Island.

So Suspects Jester.

 

[pit_till_death]

do you guys in PHX think the company really cares or appreciates the effort you make to do that? NO! if you get hurt they will say tough sh!t and deny your workers comp or fight you like a tiger to keep you from getting it. no body in an east hub is working in less than 3 man teams
I'd like to be there post Nov. when some 20 plus yr philly guy transfers in and a SUP as you called him screams and tell him to hit the back of the 321 by himself..LOL that my friend will be a Kodak moment

seriously guys lose the ego tell the company to go F themselves their own policy says two in the bin,don't wake up in your forties hurting to move for a company that don't give a da*n about you

Thanks for your support rat.

 

[WHISPERJETT]

Mr. Dirt,

You continue to speak about the A321 as if that to be the dominate aircraft type in the fleet when most of us desert folk mostly deal with A319's and A320's. However, your station maybe different, so I found the actual number of aircraft type within the US Airways fleet: A319- 93, A320- 74, A321- 28, B737- 88, B757- 43
http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=c...;opp=US+Airways

The total number of mainline narrow body fleet to be 326 aircraft of which 255 to be the smaller types (A319, A320, B737) for a percentage of 78% versus 71 of the larger type aircraft (A321 and B757) for a percentage of 22% of the mainline narrow body fleet. In essence, on average someone has a 1 in 5 chance on a narrow bodied gate of working either an A321 or a B757, but you act as if this is the norm.

Before when West did not have the A321 it inherited from East, two teams would be assigned to handle a B757 in order have two people within the aft bin and one in the forward bin (assuming the magic carpet was working), while the orphan did the water, air, power, etc. More times than not, the assist team would be gone well before the push time as they were not needed once a bin was closed for additional loading. Before the loading was complete we would be down to one team and this was generally accepted and common practice. My point being is to stay flexible based upon the aircraft type and the turn time as not every gate requires two teams.

Now I do not wish to imply that people are lazy on the ramp, especially as ramper can only work when there is a plane at the gate and that's a function of management scheduling both work and flight times. However, clearly there would be some great inefficiencies if people come to work only to handle two turns in eight hours or an union demanding two people in the forward bin of either an A319/B737 or when short stacking an A320. By the way, where was that SWA kid's TWU union rep to remind him of that "unsafe" practice where he downloaded those 43 bags all by himself? My point being in offering that video clip is that is was not unsafe and as Tim put it once to paraphrase, the SWA employees aren't Supermen jumping out of phone booths. No, that kid certainly wasn't Superman, but more akin to Olive Oil.

As I said a few months ago, if I am getting some "help" in the forward bin of either an A319 or a B737, then I am assuming this to be a ramp version of Fire Island.

So Suspects Jester.

oops wrong reply

 

[cltrat]

Jester,if there are 28 321's I'd say we are seeing most of them in CLT 321's are almost always used on LAX SFO and SEA flts and 8 to 12 thousand lbs are common weights for them there are other stations getting at least one 321 flight per day as well

 

[WHISPERJETT]

No, it's just the way it has been done for years in PHX. Two people in the front bin of a 737 would lead to raised eyebrows, shaking heads and serious questions about one's juevos, or lack thereof. There would be talk in the breakroom and it would not be flattering.

Just like the EAST wisdom told you to vote no on the pos t/a.....we are now telling you to stop the heroics...save your back and knees...work safe and SMART,,,unlike you ,I'd rather save my "juevos" for something other than loading airplanes..if you know what I mean......WE(east) do'nt want to tell ya" I told you so ".again....lol

 

[Hey.. Chill Out]

Chill
I'm assuming that a Sup is a Shift Mgr and not a ramp lead. That kind of behavior would not be tolerated in the station I work from either a lead or manager. If it was even attempted there is no way the flight would go out on time. Screaming is not taken to very well from anybody.

Right! You guys are like a family out there, I am so envious of that!

People in PHX think they can yell at each other like this is the military. It's a joke.

Now that we're USAIR, I might refuse to load that back bin by myself on a quick-turn and get a union guy involved if needed.

I have to agree with CLTRAT- the company just doesn't care about us. In PHX, they will fill out some self-fulfilling report to keep their bacon out of the frying pan.

 

[roabilly]

Joe Dirt,

If the ramp ever becomes more efficient, then see into your future...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRzx3PM76ok

Single person in the forward B737 bin, 43 bags download in just over 2 minutes.

And Tim, that SWA kid doesn't look like any Superman to me, even when he tries to sell his tickets to the gun show at the end.

So Reviews Jester.

Mr. Jester…

A post such as this, coming from a man of your linguistic prowess absolutely amazes me!

You are bound to know the operational logistics differences between Southwest and US. The whole intangible concession premise, which you are currently touting, is beyond ludicrous!

In my experience… the next generation of Airline Employee will not work like we have in the past…nor… as we currently do at the present! We have witnessed this phenomenon over… and over again… as new hire’s come and go here in CLT like they are in a turnstile.

A good example of experienced, dedicated employees would be O-Man…or Dirt… these two are some of our hardest workers here in CLT… and I will guarantee you when they leave this Company…you will be hard pressed to replace them with the same caliber of employee at today’s compensation package enticements.

And… since we talkin’ GUNS ‘n calibers…check this here out…this is whut real GUNS is about! Screw that wimpy sh** ! Yeehhhh… Haaaaa !!

http://www.dillonaero.com/videos.html

 

[Jester]

Just like the EAST wisdom told you to vote no on the pos t/a.....we are now telling you to stop the heroics...save your back and knees...work safe and SMART,,,unlike you ,I'd rather save my "juevos" for something other than loading airplanes..if you know what I mean......WE(east) do'nt want to tell ya" I told you so ".again....lol

I'm sorry... what did you tell me? That I wouldn't enjoy my sizable raise and another sizable raise in a few months? Oh, you mentioned, furloughs, right? That's right and the West contract prevented furloughs? Oh wait... no, it didn't. Just ask CMH.

Company stock under $2.50/share and you think this would have been a good time to push for more wage increases? I am so glad I got it when we did along with some time on the contract.

So Corrects Jester.

 

[roabilly]

Rat...

Like yer new avatar! Wish I drew it!

 

[pit_till_death]

I'm sorry... what did you tell me? That I wouldn't enjoy my sizable raise and another sizable raise in a few months? Oh, you mentioned, furloughs, right? That's right and the West contract prevented furloughs? Oh wait... no, it didn't. Just ask CMH.

Company stock under $2.50/share and you think this would have been a good time to push for more wage increases? I am so glad I got it when we did along with some time on the contract.

So Corrects Jester.

That's it Jasper,

Enjoy that industry WORST contract extension you VOTED in. Be proud that you work in one of the heaviests stations and make less than all of the other airline rampers that are doing the same work as you and making more money. You and your longwinded rhetoricals are a joke......perhaps THAT'S why you call yourself Jester.

 

[Jester]

That's it Jasper,

Enjoy that industry WORST contract extension you VOTED in. Be proud that you work in one of the heaviests stations and make less than all of the other airline rampers that are doing the same work as you and making more money. You and your longwinded rhetoricals are a joke......perhaps THAT'S why you call yourself Jester.

No, here's the joke... ready? I would be making under $11/hour for the next five years if the Nihilist Directions team had their way and would be waiting for a raise while the company eyes an expiring East fleet service agreement while they are experiencing a cash crunch.

PitDeath, you might want to enroll in a community college basic finance class and you can learn the Time Value of Money concept when you are lecturing the West about how they should have continued to wait for a pay raise they may never receive many years later. West rightfully took the money and ran (not to mention more years on the contract) instead of waiting for some Great Pumpkin promise which never materialized like the CIC promise. In terms of what other airline rampers make: 1) refer back to my comment on Time Value of Money, 2) When US turns as many flights in 8 hours as do the boys at SWA, then I'll get back with you about being under paid.

So Rebukes Jester.