It just keeps getting better and better

[jersey777]

I fly an average of 130 hours a month..........and I have to say over 95% of my flights operates without any mechanical problems.
And pretty much on time. Maybe am just lucky.

Same here. I haven't had a mechanical in months and I have 136 hrs this month.

 

[boston]

I fly an average of 130 hours a month..........and I have to say over 95% of my flights operates without any mechanical problems.
And pretty much on time. Maybe am just lucky.

Same here, 117 hrs this month. The only thing this month was A/C out of service for across the pond, new A/C asap, and a few things to be done on it and we were off.

 

[jimntx]

I fly an average of 130 hours a month..........and I have to say over 95% of my flights operates without any mechanical problems.
And pretty much on time. Maybe am just lucky.

Of course your experience is the only experience that counts and is the standard for a/c maintenance issues. FYI, I ended up the month of November with 94+ hours, over 5 of those hours were directly related to maintenance delays. I picked up almost 10 hours on delays in September. I was on reserve in Oct so it didn't matter much to me.

 

[eolesen]

Of course your experience is the only experience that counts and is the standard for a/c maintenance issues.

Are you actually suggesting that yours counts for more and should be the standard?...

I only flew four segments in November, two of which were on Eagle. One was delayed for a mechanical, therefore 50% of Eagle's flights were delayed...

 

[1AA]

Don't worry, Eulen America is taking over at AA. They do security, wheelchairs, transportation and soon they will do Passenger service, ramp and A/C maintenance. Word has it that a very influential person at the top of the AMR ladder and has a very well vested interest. It's just a matter of time. They even undercut Worldwide services another AMR company. Keep this thread open and soon we will have more to complain about the quality of service.

http://www.eulenamerica.us/

 

[jimntx]

Are you actually suggesting that yours counts for more and should be the standard?...

I only flew four segments in November, two of which were on Eagle. One was delayed for a mechanical, therefore 50% of Eagle's flights were delayed...

No, I did not say that. I was just pointing out that not all of us seem to have his/her luck. I doubt you would find many f/as who fly the S80 predominately say that their month is always maintenance delay free.

And, there is a point at which it doesn't matter whether it's MEL or not. If you dispatch a full 757 with only 1 working lav in coach (as I have had to work recently), you are going to lose passengers for future trips. They harp constantly on the theme that 60% of our revenue comes from 20% of our passengers. Yet, I worked a S80 not long ago where we had to put 2 F/C passengers in coach because 4E and 4F were completely covered in a cobweb of duct tape with a hand-lettered sign that said "Do Not Use." (And, the log entry that the seats were broken was over 2 weeks old.) Now, doesn't that say world-class airline to you?

P.S. You know as well as I do that 4 segments is an inconsequential number statistically. I believe the correct term is anecdotal evidence. Try flying as many segments as I do in a month, and see if you have the same experience with MX delays.

 

[aapitbull]

No, I did not say that. I was just pointing out that not all of us seem to have his/her luck. I doubt you would find many f/as who fly the S80 predominately say that their month is always maintenance delay free.

And, there is a point at which it doesn't matter whether it's MEL or not. If you dispatch a full 757 with only 1 working lav in coach (as I have had to work recently), you are going to lose passengers for future trips. They harp constantly on the theme that 60% of our revenue comes from 20% of our passengers. Yet, I worked a S80 not long ago where we had to put 2 F/C passengers in coach because 4E and 4F were completely covered in a cobweb of duct tape with a hand-lettered sign that said "Do Not Use." (And, the log entry that the seats were broken was over 2 weeks old.) Now, doesn't that say world-class airline to you?P.S. You know as well as I do that 4 segments is an inconsequential number statistically. I believe the correct term is anecdotal evidence. Try flying as many segments as I do in a month, and see if you have the same experience with MX delays.

Well now I have very little interest in getting involved in this debate but I will have to call B.S. on this one, a passenger seat is a catergory C Mel with a max time limit of 10 calender days to repair, on day eleven the airplane is grounded. To add a little clarity without going into the whole MEL,CDL NEF thing, simple speaking most maintenance deferrals fall into 3 time limits, 3 days 7days & 10 days once a placard has been issued the clock starts if you don't fix it within the time constraints the airplane is dead it does not matter what it is that needs repair.

 

[Mach85ER]

It's refreshing thst you found a Captain with cojones...most of them are all too willing to keep deferring. It goes to show you that the almighty dollar rules in the cockpit as well.

Gimme' a break AAstew. If you're a FA, you have almost zero knowledge as to exactly what we can or cannot fly with on a daily basis. There are many items that are a high profile and a pain for the FA's to deal with, but unfortunately it is a lesser of all evils situation to go ahead and take the flight. I've seen a lot of excuses for dealing with MEL items in the cockpit, considering the almighty dollar has never been one of them.

I'm sure we are in agreement in a few cases where the Captain should have said no for FA and passenger convienence items. You have my sympathy for dealing with that garbage on a 10+ hour flight. It's amazing how something that has been deferred for 10 flights suddenly gets fixed in 30 minutes when somebody finally says "no".

 

[jimntx]

Well now I have very little interest in getting involved in this debate but I will have to call B.S. on this one, a passenger seat is a catergory C Mel with a max time limit of 10 calender days to repair, on day eleven the airplane is grounded.

You may be right. I was only going on what the pilot told me. Do you expect me to call "Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!"

 

[lineguy43]

I've never tried to talk a crew into taking an airplane, only laid out the facts. I trust their Judgement to know whether they are comfortable taking it or not, with one exception, when they want me to whip something so they can go. That I will not do. Its happened, very rarely but it has happened. One guy even tried to pull rank "I'm the captain and I'm telling to to sign it off". I laughed at him, siad "If you are so high and mighty you sign it off, if you didnt write it up I never would have known about it but since you put it in the book now I do and the plane is out of service'. He was quite pissed when my manager backed me up and said your plane is out of service. Like I said, its very rare, most Crews are very sensible, and I have seen where some guys try and talk crews into taking an airplane with things they arent comfortable with, I dont think its right, even if its leagl, its their call and they can settle it with the Chief pilot.

Yep I have had that happen a couple of times in my career. Funny how a pilot will write it up then say "ah its no problem you can just sign it off" I have had a few words with some capts who have done that. I said no now you will wait because you have put the ball in my court and put my licence on the line and I will not sign it off until I do a functional check per the AMM. On the flip side I have seen capts refuse an MEL that is perfectly legal and I never try to talk them into taking it. It is their right to refuse if they wish. Some things are even in their contract such as autopilots APU or auto pressurization all of which they could refuse with no questioning from pilot management.

 

[aapitbull]

You may be right. I was only going on what the pilot told me. Do you expect me to call "Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!"

No I don't expect you to call anyone a liar and I am not trying to make excuses for some of the garbage flying around out there, sinply pointing out there are rules about how long something can be on placard. I will admit that alot of us in maintenance are getting tired of getting kicked in the teeth by this company and that has an effect on the amount of placards on the aircraft.

P.S. we have a crew who's job it is to work off placards but on the next bid the company did away with it.

 

[jimntx]

Next Chapter...New York couple sues AA for broken seats. (Business class, NY-Paris)

story here

aapitbull: Am I supposed to be surprised that the company did away with a bid group whose responsibility was to work placarded items? That just reinforces what we are talking about here. I don't blame you guys at all. Remember, I trust my life to you every working day. That wasn't the point of the thread. We all know that the company insists that everything and anything be placarded as long as possible. If they could jumpstart a dead engine by towing (the way we did cars in the 50's and 60's), you would see souped up tugs capable of doing it, (or a clutch installed that the captain could pop when the rest of us got out and pushed).

 

[jersey777]

I have to say I see their point. If I paid that much money and didn't receive what I paid for I would want a refund. I'm sure AA brushed them off with a voucher or something and only then did they sue. The only skepticism I have is that I find it hard to believe 2 seats that they both had were broken. I fly IFS all the time and I must say that the business class seat on the 767 has not broken often. I am sure there is much more to this story that would make the case whether these people have a case or not.

 

[eolesen]

Are you serious, Jersey?... More to the story?... Please. They're from NYC, the entitlement capitol of the world.

I had a broken seat in J on Iberia once. Best they could offer was a refund on the difference between coach and business. What makes these two entitled to more than the cost of their tickets? Pain and suffering? Please. They've probably never flown Iberia. That would show them what pain and suffering is...

 

[jersey777]

Are you serious, Jersey?... More to the story?... Please. They're from NYC, the entitlement capitol of the world.

I had a broken seat in J on Iberia once. Best they could offer was a refund on the difference between coach and business. What makes these two entitled to more than the cost of their tickets? Pain and suffering? Please. They've probably never flown Iberia. That would show them what pain and suffering is...

Believe me I know there is a sense of entitlement...and it is not just in NYC. My point is that sometimes...not usually...people sue to prove a point. They are not asking for 1.2 million dollars or anything. My suspicion is that they were jerked around at the last minute with the same type of offer that you got on Iberia....I have had it happen on my flights before...the whole get down graded and we'll pay you the difference stuff. Things do break but AA and other businesses have to release that they are in the customer service industry and not just the transportation business. When people have high expectations and spend a lot of money then don't get what they expect then sometimes it might cost a company money to make things right AND you might get people ticked off enough that you get sued for something like this when it could be resolved. I'm sure in the scheme of things, AA gets sued for much much more frivolous stuff.