Mec Stands Up To Management

[elixir]

320, thanks for the reply...while it may not be perfect, I consider it a win just to close the door on the "outsourced"190...see ya

 

[USA320Pilot]

Elixir -- I agree.

Another win for the pilot group is that the Transition Agreement states, "America West will not hire new pilots if pilots on the US Airways seniority list remain on furlough, provided that America West may hire a new pilot if all pilots on furlough have been offered recall to US Airways or have been offered positions by America West in the order of seniority. Available positions at America West will be offered to furloughed US Airways pilots under the recall prvosions contained in Section 23, paragraph I of the US Airways - ALPA collective bargaining agreement, except that active MDA pilots with recall rights to US Airways will continue to be subject to the applicable freeze/hold provisions of LOA 91, Attachement B "Recall to US Airways". A furloughed US Airways pilot who declines a position as an America West pilot retains the right to be offered the next position offered and also retains the right to be recalled to US Airways in accordance with his US Airways seniority. A US Airways pilot who accepts a position at America West will not be required to serve a probation period and will retain, accrue, and be entitled to use his combined longevity at both carriers for all purposes including but no limited to pay, (excluding furlouhged pay, which will be calculated based on time at America West only), benefits, vacation accrual, and eligibility towards pension contributions and healhg and welfare participation," among other points.

Meanwhile, in regard to EMB flying, if ALPA wins the EMB-170 grievance then it will be very interesting to see what happens to the US Airways - Republic deal. The bankruptcy court has agreed to the sale of MDA and it's part of the confirmed plan, but every MDA pilot and the MDA contract must go to Republic if ALPA wins the agreement or the deal cannot proceed.

In my opinion, you will see EMB-190s replace some of the B737 flying, but the Airbus new aircraft delivery term sheet, mainline minimum fleet count (for B737, B757, B767, A330, and A320 aircraft and larger aircraft), significant US Airways pilot retirements with the average Captain age approaching 56, the average first officer age approaching 53, and the average pilot age approaching 55; coupled with the mandatory age 60 retirement age, significant long-term disability attrition rate, and America West hiring US Airways furloughees, should cause the recall of US Airways pilots in the not-to-distant future (after the last 10 B737s currently scheduled for removal from service occurs in Jan. and Feb. 2006), sometime in 2006.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[BoeingBoy]

Meanwhile, in regard to EMB flying, if ALPA wins the EMB-170 grievance then it will be very interesting to see what happens to the US Airways - Republic deal. The bankruptcy court has agreed to the sale of MDA and it's part of the confirmed plan, but every MDA pilot and the MDA contract must go to Republic if ALPA wins the agreement or the deal cannot proceed.

[post="303146"][/post]​

Interesting indeed.....

The 3 aircraft that Republic is flying now belong to them.

The 10 aircraft that US "owned" are now the property of Republic, with US leasing them from Republic until they are turned over. By the time the arbitrator rules, 6 of these could be in Republic's hands.

So 13 of the 28 airplanes are out of US' control.

Only the 15 aircraft that US leased from GE are in an in limbo since the agreement doesn't specify when the leases are transferred to Republic - US could still be leasing them from GE or subleasing them from Republic.

I could certainly be wrong, but if ALPA wins the grievence I can't see Republic saying "Well, gee, here's your airplanes back". Then there's GE. With all the pressure to adopt LOA 91 (GE was so nervous and wanted to diversify their risk), would they want their 15 airplanes transferred to Republic to or would they be content with those airplanes being leased to US?

Republic did agree to abide by US/ALPA contracts, however, so probably the best that could be expected if ALPA wins is that they would abide by the "Change in Control" language of LOA 91. I certainly wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for the deal with Republic to fall through and all 28 airplanes return to US.

Jim

 

[USA320Pilot]

BeongBoy:

All of your points are valid and have been thoroughly discussed by the ALPA MEC and its Advisors, none the less, it will be interesting to watch this unfold.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[USA320Pilot]

America West, US Airways Pilots Move To Secure 190 Flying

ARLINGTON (Aviation Daily) - Pilots at America West and US Airways are close to finalizing a deal to ensure any Embraer 190s the merged carrier opts to buy will be part of a mainline fleet, which ensures that flying won ’t be contracted our to Express carriers partnering with the new airline.

Terms and pay rates for the 190 flying are outlined in a transition agreement that pilots of both airlines reached with their respective managements. Flying of the 94-to-106-seat aircraft will only be done by US Airways, America West or both carriers while the airlines work to combine their flights under one operating certificate. Pilots at US Airways have to approve the Embraer 190 portion of the agreement, and ALPA’s US Airways Master Executive Council sent out the terms for an expedited vote with its “strong endorsement.â€

Ratification of terms for 190 flying essentially means that current US Airways Express partner Chautauqua Airlines won’t be flying those planes for the merged carrier. Earlier this month, the regional carrier ’s pilots approved changes in its Jets-For-Jobs agreement that boost the number of planes it flies for US Airways from 32 to 80,with the possibility of 25 of those planes being 190s (DAILY,Sept.6).

If the 190s become a staple in the merged airline’s fleet, pilot groups at other mainline airlines are likely to craft deals to make sure they can reserve the right to fly the planes. Last summer, Northwest pilots rejected a proposal by management to outsource 72 70-seat planes (DAILY,July 30,2004).

In terms of pay for the 190 flying, the hourly rate listed in the agreement for a 12-year pilot flying a 190 for America West or US Airways is $98.58 per hour for a captain. First officers at the 12-year level will make $61.11. Those pilots will make more than their JetBlue peers, according to AIR, Inc. The Atlanta-based company estimates 12-year JetBlue captains on the Embraer 190 will make $89 an hour, while first officers
will log about $53 an hour. Clearly, no pilot at JetBlue has logged 12 years of service but five-year rates for JetBlue’s 190 captains are $77 an hour, while first officers will make $46 an hour.

Although the capacity of the 190 brushes up against the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family, pay rates are generally established by aircraft weight. The maximum takeoff weight of the 190 is 105,358 pounds for the standard version versus about 149,000 pounds for the A318.At US Airways, AIR Inc. lists 12-year captains for the A320 family making $124.88 an hour, while first officers earn $85.29 an hour. America West has a flat rate for its 1,900 pilots.

Twelve-year captains earn $133.67 an hour while first officers are paid $88.22.

There are proposals in the letter of agreement to change collective bargaining agreements at America West and US Airways to allow for a maximum of 93 88-seat planes with a cap on maximum takeoff weight of 90,000 pounds. Currently, the only carrier flying planes with similar stats is America West partner Mesa Air, which flies 37 86-seat CRJ-900s.

 

[USA320Pilot]

US Airways free to expand 90-seat or under fleet

See Story

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[robbedagain]

that sounds pretty good. Is the EMB-190 onorder and are they same size as say the F-100 and the DC-9-32?

 

[BoeingBoy]

Is the EMB-190 onorder and are they same size as say the F-100 and the DC-9-32?

[post="303231"][/post]​

Short answer - not that's been made public yet and roughly yes, in that order.

Long answer......

As I understand it, we still have orders for the Emb-170 which could presumably be converted to the Emb-190. However, we have no delivery positions or deposits for delivery positions - that went away with the Embraer Agreement early this year. So it'd be like starting from scratch with new orders.

The Emb-190 seats 98-106 in a single-class configuration and 94-100 in dual-class, according to Embraer's web-site. Range is given as 2300 miles, though that is usually based on standard day and normal fuel reserves by manufacturers.

Jim

 

[ItsNotThatSerious]

Ummm I dont think Republic has paid for those 10 planes yet. Thats my and lot of other peopls understanding. Boeing boy is this not the case? I keep hearing that no money has changed hands that means the 10 planes are still ours.

 

[A320 Driver]

I'm not so sure about all this. With the company being able to outsource (again) the flying on this capacity aircraft, I can't understand why they would buy them if they can get the flying done without putting out the money. I may be wrong but it seems like another example of winning the battle and losing the war. It's possible that we were baited into these nice payrates for an aircraft we'll never own. Company gets the best of both worlds...90 seat aircraft and a transition agreement with the pilot group.

We'll see.

A320 Driver B)

 

[BoeingBoy]

Ummm I dont think Republic has paid for those 10 planes yet. Thats my and lot of other peopls understanding. Boeing boy is this not the case? I keep hearing that no money has changed hands that means the 10 planes are still ours.

[post="303238"][/post]​

I really have no idea if money has changed hands yet or not, though I expect it will before the arbitrator rules sometime in mid-November.

The 1st 3 planes didn't involve money changing hands (at least between US & Republic).

For the 10 flying at MDA that are "owned", I sorta suspect that US will want their money when they hand them over if not before. The agreement calls for the sale of all ten at the consummation of the agreement with US leasing them back until they're turned over at the rate of 3 per month.

And, of course, the 15 leased from GE won't entail money changing hands either, just the leases.

At the very least, Republic is talking like the deal is complete. This is from a press release that came out the day the judge approved the deal:

"These are the first of 28 Embraer 170 aircraft that Republic will acquire and operate under the US Airways Express brand."

And from a Republic SEC filing:

"Republic Airline, Inc. (“Airlineâ€￾), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (the “Companyâ€￾), entered into a fixed-fee Jet Service Agreement with US Airways, Inc. (“Airwaysâ€￾) as of September 2, 2005 (the “Agreementâ€￾). The term of the Agreement commenced on September 4, 2005, and subject to certain termination rights provided in the Agreement, will end on September 4, 2015. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Airline will operate for Airways 28 EMB 170 aircraft. Three of these aircraft have been acquired by the Company and the remaining aircraft will be acquired by the Company from, or on behalf of, Airways pursuant to the terms of the previously disclosed Investment Agreement dated as of March 15, 2005 among Airways, the Company, US Airways Group, Inc. and Wexford Capital LLC."

Jim

 

[USA320Pilot]

There is good reason to believe that US Airways and Embraer have reached an agreement on an EMB-190 order, however, it probably will not be announced until after the company emerges from bankruptcy. Obviously the aircraft is on the radar screen or it would not have been such an emphasis item during Transition Agreement discussions.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[fr8tmastr]

I agree with 320 I believe they have reached an agreement also. I came to this opinion by weighing the amount of effort the MEC VC is putting into making sure all at MDA especially ex CEL guys are gone. The only time these guys will fight for a pilot is when the pilot is at the same senioity level as himself. Junior guys, forget it, your toast.

Great leadership guys! A fine example of Unionism.

 

[Capt Morgan]

There is good reason to believe that US Airways and Embraer have reached an agreement on an EMB-190 order, however, it probably will not be announced until after the company emerges from bankruptcy. Obviously the aircraft is on the radar screen or it would not have been such an emphasis item during Transition Agreement discussions.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

[post="303275"][/post]​

Just curious, what is the "good reason to believe"? Any facts? Just speculation? If so, reasons for speculation?

 

[ItsNotThatSerious]

I really have no idea if money has changed hands yet or not, though I expect it will before the arbitrator rules sometime in mid-November.

The 1st 3 planes didn't involve money changing hands (at least between US & Republic).

For the 10 flying at MDA that are "owned", I sorta suspect that US will want their money when they hand them over if not before. The agreement calls for the sale of all ten at the consummation of the agreement with US leasing them back until they're turned over at the rate of 3 per month.

And, of course, the 15 leased from GE won't entail money changing hands either, just the leases.

At the very least, Republic is talking like the deal is complete. This is from a press release that came out the day the judge approved the deal:

"These are the first of 28 Embraer 170 aircraft that Republic will acquire and operate under the US Airways Express brand."

And from a Republic SEC filing:

"Republic Airline, Inc. (“Airlineâ€￾), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (the “Companyâ€￾), entered into a fixed-fee Jet Service Agreement with US Airways, Inc. (“Airwaysâ€￾) as of September 2, 2005 (the “Agreementâ€￾). The term of the Agreement commenced on September 4, 2005, and subject to certain termination rights provided in the Agreement, will end on September 4, 2015. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Airline will operate for Airways 28 EMB 170 aircraft. Three of these aircraft have been acquired by the Company and the remaining aircraft will be acquired by the Company from, or on behalf of, Airways pursuant to the terms of the previously disclosed Investment Agreement dated as of March 15, 2005 among Airways, the Company, US Airways Group, Inc. and Wexford Capital LLC."

Jim

[post="303251"][/post]​

Thanks Jim.