They are having NO TROUBLE whatsoever getting people to go back to MAA, and not very many have left. There are hundreds of furloughed mainline folks who bid for it but have yet to recieve a class date.
Why would they go back? Why wouldn't they? My friend has a block with 18 days off, plenty of time for her other job, and will have Thanksgiving and Christmas off. She works hard, but she picks the trips she wants and enjoys them. She says the crews are much better to fly with, because if they are there they really want to be there. There is no attitude about seniority because everyone is around the same seniority. The plane is a dream to work and she flies most trips with another friend of ours.
She works longer days for less hours, and brings home a bit less than at mainline. But she no longer has to pay for commuting to another base or worry about being on reserve, and gets the time off that she wants.
It might not be the ideal situation for everyone, but for alot it seems to be. And yes, there are F/As with families, single moms and everything else. These folks only had a two or three year career at mainline US Airways, where they sat on reserve making nothing and worried about being furloughed most of the time there. For the same pay give or take (there is no limit on hours flown as long as it's legal) and a block resulting in a better quality of life, with chance of huge growth, it's not hard to see the appeal.
It's not feasible for someone on A scale who is used to a higher level of pay and lifestyle, and that's what mgmt knows... the more senior the MAA offer goes, the less will bite. They have at MAA an in-house alter-ego airline using more junior, more willing, more positive, more cooperative, lower paid, and just as if not more qualified than thier senior counterparts who sold them out. The MAA F/As have nowhere to go but up. Offer them a JetBlue contract and they'd happily work the whole airline for you. Is it a good thing? No, but it was the remaining mainline folks who approved it and said it was OK (as in OK for a junior puke, but gosh, not for them!) What on earth were the F/As thinking when they agreed to let the company bring back mainline F/As at commuter contracts to fly 70 seaters (which become 116 seaters later in the family?) Especially at a short-haul, primarily 100 seater airline? Hello... dropped the ball on THAT one.
It's pretty much a case of you can't miss what you never had, and what wasn't protected for you.
MDA is on the US certificate as of now, and I don't know about thier fragementation rights. I do know they now have thier own AFA representation seperate from the mainline. The E170 is the hot new toy to have and US/MDA has more of them than any airline on the globe (less than five have them at all), along with fully trained pilots and flight attendants. Since they all came from US or a W/O, they make up what has to be the most experienced "regional" airline there is. It's no secret that the F/As there have a great reputation for professionalism and service, from both the company and the customers. My friend also said there's a much greater "team spirit" there than at mainline (pilots helping F/As clean planes, everyone working for quick turns,crews hanging out together, friendly with customer service and ramp co-workers etc). I don't doubt that the MDA planes, and thier crews would be the first thing to be snapped up. How many E170 pilots/F/As/trainers/mechanics are there in the world? NOt to mention ones with narrowbody and widebody experience? Not alot, and about 90% of them are at the "division." Those folks have not much to lose, and a whole lot to gain if Airways survives, and possibly if it doesn't.
Why would they go back? From what I figure they are situated in the best position in the whole company.
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