I did too before the bucket system. I flew trips back to back day after day. I was called all times of the day. I still went. It wasn't a problem. I was even in the transatlantic division and I got those dreaded midnight phone calls. I did go to the airport for those 2 am departures even though it was snowing like crazy and I was scared to drive in the snow and couldn't see. I did it because I was at least somewhat rested. You see, my flights in the ITD didn't leave until 8pm. I never had to worry about being quickcalled early in the morning or late at night or anything like that. Yes, scheduling could call me at 6am but my flight didn't leave until 8pm. I had time to rest. I even had to fly three transatlantic trips back to back at times. It was brutal but I did it.
But like in ITD was not what it was in my side of the wall, the side where most people worked. Great for y'all.. it was easy to plan your days. Now you're living like the rest of us lived, on the edge, on "active reserve" for 24-6, then getting flown into your days off and having SKED trying to dick you out of getting those days back. Still, I say, nothing has changed (expect apparently for you former ITD folks who had the luxury of knowing that flights left in the 2000 hour and having to deal with the occasional irreg ops. For the rest of us, we were activly on call with a 90 minute callout. What you have yet to explain is, if you don't fly for a week, why are you not rested? Why are you any better than anybody else who gets called in the middle of the night? Why are you so special that you get to schluff the trip off on somebody, perhaps someone with more time than you? You see, the flight has to go out and somebody has to work it. And contrary to what you seem to be saying, life does not revolve around flightchik. You are no better or no worse than every other reserve, and graveyard shift phone calls go with the territory. And if you were fired because you were "fatigued" after not flying for a week, you'd be hard-pressed to convince any arbitrator that you were justified for your refusal to fly.
No I'm not.
Yes, you are!
Yes it has. See my comment above. Like I said in an earlier post, taking a late night flt to BUF doesn't compare to FCO. It just doesn't.
It has for you because you worked ITD, so you were, for the most part, protected from what the rest of us were doing based on the schedule of a division where all of the flights went out in the same hour. Believe it or not, most flight attendants wanted that wall down. So, I will ask what you would do if you were scheduling in this scenario... a mechanical forces the PHL-ATH a six-hour delay... the entire crew goes illegal. Now, there are two options, cancel the flights or recrew and take of at 0330. Are you telling me that the company to cancel the flights with a terminal full of already delayed PAXs because crewmembers don't like to get up in the middle of the night? (And it's not just one flight being cancelled, it's two and now involves repositioning the crew that is already in ATH.)
But you complained about getting a call in the middle of the night when you were tired... I got those calls too, nothing has changed... if that was a criteria for scheduling to use, nobody would get early a.m. calls, but that is not the way this industry works.
So you're telling me scheduling calls you to go to Rome or Athens at 12am? Do you like that? Do you think it is right? How do you feel when you work those trips?
I'm not upset about the rapist. I came in late at night and left very early before sunrise a few times over the last two weeks and I just remained vigilent and told my roommates I was coming. I didn't work myself up over that. We were laughing because he probably works at the airport on the ramp.
Well, you brought up the rapist, not me!
I flew then too. I worked the first flight to MAD and we also were understaffed with 6 f/as with a full service and a full plane. Remember the days when we had menus, hot towels, head sets, bev. service, push pull with wine and water offered with food, coffee service, then duty free, then water/oj services, then arrival with full meals and beverage service, and then forms. Then in Envoy we had that wonderful service with only two f/as in the front when we truly needed three for the type of service we used to do. We were all trying to help each other the whole time and the pax were scared and we flew over NYC and could see all the smoke. Everyone was upset.
Sounds like we were both busy doing our jobs.
When I was with US Airways before those stupid buckets, ITD was a separate division. Therefore, no late night transatlantic quick calls unless you were in the division. If you were in it, you knew your flight was going to leave in the evening so there was not a problem with being called out at any time of day or night. You knew you could sleep in if you wanted to or take a nap in the afternoon. With us being on call 24 hours a day with flights that leave at all times of the day or night, then it is totally different. Like I said before, flying to Europe at 2am is nothing like flying to BUF or even to LAS in the middle of the night. I got calls like that when I did domestic in the very beginning before the LTO system and I did it, but they were short flights. It's not the same. You've never experienced it so I don't think you will ever understand although you are trying to.
It sounds like you were lucky to be in that division. Most, if not all, other major airlines have demolished the wall. Now you know what the rest of us have had to put up with... it ain't pretty but it's your job. And calling out fatigued because you chose to interrupt your own rest to check your position is not fair on the next person in line. Somebody's going to work the flight and waving your arms and saying this isn't fair (when it is the job you were hired to do... be a reserve flight attendant) is only working you up into a frenzy. It's the job you signed on to do, at all hours of all days you are on a reserve block. Again, I strongly believe there should be 12-hour duty blocks (actually I believe there should be three 8-hour duty blocks but I know that's hoping for waaayyyy too much). We're on the same page there. I just don't see how you justify pawning off your responsibility when your number comes up to fly. You don't seem to realize that somebody else is going to have to do what should be your job.
Some of you may agree with me and some of you may not agree with me as far as the late night transatlantic quick calls. That is fine either way. I know how I feel about the situation and I am going to do what is right for me.
"Me! Me! Me!... It's all about Me"
With that being said, let's not discuss this any further. Instead, let's get back to the topic of the thread. So, what do you all think about them recalling more f/as?
You were the one who steered the topic in this direction.
I wonder how many will actually show up this next round. If I've been here 8 years and am only making $1200 a month then there is no way some of these people can survive on making $18 dollars an hour. Yikes! I bet many will quit very soon. It's too bad because we are no longer the airline where we were originally hired.
Agreed!
