New Call Sign

[wopr21]

Really everyone, what difference does the call sign make ?

It does not make a difference what we say as a callsign. True..

What matters is being forced to act the same on the outside and then being treated with discrimination on the inside.

This company will not be "one" until management starts acting like one company and treats everyone as equals.

There will always be division among us as long as the company forces it upon us.

wopr21

 

[Bobbie]

Cactus's I'm at home practicing now.

In my casual listening to Air Traffic Control, particularly on Channel 9 on United, I heard my fair share of "United's" "Continental's" and "American's"... I think it sounds cool using it as a possessive...it's also grammatically correct, although I'm not sure what laws govern that kind of communication.

 

[exB717Flyer]

In my casual listening to Air Traffic Control, particularly on Channel 9 on United, I heard my fair share of "United's" "Continental's" and "American's"... I think it sounds cool using it as a possessive...it's also grammatically correct, although I'm not sure what laws govern that kind of communication.

To me it sounds like fingernails on a blackboard. Grammar is irrelevlent; if the callsign doesn't end with an 's' there shouldn't be one pronounced. Strict adherence to proper phraseology is paramount to safe operation in the ATC environment. Many pilots are very sloppy in their radio procedures and it makes ATC request extra clarification which clogs the frequency. Adding the extraneous 's' is sloppy and incorrect.

Sorry for the rant but this is one of my pet peeves.

Another is pilots who respond "on the hold" instead of "position and hold".
And who start their transmision with "and".

 

[767jetz]

I'm a Westie and I personally don't care about the callsign. I don't think it was an issue for any of us until the company made a big deal about it and then the East pilots made a big deal out of it. There are 3 significant things about this decision however:

1) The company is living up to it's word. I know what a foreign concept that is for some. This decision was made 3 years ago;

2) The call sign decision was made SPECIFICALLY to remind all those out East that the US Airways name was kept solely for marketing purposes. I don't subscribe to the "we bought you" rhetoric (neither did Nicolau BTW). We all work for a different company than we came from.

3) Ed Bular finally admitted that it's not a safety issue (egg on his face).

That pretty much sums it up. I for one will be happy to be hearing one call sign on the air for you guys instead of two. It really makes no difference what it is.

And to add another example, airlines like Atlas Air Cargo use different call signs all the time depending on who they are chartered out to. It's not uncommon to hear a plain white 747 being called "Giant" or an Atlas-colored plane using some other call sign. Again, it's no big deal.

 

[Bobbie]

To me it sounds like fingernails on a blackboard...

ATC communication is like a doctor's handwriting in many ways. You can complain about it all you want, but it is the way it is and no one's going to change them.

You can sit around all day and write your signature over and over again, practicing until it's perfect or you can write the prescription and practice medicine. Same goes for ATC. As long as the applicable parties (on both sides) understand, it's not causing any harm.

 

[rjh]

I didn't hear anything about them shuffling their flight numbers... Shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

I always thought it was stupid for US Airways flight 1 being between Phoenix and Chicago. Usually, most carriers reserve the lower numbers for their more popular international routes...

Who cares which flight numbers are used for international vs. domestic?

flight 1 was always PHX-ORD with America West. It made sense to keep it that way. When they did away with the HP code, America West flights were 1-699, and USAirways 700+. that made sense, because America West didn't have any 4-digit flight numbers.

 

[Phoenix]

..
And who start their transmision with "and".

:blink:

 

[Bobbie]

Who cares which flight numbers are used for international vs. domestic?

flight 1 was always PHX-ORD with America West. It made sense to keep it that way. When they did away with the HP code, America West flights were 1-699, and USAirways 700+. that made sense, because America West didn't have any 4-digit flight numbers.

So the US Airways folks can say "mine's bigger than yours...my flight number...it's bigger" This was actually a concession to the east.

 

[Phoenix]

...parched...

Hear! Hear!

I can't think of a better group of folks to make this decision.. I mean if it had to be made THIS way then I wouldn't want anyone else to take on the burden of being brain dead.

 

[Phoenix]

I know that you east guys are spring loaded to blame ALPA for anything and everything bad that has ever happened in the world. But calm down think through the issue.

USAPA also took the position that the call sign should be US AIR.


AI 08-15 FAA Call Sign for the Combined Carrier
Motion Stein/Westberg:

....
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the BPR endorses and recommends that the company adopt a single FAA Call Sign that complies with AC 8900.1 for both East and West Operations.

Motion passes


So does this make USAPA is ineffectual and a grandstanding blowhard against trade unionism? They took the same position and lost also.

Perhaps a lot of folks are spring loaded to blame USAPA for global warming, the smog in Beijing, and the indiscriminate bombing of baby milk factories. But USAPA didn't take sides about what the call sign should be. They said there should be one instead of two. That actually shows a maturity and understanding of appropriate engagement.

I don't know of any east pilots who care one iota about a call sign. All the complaining seems to be coming from pilots who are spring loaded to accuse others of complaining when they aren't. :unsure:

 

[rjh]

Perhaps a lot of folks are spring loaded to blame USAPA for global warming, the smog in Beijing, and the indiscriminate bombing of baby milk factories. But USAPA didn't take sides about what the call sign should be. They said there should be one instead of two. That actually shows a maturity and understanding of appropriate engagement.

I don't know of any east pilots who care one iota about a call sign. All the complaining seems to be coming from pilots who are spring loaded to accuse others of complaining when they aren't. :unsure:

A lot of the complaining seems to be coming from non-pilots; in other words, those whose jobs are not one bit affected by the call sign. They think the call sign has something to do with marketing or "branding".

 

[westcoastflyer]

Perhaps a lot of folks are spring loaded to blame USAPA for global warming, the smog in Beijing, and the indiscriminate bombing of baby milk factories. But USAPA didn't take sides about what the call sign should be. They said there should be one instead of two. That actually shows a maturity and understanding of appropriate engagement.

I don't know of any east pilots who care one iota about a call sign. All the complaining seems to be coming from pilots who are spring loaded to accuse others of complaining when they aren't. :unsure:

I think this single call sign is a positive thing, and has been a long time in coming. This Flight Operations management team has so wishy-washy and indecisive; it's about time they actually made a decision. This gives the West pilots a perceived victory, and helps keep some sense of pride. The East pilots just need to accept this gracefully, and move on. Maybe, just maybe, this could be a first small step toward cohesiveness between both pilot groups?

 

[BuffaloJoe]

A lot of the complaining seems to be coming from non-pilots; in other words, those whose jobs are not one bit affected by the call sign. They think the call sign has something to do with marketing or "branding".

Cowboys ARE NOT welcomed in the Northeast! Washington, Philadelphia, New York all hate Cowboys. Oh wait a minute, this isn't the NFL Board!

 

[Phoenix]

I think this single call sign is a positive thing, and has been a long time in coming. This Flight Operations management team has so wishy-washy and indecisive; it's about time they actually made a decision. This gives the West pilots a perceived victory, and helps keep some sense of pride. The East pilots just need to accept this gracefully, and move on. Maybe, just maybe, this could be a first small step toward cohesiveness between both pilot groups?

I haven't heard one East pilot express anything but full support for the new single callsign. I'll say it again, but the only complaints I hear are coming from people who are accusing people of complaining, despite the fact that they aren't.

I suppose that sooner or later they will get board of arguing with themselves.

 

[LD3]

ATC communication is like a doctor's handwriting in many ways. You can complain about it all you want, but it is the way it is and no one's going to change them.

You can sit around all day and write your signature over and over again, practicing until it's perfect or you can write the prescription and practice medicine. Same goes for ATC. As long as the applicable parties (on both sides) understand, it's not causing any harm.

You are right, prople wont change, but after an incident and the tapes are reviewed, terminology is one of the first things they listen to. When we work with ATC during airfield ops, all instructions are read back exactly the way the controller stated, no different.