US Announces Resignation of EVP, Operations Al Crellin

[SKY HIGH]

As for the ques about PHL, hopefully one of the folks up there will answer.

SKY HIGH states: here's a potential PROBLEM for XMAS!!

ARTICLE: http://www.projo.com/news/content/Goop18_1...NV.3f8fea1.html

USE: http://www.bugmenot.com/
to get a username and password for the article:

Passengers, particularly leisure travelers, are not complying with the highly specific new regulations, which stipulate that each passenger can only carry liquids in containers 3 ounces or smaller, and then those must be placed inside a 1-quart, see-through, sealable bag.

As a result, Transportation Security Administration officials are searching four times as many carry-on bags as they did during the same period last year, and bag searches take time. That has led to long lines in the terminal in the morning, and to flight delays, said Green TSA Director Joseph Salter.

“The real change is more bag searches. That’s killing us,†Salter said.

Lines that were 10 to 12 minutes long on Green’s busy mornings are now taking 40 minutes or more, he said.

It’s working, slowly, but with the holiday travel season fast approaching, fear is building. And frequent travelers are starting to chafe at passengers who cause slowdowns.

“We’ve had arguments. People saying ‘hey, don’t you read the newspapers,’ †when passengers don’t know about the restrictions, Salter said.


http://www.projo.com/news/content/Goop18_1...NV.3f8fea1.html


only stating opinions

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP> SKY HIGH states: here's a potential PROBLEM for XMAS!!

Geez, you got that right.

Here come the Kettles on their holiday trip!

 

[flyingcat]

SKY HIGH states: here's a potential PROBLEM for XMAS!!

That will be a problem for the entire aviation system not just PHL. Besides Thanksgiving traffic is far more concentrated on fewer days than XMAS which is more spread out.

 

[BoeingBoy]

If US has another "Meltdown" in PHL who will you blame this time?

Personally, Piney, the same general cast of characters as last time (although a few of the names have changed. So, in order, my list.....

1 - Mother Nature. It he weather is anything like that which existed during the 2004 meltdown, look out.

2 - PHL. An airport whose infrastructure can barely handle the demands of a traditional hub/spoke operation on a good day. If #1 happens, look out.

3 - Management. Saying that "Average sick calls on August 3rd are X, so it's all those employees that called in sick" may be accurate, but only fools would pin their hopes for a successful operation on historical averages not repeating themselves.

4 - Employees. As much as it pains me to agree with "the LGA-based Captain", calling in sick when you're not shouldn't be the standard way to take time off. Note, however, that it doesn't excuse #3 - not anticipating and planning for higher sick calls over Thanksgiving/Christmas is like not anticipating the sun coming up tomorrow.

5 - Passenger volume. Not blaming the passengers, but higher volumes of passengers/baggage magnifies the negative effects of any hiccups caused by #1-4.

Somewhere in there you can throw in the TSA.

Jim

 

[PITbull]

The 2004 PHL "meldown" was due to "understaffing" in ramp. The weather turned ugly on Dec. 23 and 24th, but the company could not catch up because of the staffing shrotages created from furloughs, retirements and terminations. The weather only exacerbated an already tight situation. PIT was downsized substantially as a connecting HUB in Oct. 2004. The sick calls that occur around the holidays are historical, and occur in every airline with every group. It occured with CEO Wolfe in Dec. 2001 when they instituted a furlough of 2,100 f/as Dec. 2, 2001. Approx. 168 flights had to be cancelled due to crew shortages.

In 2004, U was unprepared for the increase traffic in PHL being the only connecting HUB on the East Coast. Glass was alerted in OCt 2004, that there was a spike in f/as leaving the company and retiring and was management prepared. Catering staffing was short and another e-mail went out by the VP of inflight alerting crews early in December that they may have to go off the a/c and get ice and some supplies because of this shortage. Another employee correspondence went out on Dec. 26 via theHUB by the inflight manager offering vacation flyback to f/as. Contractually, they need to offer this one month in advance of the month in order for f/as to sign of for vacation flyback.

Those are only some of the e-mails that the DOT received in their possession adding to the evidence that the company was not prepared for the increase in traffic during the xmas holiday 2004.

The company was much better prepared last xmas. If PHL has any problems with bags and staffing; again it will be the lack of AWA managment's understanding and skill in dealing with inclement weather, all the dynamics of an East coast operation and staffing correctly.

 

[BoeingBoy]

The TSA is the unknown quantiy here IMO.

Well, I'd say the TSA and Mother Nature are both unknown quantities - at least very far in advance. In 2004 management gave incentives for showing up for work over Thanksgiving and everything went pretty smoothly, so my presumption is they thought they had it made for Christmas. But the weather cooperated over Thanksgiving while Christmas was a completely different story.

Remember the Christmas 2004 Comair computer "meltdown" that caused their problems? Here's what the DOT IG had to say about that:

"Comair’s problems were a function of severe weather and failure of its computer system used to schedule its crews. The system shut down after it reached its monthly transaction limit because of thousands of schedule changes due to the weather."

Luckily, I was off and watched the events unfold. That weather system extended from the east coast to the midwest and caused havoc.

Jim

 

[PITbull]

And interestingly enough everyone of them wore CHOAS ribbons.

Interestingly, meaning what?

 

[BoeingBoy]

They were to a person outraged. And interestingly enough everyone of them wore CHOAS ribbons.

Ah, but outrage & CHAOS ribbons didn't keep them from working their flight....

Could some of the extra sick calls that specific holiday been caused by unhappiness at the way negotiations were heading? Certainly. Was the number of sick calls greater than what management should have been anticipating based on historical evidence? Not according to the DOT IG.

Jim

 

[Nebucanezzar]

There is your key Jim, the sons of bitchs at CCY lied. Pure and simple.

The ONLY one who stood tall was Ms Thompson in the face of all of that treachery.

During the 04' meltdown, I was sitting in ORD waiting for a de-ice truck. (the only one working) We waited at the gate for 3 hours before finally cancelling.

The next morning, the same people that were on my flight the night before had been re-booked Thanksgiving day.

This was a major oversight of labor, equipment and provisioning that cost the company many thousands of dollars. All I could muster was the "deer in the headlights" look on my face when I told them there was only one de-ice truck and not enough glycol/manpower to go around...thus their holiday turkey would be a bit delayed because of poor leadership.

 

[LD3]

In 2004 management gave incentives for showing up for work over Thanksgiving and everything went pretty smoothly, so my presumption is they thought they had it made for Christmas.

I hate to say it, but this sticks in my gut like a knife...everyone knew when they signed up for this gig that this is a customer service oriented business..I hope for everyones sake that god forbid if you or a loved one gets seriously sick and needs medical attention on a holiday, the doctors or nurses came to work even though they did not get a freakin ipod or a turkey dinner on the company!!!! I would like to see in the union contract where the company is required to give out incentives to work on a holiday, not holiday pay but incentives....This is both a management and labor issue, they both screwed up..

 

[D M G]

If US has another "Meltdown" in PHL who will you blame this time?

1. The person whose job it has been for the past 10 months to ensure proper staffing and equipment at PHL. Note that "proper staffing" also means competent. Also note that the above hasn't been accomplished.

2. Boeingboy's list looks good from here on out, no need to repeat.

 

[diogenes]

It's too soon to know the meaning of Al's departure.

He may be jumping ship at an opportune time, or perhaps he was pushed.

If he was pushed, was it for personal reasons (Parker had enough of his attitude) or does it mean Parker figured out the troops were right in loathing the man, and this signals better labor relations ahead? Or a third possibility, it's a pr job designed to make employees think things will get better, as they actually get worse (the "just-call-me-Dave" move).

Time will tell.

Any way you slice it, it is not a bad thing for Al to be gone.

Now I hope Parker gets rid of 'Al think' (it's all about me, and oh by the way, I love hatchet work!) and Al's sychophants.

 

[PA18]

Personally, Piney, the same general cast of characters as last time (although a few of the names have changed. So, in order, my list.....


4 - Employees. As much as it pains me to agree with "the LGA-based Captain", calling in sick when you're not shouldn't be the standard way to take time off. Note, however, that it doesn't excuse #3 - not anticipating and planning for higher sick calls over Thanksgiving/Christmas is like not anticipating the sun coming up tomorrow.

Jim

Jim,

I would add to your accurate list the ridiculous "use it or lose it" sick policy for pilots.

It seems every time management comes up with a new sick policy that they think will screw the pilots, it comes back and bites the former right in the hiney.

Remember the 5-hour pay penalty for a sick call (which could not be flown back)? Then that policy quietly went away. Was it because management had a sudden change of heart? Yeah, right...

The only exception to the 5-hour pay docking was if the the sick call claim was for 51% or more of the pilot's line value for the month. So, needless to say, every pilot's cold lasted two-and-a-half weeks.

Now, a pilot has 60 sick hours per year. If they are not used, they cannot be rolled over into succeeding years. So it's use it, or it's gone forever.(Rather like that foolish 'spoiled grapefruit' theory that airline managements use to justify selling the last empty seat on a flight for $19, even though it costs $100 in resources to transport that passenger from A to B.)

So a pilot who is conscientious and doesn't call in sick arbitrarily, and/or who is careful to preserve sick time during the year in case he or she does become ill, is now faced with the prospect of using the sick time up before New Year's Eve, or losing it.

Of course, management will tell you that you can roll over that sick time; as in the plaintive CBS message last holiday season. But it can only be rolled over into a pilot's long-term sick account. And, it is valued at a much lower hourly rate than standard sick time.

So as we head into the finally month of the year -- which, coincidentally, contains the two biggest holidays of the year -- a pilot is faced with using up that sick time, or once again giving something else back to a management that has already taken away the pilot's pay, benefits, vacation days, lifestyle, pension, and dignity.

Is it right for that pilot to call in sick when he or she isn't?

Of course not.

But considering all of the other things that have been stolen from him or her by a series of inept, corrupt managements -- or given away by a weak-kneed union -- is it human nature to call in sick, as opposed to once again giving something else back to management?

Absolutely.

 

[BoeingBoy]

PA18,

I probably should have added a few words when I wrote "shouldn't be the standard way to take time off." Those words would be "but it's understandable."

Jim

 

[Justaramper]

This joker was behind NOT allowing the agents more then 20 swap's PER QUARTER!!!

Actually it was never AC that was behind the 20 swaps per quarter.

It's the current VP of Labor Relations that was/is the one who doesn't like "swapping"

His thought has been this and yes I know it's not a popular one.

1. 2 days off a week
2. Up to 4 weeks of vacation
3. Able to "comp" holidays
4. 20 swaps "off per 90 days
5. Can work "doubles"
6. How much more time does an employee need...?

Don't kill the messenger, I'm just giving you his thoughts from many years of conversation with him.