AC and regional flying?

[MrElm]

This caught my eye:

"ACPA has a litany of complaints over management’s “extreme” changes envisaged for subcontracting regional flying and outsourcing the planned discount leisure airline, possibly based offshore."

From:
Air Canada pilot union calls for strike vote - Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-in ... nt=2331978


Anyone have any thoughts as to whether this is a good or bad news for us?

[hithere]

Bad- new flying will probably go to SR

[Lateralus]

Bad- new flying will probably go to SR

You have been reading too much of the doom and gloom predictions on the ALPA web board. Right now there is no way to tell. We could end up with more flying or we could end up with less and this will hopefully finally give our management a kick in the nuts and see that they need to find more flying outside of the CPA.

Try to stay positive, I don't know about the rest of you but am getting sick and tired of all the doom and gloom mentality around this place, I don't even bother staying in the crew room more than I have to anymore cause its just constant bitching. It is tiring listening and reading the same few people predicting the apocalypse all the time.

Jazz has the potential to be so much more and do so much more we just need the right people leading the ship. But guys seriously what is the point of being so negative all the time? Like the song goes "always look on the bright side of life".

[Mig29]

Bad- new flying will probably go to SR

You have been reading too much of the doom and gloom predictions on the ALPA web board. Right now there is no way to tell. We could end up with more flying or we could end up with less and this will hopefully finally give our management a kick in the nuts and see that they need to find more flying outside of the CPA.

Try to stay positive, I don't know about the rest of you but am getting sick and tired of all the doom and gloom mentality around this place, I don't even bother staying in the crew room more than I have to anymore cause its just constant bitching. It is tiring listening and reading the same few people predicting the apocalypse all the time.

Jazz has the potential to be so much more and do so much more we just need the right people leading the ship. But guys seriously what is the point of being so negative all the time? Like the song goes "always look on the bright side of life".

Right on my friend!! I'm with you on this 100% !

[MrElm]

Mig29 and Lateralus

It is truly refreshing to see some positive attitudes in the company for once.

[AA150730]

Being one of the old guys from/at TimeAirCanadianRegionalJazzAir, I must agree it is great to read of others who are just plain tired of all the gloom and doom coming from the same small minded, loud mouthed group. I read this board on occasion but refuse to go on the ALPA board at all. Its always the same B.S. and its always the how bad the management is.
Just remember how surprised we all were waking up one morning last April to find out we were to operate '57,s!
Would be nice to hear from more people that feel this way!!

[Buzz Lightyear]

I'm new to the company (less than 1 year) and I have already heard so much...everyone has their opinion on the future of Jazz from the most pessimistic to the most optimistic.

If you look not so far back the Dash 8 was the biggest aircraft in the fleet and most of the guys came from the 1900. Today it's the smallest one and we keep flying further and further away. I have a pretty good feeling about what lays ahead for us because we've proven that we can fly outside our main expertise and comfort zone safely. We have so much combined experience within the pilot group that we could do any type of flying easily...and AC knows that. They just want to divide and conquer to get the best price possible and they'll probably manage to do it. But they also need to rely on a solid operation to have their plans up and running smoothly as fast as possible.

So let's stay positive and let's keep on showing every day that we can do the job, from landing in a nasty crosswind in YGR to operate a 757 down south. I guess we'll really know who had it right within the next year...

Happy flying!

B.

[Canoehead]

If you look not so far back the Dash 8 was the biggest aircraft in the fleet and most of the guys came from the 1900.

While I agree with most of your post, this part confused me.
Back in the late 80's the BA-146 and F28 fleets entered service with the respective regional carriers that now are known as Jazz.
Air Alliance, and then Air Nova (via merger) operated a relatively small (five I believe) fleet of 1900's.

Regardless, it's not just the size of aircraft that matters.

[Buzz Lightyear]

You are right, I stand corrected. I was thinking of Air Alliance.

[Zip Tie]

I like this positive attitude.

[yycflyguy]

AC mainline had around 34 flight cancellations this past weekend mostly due to crew requirements.

How much extra flying has Jazz picked up over the past month or two?
Have your block DMM's jumped lately?
Is there more "open flying" and are guys on reserve busier than normal?

Any input appreciated.

[Canoehead]

None.
No.
No.

[Mig29]

Next month there is NO reserve coverage for F/Os on the one of the a/c types.....probably due to many F/O's leaving to AC/WJ etc.....

[Inverted2]

I had a Jazz flight cancelled recently because they coundn't get another crewmember.

[yycflyguy]

How bout now?

More reserve call outs? Higher block months? Open flying? Covering obvious mainline flight?

[teacher]

Nope, not that I know of outside of the usual flying. We're short staffed though hence the hiring.

[cj555]

Nope, not that I know of outside of the usual flying. We're short staffed though hence the hiring.

I must say, it is very nice to read a post about the airline industry in canada that says "we're short staffed, and hiring..." Don't hear that too often. I hope it lasts!

[teacher]

Well now we're short staffed and no longer hiring. Might start again soon.

[cj555]

Well now we're short staffed and no longer hiring. Might start again soon.

Ahh yes, as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Thats more along the lines of what I'm used to hearing. "We're short staffed, and not hiring."

[BE20 Driver]

If memory serves me correctly, they did the same thing last year (and the year before?). Hiring was commenced again in September once the training department caught up and they knew how many pilots were needed in light of the August equipment bid. I have had several friends get caught in the middle of the hiring process when the music stopped. They all went to the front of the line when it started again.

[teacher]

The August bid may have some shifting of planes, bases and or positions so maybe they're waiting to get that organized before continuing courses. Who knows. Either way the music hasn't stopped, it's just on pause.

[BE20 Driver]

I'm curious. How often do planes get shifted between bases? Do you anticipate that happening or is that just wild rumour in advance of the Westjet Regional?

[cv990]

Not really wild rumor..it is necessary to understand how our flying is structured. Under a capacity purchase agreement, like we have with Air Canada, we supply aircraft and crew, and Air Canada determines where these aircraft are deployed. Periodically throughout the year, AC may switch some flying around... tweaks the flying is probably a better way to put it. Usually takes the form of moving a certain amount of hours from here and adding some hours to there..or something along those lines. When this happens, we have a company wide equipment bid...so Joe Pilot wants to fly an RJ out of Calgary but is currently a Dash 8 driver out of Toronto: maybe there are a few more positions opened up due to the tweaking of the flying hours in Calgary..so if his seniority can hold it, Joe Pilot will get his RJ spot in Calgary during the equipment bid. Or not..it all depends. These equipment bids usually happen twice a year..once in the summer and once in the winter..the results are not usually too drastic. Usually 5 or 6 positions here and there are moved around, sometimes more sometimes less. Generally when the music stops, most all pilots are at the base they want flying the equipment they want.. mostly.

Once those spots are filled, then any vacancies left over are filled by newhires. Nobody knows how the equipment bid in August is going to look like until Air Canada gives out the base hours and that wont happen for a while. Any other info is pure speculation.

Westjet Regional won't be up and running until next spring at the earliest and we will have two equipment bids between now and then.. perhaps in the spring Air Canada will shift some flying around in reaction to that, or not...who knows. But this summers equipment bid is just business as usual and has no correlation whatever to Westjet Regional.

[Mig29]

Cv990,

you said it best! It's been like this for years, and I can see why Jazz on hold for the summer. We hired 80 from the forecast 100 pilots (including upcoming May g/s) which is not so bad at all, and considering that Thomas Cook is gone, and that AC gives us the winter hour blocks later in the summer/fall, I would be cautious and pause for few months.

Having said that, the nice news is that Jazz is getting it's 16th Q400 (for the summer only) from Sky Regional to ramp up it's services. This is not a rumor any more, it's happening.

[Franky Jr]

Really?
They are going to borrow Jazz a plane for the summer so Jazz can use it like a rental and return it?
Kinda nice kinda whatever