I think expanding beyond NW is definitely feasable. Mesaba holdings is free to do what they want with their money, the holdings group isn't what is bound to contracts with NW... Mesaba Airlines is. So, in other words Mesaba Airlines could not pursue airlink agreements with United using the Saabs or Avros. In general, everyone at the company and within the pilot group think that expanding outside NW is a great idea... as long as they do it with Mesaba Airlines employees. After all, we are the ones that made concessions and had jobs cut from our departments to make the company tons and tons of cash in the last 4-5 years. Now should they take all that money and invest it into another certificate and then set up shop with another group of employees, that's where the problems lies... a la Freedom Air at Mesa.
As far as the whole story. You people are all intelligent professionals right? Read the press releases and think about it.
Here is some info. Northwest is Mesaba's only customer. Mesaba has fixed costs with NW which includes being paid by completion factor and ASMs. The fact that business and demand in the midwest is soft, is a mother load of you know what. Ummm... if demand for our product is in a decrease and is soft, then why is the other airlink affiliate growing exponentially? If demand is so soft, why the hell are saabs being replaced with CRJs? THEY HAVE MORE SEATS!!! Curious I think, as NW is Pinnacles only customer as well. Not to mention Pinnacle pilots aren't in contract negotiations. Oh, but when they were a few years ago they were losing flying left and right... just like we are now. But this has nothing to do with our contract being in negotiations does it? NOOOOOOOO. Yea right.
The press releases compared Mesaba's cost cutting plan to that of US, UA and AA. HELLO??? You can't compare these companies to Mesaba, especially since Mesaba is MAKING MONEY!!
Isn't it curious that the pilots are the only work group feeling the affects from this cost cutting? Hmmm... a certain CEO recently received a 36% raise to bring him in line with industry standards. Well then, that's all we as pilots are asking for.
That's another thing... all the press releases convieniently mention that our contract negotiations have entered mediation. What the heck does that have to do with anything if this isn't the company demonstrating their power as the "company" against us as pilots? They also mention that the union rejected the companies final offer for a contract. Hmmm... they don't tell you that the final offer was present contract including other concessions in addition to getting it into arbitration court. And why in our right minds would we agree to that? Especially when other counterpart airlines have "expensive contracts" and are growing in huge percenages (ACA, Skywest, Air Wisc, Comair) HELLO?? Did you know that AIr Wisconcin had so much demand recently to work there they've raised their minimums after receiving 13,000 applications ina very short time? Foley makes a big deal about us being the best pilots in the industry providing the best service (ontime and completion factor) in the industry along with our colleagues at the gates and on the ramp and calls us World Class. He also wants to retain and attract the best people in the industry. But doesn't want to cough up to pay them. OHHHHH! and there is the bonus program in place. When Mesaba meets and exceeds the completion factor and A14 goals NW kicks in a very substantial bonus, to the tune one recent quarter of $4 million. EVERY SINGLE employee in the company is eligable for this, it breaks down to $300 gross per person. Oh, except the pilots of course. The clerks in the general offices get bonus checks for the company meeting its ontime goals, but the pilots don't, when we control 99% of that. Then there are the safety goals that we are held to. We don't get a whiff of that $300 check either. Ouch, don't get a paper cut Miss switchboard operator. Every quarter in addition to these bonusses of up to $600 there are the Champions of Safety winners. 15 employees each quarter are chosen to receive this award... of $500. In the last quarter... 1 pilot received an award. Did I mention we've never had a fatality at Mesaba? That's right, but there have been many a/c damage reports because of jetways, bag carts etc...
Press releases also don't say that the magic number of 50 furloughs (all of who were furloughed from XJ last fall and have recently returned from training events and are back on the line... some are actually still in training) are based on an average attritian rate of 8 pilots/mo. If that isn't acheived there could be up to 100 furloughed by January.
There will also be 50 captains returning to the right seat in displacements (this means at least 2 training events per pilot displaced, moving expenses and reduced availability for the line as groups of pilots will be in training).
RHI and CWA are closing as crew bases... all those people will be displaced to MEM, MSP or DTW. This means moving expenses for the company for these people too. THis includes FAs and mechanics. They don't tell you that we're tkaing over the MLU hanger that Pinnacle is abandoning when their hanger opens in TYS for the CRJ.
This whole thing just smells of company strong arming while the pilots are in contract negotiations! and it stinks!!! The awful thing is that the company believes that we're ignorant to this fact and that we don't really know what is going on. They also want the public to know half the story, so that when things get more ugly (strike maybe?) the public will view us as a pilot group as being greedy and overpaid. You better bet the company won't tell you what we're really paid and what our work rules are really like.
It is such an outrage but it is all summed up very well in a statement made to me by a Comair pilot. "Contract Blues" If I still have a job in January, it will get worse before it gets better.
Any comments or further questions? Can ya just tell I'm fired up and livid about this all?
AZJ
edits came as more points of argument came into my brain... this is lingering with me minute by minute.
[This message has been edited by azj (edited 08-29-2002).]
[This message has been edited by azj (edited 08-29-2002).]
[This message has been edited by azj (edited 08-29-2002).]