Last night I began choosing my seating assignments on my three November itineraries. This morning I logged onto NWA.com to confirm my choices when I discovered that the schedule had been updated. And the changes were pretty drastic -- only a one flight didn’t receive a time and/or equipment change.

On the lighter side, I will have traveled 1M miles by November -- all without flying on a RJ. I was expecting to take my first five RJ flights, four Avros and a CRJ, but the equipment has changed to two DC-9-30s, two DC-9-10s and a 727.

I’m surprised by the changes but expect things to be set… only minor changes are made within the 90-day window and usually they’re made in days or weeks advance, but the passenger won’t find out until an hour or two before his/her flight takes off!

EDITED TO ADD: Actually, my September itineraries have experienced similiar changes as well.

[This message has been edited by IndustrialPatent (edited 08-24-2002).]

you should try an RJ85. They have FC and (4) jet engines, the best (most comfortable) domestic FC seats in the fleet.

Check them out!

[This message has been edited by Radiocycle (edited 08-25-2002).]

Radiocycle - have you been on an Avro lately? I just did a MEM-CMH turn on the 22nd. Perhaps you graced our comfy jet with your presence?

Schedule changes are made all the time as well as equipment swaps. NW is very good at allocated a/c to specific loads. The fall schedule is pretty set, but the winter schedule is still receiving some fine tuning it seems.

For those who hate the saab: our saab flying is being reduced a further 10% for the fall/winter. Good if you hate turboprops, bad if you hate the CRJ.


AZJ

I don't hate the turboprops, but I have noticed that the ones between CAK-DTW do seem a little shabby inside. I'll take more CRJ's on that short hop, thank you!

The A model saabs are the ones used on the shortest hops from MSP and DTW. Those are the oldest and therefore probably the most shabby. Mesaba has embarked on a new aircraft cleaning program, both inside and out. It seems that NW wasn't/isn't doing their job grooming our planes so outside sources have been found. The A's are starting to be returned to the leasing companies as we speak. They'll all be gone by 2004.

AZJ

MEM-BOS is down to one roundtrip a day on the new schedule. i found this out when i checked on my BOS-LAS roundtrip in october and found a return of LAS-MEM-DTW-BOS.

i called the elite line and had no problem getting switched to a LAS-MSP-BOS trip about an hour later than my original schedule. i'm just glad i checked!

so much for the memphis hub.

Maybe you've been flying differnt SAABs than me...but I haven't noticed a difference...they've always been like that, but for 20 mins it doesn't really matter to me (but then I have been taking more CLE-DTW mainline jets this year than CAK-DTW SAABs)

azj- you mentioned that the Saabs would be going. Is that just the "A"s or all of them? What will replace them?

I must say I just started logging into this site and I've been real impressed by the info and insights. Thanks and keep it up.

In the grand scheme, FOleys idea of a fleet at Mesaba is to include the 36 Avros, 75 CRJs and about 40 saabs.

Right now, Pinnacle CRJs are replacing saabs on many routes and have been since their arrival in MSP and DTW. It has now spread into MEM. So, right now, CRJs are replacing them, but from another company. Therefore Mesaba is shrinking, despite waht Pinnacle or Mesaba mgmt would like to let you believe.

As the A's get returned to the leasing companies nothing replaces them. They should all be gone by late 2003 I believe. The B model saabs will be gone by 2007 and the B+ saabs which were all aquired new from the factory are on lease for another 10 years at least. So, the approximately 40 saabs that will remain in Foleys dream fleet will be the B+ saabs.

Of course, this is all based on Mesaba receiving their own batch of CRJs which the company will tell you we are hoping to get just as soon as the pilots negotiate their contract. If we don't ge thte CRJs (we all know we are thought, in a matter of time) then Mesaba will be left to die a slow death. But since NW and Carl Pohlad are Mesabas biggest investors they won't let that happen.

If anyone has read the news yesterday (8/28) there was a major announcement made by Mesaba for cost cutting measures. Should you be interested int he whole story, the story that the press releases don't tell you, I'd be happy to fill all the enquiring minds that want to know.


AZJ

If anyone has read the news yesterday (8/28) there was a major announcement made by Mesaba for cost cutting measures. Should you be interested int he whole story, the story that the press releases don't tell you, I'd be happy to fill all the enquiring minds that want to know.


AZJ[/B][/QUOTE]
Fill'er up!

Do tell!

And just outta cariosity... Mesaba's said before they'd like to expand their partnership beyond NW. Do you think this is feasible?

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).]