UA Christmas 2021 / January 2022 Ops / staffing Issues
#31
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Bit of a loophole.
Last edited by l etoile; Dec 24, 2021 at 1:15 pm
#32
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It’s affecting JetBlue today as well… definitely seems to be a correlation between UA, DL and B6 having large northeast hubs vs AA and WN
#33
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It was reported in VFTW that the real cause is the number of religious exemptions from vaccination requirement, particularly among 737 pilots.
#34
Join Date: Jan 2007
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it is quite sudden, that is how the pandemic works. my health care provider informed me that testing is not available with less than a 3 day turnaround time, possibly more assuming you can get an appointment (in the DC-VA area). i also know people suddenly come down with covid in the past few days and now have to quarantine the family. If you get enough of those scenarios it's not hard to figure out what is going on. YMMV.
Last edited by l etoile; Dec 24, 2021 at 1:17 pm
#35
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 112
Every United pilot flying is fully vaccinated. Therefore, every United pilot currently infected with COVID and unable to fly over the Christmas period is fully vaccinated.
Delta, Jet Blue and Alaskan Airlines all required all their aircrew to get vaccinated. American and Southwest did not.
#36
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#37
Join Date: Jun 2014
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#38
Join Date: Aug 2010
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There is required testing for numerous international flights prior to departure (which most likely explains why DL and UA are affected the most.) I tested COVID positive with absolutely no symptoms three hours before departure. Subsequently got pulled off the trip and was told to quarantine and stay away for a minimum of 10 days. A reserve pilot was called to fill my spot on 764 trip.
Most of our reserves got their days off rolled to cover the holidays but are now subject to mandated rest requirements which are now falling on 24-28th of this month.
Looking at open time this morning, I’ve never seen so many trips at 200% in my 15+ years at the airline. There’s just no one available to fly these trips considering such a large segment of the crew population is a pumpkin for at least 10 days.
I’m sorry to all those passengers stranded because of the cancellations. I’m also sorry to my fellow crew members that are quarantined and missing Christmas with their families.
An unfortunate situation all around. I wouldn’t be so quick to point the finger at crew taking “advantage” of the circumstances.
Last edited by l etoile; Dec 24, 2021 at 1:18 pm
#39
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Chicago, IL
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United gave no exemptions. In fact, Kirby specifically warned all aircrew that if they applied for a religious exemption they were putting their jobs at risk.
Every United pilot flying is fully vaccinated. Therefore, every United pilot currently infected with COVID and unable to fly over the Christmas period is fully vaccinated.
Delta, Jet Blue and Alaskan Airlines all required all their aircrew to get vaccinated. American and Southwest did not.
Every United pilot flying is fully vaccinated. Therefore, every United pilot currently infected with COVID and unable to fly over the Christmas period is fully vaccinated.
Delta, Jet Blue and Alaskan Airlines all required all their aircrew to get vaccinated. American and Southwest did not.
Last edited by l etoile; Dec 24, 2021 at 1:02 pm Reason: mod edit due to bypassing profanity filter
#40
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 112
With any luck, this omicron variant will finally put an end to this two year period of pain. Fortunately, data from countries who have been dealing with it for weeks show that it’s very mild. A vast majority of people getting it are vaccinated. So for the price of a mild cold they’ll gain natural immunity to top off whatever protection their vaccines offer, and COVID will become more of a cold than a killer.
In the meantime, it’s a bad idea to blame ANYONE for the inconvenience we are all suffering from the impact of this pandemic. Viruses are going to virus. There is a very good chance that anyone reading this will have a close contact with someone infected with the omicron variant. If you are a United pilot you have to report it and you are removed from the flying schedule. Or, you could withhold that info and continue to fly. What would most passengers prefer?
#41
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: BNA
Programs: HH Gold. (Former) UA PP, DL PM, PC Plat
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Also, it's not just positive tests. We are required to report any COVID-like symptoms (fever, cough, congestion, fatigue, etc.) and that report will ground us for at least ten days even if we subsequently test negative. I think a negative test followed by a doctor's report that you are COVID free can get you back to work sooner but the process still takes a few days. December always brings more colds and flu and Thanksgiving gatherings likely increased the rate of spread of COVID and non-COVID illnesses. Now Omicron is spreading even quickly than previous strains.
I've reported symptoms twice, though have never had COVID, and was grounded for 10 days each time. The first time was during my requalification training, so I didn't miss any trips. The second was a cold that resulted in me missing a four-day trip but the cold symptoms alone would have kept me from flying that trip even if there were no COVID restrictions.
It was reported in VFTW that the real cause is the number of religious exemptions from vaccination requirement, particularly among 737 pilots.
UAL granted fewer early retirements during the pandemic and displaced crews at a lower rate than our major competitors. This helped reduce the amount of requalification training needed once growth returned and prevented any significant schedule disruptions until now. The training center has been running at full capacity since last May. We have been hiring 45 to 50 new pilots every week since May and are upgrading new Captains as fast as they can be trained.
There were around 300 +/- exemptions granted to pilots, spread out over all fleets and both seats. Kirby has said that only six pilots were terminated for being unvaccinated without having an exemption approved. Those granted an exemption are on unpaid leave until the pandemic meaningfully subsides.
#42
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People standing on long lines waiting outside in cold weather for hours to get tested, even if negative, is highly susceptible to get sick anyway.
Good luck to all stranded passengers. UA needs to rethink its Covid protocol. Check out what other industries are doing now in response.
#43
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 112
There were around 300 +/- exemptions granted to pilots, spread out over all fleets and both seats. Kirby has said that only six pilots were terminated for being unvaccinated without having an exemption approved. Those granted an exemption are on unpaid leave until the pandemic meaningfully subsides.
#44
Join Date: Mar 2001
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#45
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Vienna, Austria
Posts: 704
[Moderator edit.] When they agree to their job they agree that they MIGHT work during Christmas
a request is a request not a guarantee
I was not happy when I, for example as a high school student, didn’t get my requested time off during Christmas for retail but I understood I had agreed to the job knowing maybe I’d work that day or all the holidays
if they gave them all their requested time off hardly anyone would be working the airline right now
this attitude from the employees is immature and selfish. Period.
a request is a request not a guarantee
I was not happy when I, for example as a high school student, didn’t get my requested time off during Christmas for retail but I understood I had agreed to the job knowing maybe I’d work that day or all the holidays
if they gave them all their requested time off hardly anyone would be working the airline right now
this attitude from the employees is immature and selfish. Period.
Last edited by l etoile; Dec 24, 2021 at 1:21 pm