Major Weather Event

[MarkMyWords]

From today until Tuesday our system will be great ly impacted by a severe weather event. CLT is forecasted to have freezing rain on/off all day today through tomorrow afternoon. PIT is forecasted to have up to 3 inches of snow, then changing to freezing rain overnight and into tomorrow. DCA/IAD/BWI is forecasted to get up to 6 inches of snow starting this evening and into tomorrow. PHL is forecasted to get up to 4 inches of snow then changing to freezing rain tomorrow. LGA is forecasted to get up to 4 inches of snow, all of it after midnight tonight and into tomorrow.

So how prepared are we for this event? Have all the stations involved fired up and tested their deicing equipment? Have we taken steps to reduce congestion, deicing and ATC delays in PHL. Are we going to ignore the problem again and try to operate a full schedule at all airports or are we actually going to take a proactive approach and reduce the flying to help the operation run smoother?

What do ya say Uncle Al? Do we bring all the customers to the airport and treat them like cattle standing in long lines waiting for those few physical agents to help reroute or do we plan something early and allow customers to be rebooked from the comfort of their home?

 

[autofixer]

It is a $30 Million dollar loss excuse!

 

[PITbull]

Mark,

Don't you worry....what ever losses that will occur, mangement will take from labor. No problem, they have it covered.

 

[lindy]

Mark,

It never ceases to amaze me how certain people, in the comfort of their own home or their 3RD floor cubicle, love to "Monday Morning Quarterback" on how the operation should be handled.

Last year, an acquaintance of mine in OCC recounted a story of how a winter ice/snow storm was bearing down on CLT. This was in 1998-1999. Some forecasters were predicting 1/2" of ice with 3-4 inches of snow to follow. Some were actually predicting 6-10 inches of snow in an 8 hour period. Interesting enough, several of the old Piedmont dispatchers said they would not be surprised if CLT received nothing at all. This was due to the topography surrounding CLT. OCC decided to cancel 60+ flights in the morning just so the passengers would not be inconvenienced. Guess what? Not a drop of precip. hit the ground. It is my understanding CCY received numerous letters from passengers as to why their flight was cancelled when the sun was shining.

Let's fast forward to today's event. I was watching the Weather Channel last night as well as retrieving forecasts from Duats and ADDS. All were forecasting the ice storm to hit CLT by 0700 EST with accumulation throughout the morning. It never happened that early. The same holds true for DCA/PHL/PIT. All the forecasts have changed signifcantly from yesterday afternoon. Several months ago, you had the same rant about another winter storm. Same thing happened. The storm did not materialize as forecasted. If we went with what you are suggesting, OCC would have been cancelling flights unnecesarily.

We are in the business to transport people. Cancelling flights 12-18 hours before the event is easy, but at what price? I say let's deal with the facts that confront us, not those that are predicted. If that means having to cancel flights at the last minute, than that is the price to be paid. Passenger service agents and supervisors will have to "shine" in their handling of those passengers who have flights cancelled. If they do it professionally and compassionately, the passengers will return.

Lindy

 

[fatherabraham]

Further addition to 1Q04 loss statement by MGT:

" Who could have predicted that Wx would have impacted all our major hubs in Jan " <_<

 

[PhillyFlyGuy]

I would have to agree with lindy on this. If airlines always went by the weather channel we would never get a customer to their destination.

 

[oldiebutgoody]

You're missing the point. It's NOT that weather will impact UAIR's operation. It most certainly will. The issue is just how it is dealt with. Bad weather on the East Coast this time of year is a guarantee!

 

[PITMTC]

Don't get all worked up. I think this is the third time I read MarkMyWord ask the same question aabout an up and coming storm. It's like he want's to see failure to give us the old I told you so.

 

[The Truth]

Don't you worry....what ever losses that will occur, mangement will take from labor.

You always have a negative spin on anything related to management. It is time to stop fighting with management. Many employees could be facing the Real World in the next few months if agreements are not achieve sustaining the new business plan. Leafleting should be the least of your concerns.

The general consensus is that labor acknowledges that if they don't give more, in way of work rules and productivity modifications, the outlook could be austere. I foresee agreements with all labor groups once ALPA is on board.

 

[700UW]

Your name is an oxymoron,

Dont you understand no one with a level mind trusts Dave, all I have to say is Airbus outsourcing.

 

[delldude]

You always have a negative spin on anything related to management. It is time to stop fighting with management. Many employees could be facing the Real World in the next few months if agreements are not achieve sustaining the new business plan. Leafleting should be the least of your concerns.

you know,you're completely correct,in fact i was reading my IAM contract and lo and behold..it clearly states that for IAM to give up further productivity changes that we get them through a buyback condition.this means any productivity changes get us a raise.WHOOPEE...
THE TRUTH STATES:The general consensus is that labor acknowledges that if they don't give more, in way of work rules and productivity modifications, the outlook could be austere. I foresee agreements with all labor groups once ALPA is on board.
I READ SOMEWHERE ONCE THAT THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

 

[PITbull]

Truth,

Haven't seen anything positive come out of CCY yet!

All the "doom and gloom" retorhic is coming out of YOUR dept. They need to just "shut up" for awhile and give labor a chance to catch their breath.

If I were you, I would keep my predictions to myself before you end up eating crow again. My crystal ball tells me CCY ain't getting all they have been asking for lately and labor is resorting to extreme outside measures for resolve.

And those of you who critisize Markmywords, he has seen and only cites that management continues to operate "behind the eight ball" when dealing or anticipating weather fronts. No matter how nice you think the frontliners will be to cover up management's faux pus(s), Pax don't forget.

 

[repeet]

fatherabraham
Posted on Jan 25 2004, 02:03 PM

Further addition to 1Q04 loss statement by MGT:
" Who could have predicted that Wx would have impacted all our major hubs in Jan "

ROTFLMAO. It's a good thing that I find our situation so funny. This is just the type of diatribe I have come to expect from the Crystal Palace.

The Truth
Posted on Jan 25 2004, 04:13 PM

I foresee agreements with all labor groups once ALPA is on board.

ROTFLMAO. You guys crack me up. Tell me, do you foresee yourself winning the lottery too. No wait, maybe you foresee yourself being the new love interest for Meg Ryan.
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This you can take to the Bank:

 

[Hope777]

It's a Dammed if you do,Dammed if you don't thing.
If you prepare, call in Over Time and it never happens you have used up hours towards your Budget. Then the days everyone calls in sick on the ramp, your Manager says NO OVER-TIME. So what do you do?

Either way, the Monday Morning Quarterbacks will always question what was done.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

The local news in CLT is reporting departure delays to ATL and ORD at this time...this is not a CLT issue...it's due to traffic back-ups in those two cities themselves.....everything else seesm to be doing OK.

CLT has sleet accumulation raning from 1" to 2" inches with a bit more coming...Ice is the local concern , as it always is. CLT's Ice makes PIT's snow a cake walk. Thankfully it's rare. ....and to think it was 61 degrees here yesterday...and 57 degrees this time 24 hours ago :blink: