Reuters: UAL cancels flights

[tadjr]

The guys in TPA have had a rough couple of weeks. I know that on Xmas they canx 4 or 5 flights and have had at least 1 a day (it seems from their calls) or more canx. They canx their afternoon DEN on Tue/Wed and Thurs this week. Rez is calling people and rebooking them, but not redoing their tickets so its making our line run slow while we call UA to get the tickets reissued. Also yesterday their afternoon IAD flight either canx or was late so we had all their International reroutes whose tickets werent reissued right either. Since they've already canx DEN for Thurs, our PHX and LAS flights are booked up now as well. Hopefully they'll get it together soon. In the meantime, hang in there guys. Been there, done that and its not fun.

 

[UALDC767]

I found the following quote in the Reuters article to be interesting:


This brings up a few questions:

1. Are the pilot numbers quoted above accurate? Possibly, but numbers mean nothing unless in the proper context. So we have more pilots flying, but that doesn't mean they are on the correct fleets and seats

2. If so, are still more pilots needed, and how many? Yes.....way way short of pilots last year plus some additions this year mean only way short of pilots this year. The change in Age 60 makes this unknown, ballpark need another 250 extra over what we have now.

3. If the quoted numbers are not accurate, why not?Spin?

4. Are there too many pilots for some aircraft types while not enough for others? yes and no....not too many on any fleet, just some woefully short (Airbus and 767)

5. Are there not enough reserve pilots, or are they not in the right places when major storms hit one or more of UA's hubs?Not enough and its hard to get reserves between hubs when major events happen with all the cancellations

6. Did many pilots reach their weekly, monthly and/or annual maximums for flying hours in late December?yes. company planned a big increase in block hours the last 2 weeks of the month but due to some bad weather earlier in the month, used up the reserves at a higher rate. Plus they solicited volunteers to trade known trips for ones that were suddenly available. Example: Crew desk calls pilot and says we are short of 320 Captains tomorrow in LAX. We will drop your 4 day trip over Christmas if you fly tomorrow and do this 2 day trip. When they tried the same offer over the Christmas holiday, (we need you to fly over the holiday) no one took them up on it. DUH! The company got caught with its proverbial pants down.

7. Would more pilots have made a meaningful difference in UA's cancellation rate (i.e., would the additional pilots have been in the right locations at the right times to significantly limit the cancellations)? Somewhat. Still cancellations but not on the massive scale.

8. Did many pilots simply decide that they would do no extra flying during the holidays if they weren't already scheduled to do so?Yes! it was the holiday, time to spend it with friends and family.

9. Is the pilot workforce about the right size for UA's current flying but UA simply doesn't know how to properly schedule its pilots?no. still short pilots. A significant percentage (minimum 30%) of the lineholders are already scheduled up to the max allowable, so there is no wiggle room for irregular operations. The max I can fly per our contract is 89 hours per month (on the widebodies, the 320/737 can fly 95 hours/month). Since April, except for vacation in September, I have flown at least 88 hours every month. Not because I want to, but because I am junior and the scheduling system builds my schedule that way.

10. Finally, were these truly weather-related cancellations that couldn't be avoided regardless of pilot staffing levels at UA, thus making ALPA's claims merely a reflection of a more militant union leadership trying to flex its muscles? (I'm not trying to minimize the sacrifices made by UA's workers over the past few years, but I do think this is a legitimate question.) Hard to answer since it wasn't all due to weather, staffing issues certainly were a major factor........the bankruptcy hangover for employees is finally going away. Management got what they wanted contract wise thru the assist of the courts, but they just couldnt just ask for enough to ensure a successful emergence....they had to be punitive and extract extra......and continue to poke us, so there is a lack of motivation to do more than what the job entails.

I'm simply trying to get a better understanding of why this happened to UA, and I believe the answers to these questions would help me to do that. Feel free to address any other issues that might have also affected the cancellation rate. Thanks in advance for any insights that can be provided, especially by any UA pilots or operations personnel.

Cosmo,

I appreciate you asking these questions and trying to understand the current situation. I have always enjoyed you thoughts and educated posts.

Don't take this as a "we are going to burn the place down" that will come soon enough in a few years during actual contract negotiations, but we the employees are no longer just going to sit by and continue to be hammered by this management team. Our devotion is to United Airlines, the company and our careers....NOT to the current residents of Wacker Drive. They chose this path, and shouldn't be surprised at some of the the negative outcomes.

For the record, I worked over the holidays, 23rd-26th, and also over New Year's.....and did my best to get the passengers there safely and reasonably on time.

DC

 

[I'mRayFlyMe]

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"Ray",

Jusy my 2 cents worth, but Magsau is a "worthy opponent" on these boards.
Controversial ???,................perhaps,..but I've always found him "jousting" with Facts and Figures firmly in hand !

With all due respect, that may be the case on the United board but have you ever seen what he posts over at Southwest? I've yet to see him post any "facts and figures" to bolster his mostly juvenile rants over there.