American Airlines Moves Up Launch Date for New Service to China

[FWAAA]

AA wants travelers to be able to fly AA to get to May Day labor day activities:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/American-Air...ml?x=0&.v=1

I'm certain this is bad news somehow.

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

AA wants travelers to be able to fly AA to get to May Day labor day activities:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/American-Air...ml?x=0&.v=1

I'm certain this is bad news somehow.

It is bad news. AA should not be encouraging people to attend commie holiday celebrations ... ... ...

 

[ArtTang]

Great news for all those flight attendants who complain about serving reserve! Now here's a chance to make some real change in their quality of work life. It won't be easy (trust me, I know as well as anyone), but if you really want it badly enough, you can learn Mandarin. Yup, you will be off reserve, hold the most senior line in the entire system, and visit two of the most incredible cities in our route system.

Now I know you will say, "How can I find time to learn Mandarin when I'm flying and raising my children and blah blah blah." The answer is simple: you make it happen. You commit. You work hard. You reap the rewards once you qualify in the language. Other "mei guo ren" (i.e., American) flight attendants have successfully done it, so it is not out of your reach.

Just a little piece of advice from a voice of experience regarding the matter.

Peace,
Art Tang in Miami

 

[Flyboy4u]

Now I know you will say, "How can I find time to learn Mandarin when I'm flying and raising my children and blah blah blah." The answer is simple: you make it happen. You commit. You work hard. You reap the rewards once you qualify in the language. Other "mei guo ren" (i.e., American) flight attendants have successfully done it, so it is not out of your reach.


Sounds like a GRE"AA"T job.....Hmm...lets see? Was in law school when hired by AA, told I could finsh law school while flying for AA. Hoping to go Corporate law with, AA but didnt finish because...Hmmm... furloughed, thrown on the street, recalled out of base, home foreclosed, moved in with family, and now subject to furlough again....What a GRE"AA"T job...I am so glad the I believed in the company that hired me...Lets all learn a language for AA so we can have a great career.....Been there done that!!! NEXT!

 

[TWU informer]

I thought there needed to be a AA/APA Labor Agreement that allows this to happen. I guess I was mistaken.

 

[FWAAA]

I thought there needed to be a AA/APA Labor Agreement that allows this to happen. I guess I was mistaken.

You're thinking of the no-way-in-hell-would-it-ever-be-approved-DFW-PEK-proposal that AA applied for and then later attempted to amend to an application to fly DFW-ORD-PEK once it was clear that the APA would not waive the duty day limitation in its contract (like the APA did for DEL and PVG). DoT denied that application. Then the following year AA applied for ORD-PEK and won that award. Turns out that the duty day length for ORD-PEK is within their current contract limits, so no side letter necessary.

 

[jimntx]

Great news for all those flight attendants who complain about serving reserve! Now here's a chance to make some real change in their quality of work life. It won't be easy (trust me, I know as well as anyone), but if you really want it badly enough, you can learn Mandarin. Yup, you will be off reserve, hold the most senior line in the entire system, and visit two of the most incredible cities in our route system.
Peace,
Art Tang in Miami

Art, I wouldn't be too sure about that. Czerny, who is now in an East Coast base, was one of the last 96 on the furlough list senior to the most senior former TW f/a. He was in that first recall that brought back some former TW f/as. As he is a Mandarin speaker, within two months he held an IOR proffer for Mandarin speakers. He fell back to domestic in an IOR reduction in flying within the last year. During the time he was at IOR, if I remember correctly, he rarely got to fly a China flight because they had so many speakers senior to him. I'm sure he'll be on here one day soon and will confirm or correct my statements.

 

[Mach85ER]

You're thinking of the no-way-in-hell-would-it-ever-be-approved-DFW-PEK-proposal that AA applied for and then later attempted to amend to an application to fly DFW-ORD-PEK once it was clear that the APA would not waive the duty day limitation in its contract (like the APA did for DEL and PVG). DoT denied that application. Then the following year AA applied for ORD-PEK and won that award. Turns out that the duty day length for ORD-PEK is within their current contract limits, so no side letter necessary.

That would be the same agreement that specified clearly, in writing, that the ORD-DEL waiver was a one time, non-precedent setting agreement. The DFW-ORD-PEK filing proved that they really didn't want the route or that the saying "you can't fix stupid" applies to the AMR senior management ranks.

 

[Boomer]

FWAA,

You stated that AA flying to China for May Day had to be bad news somehow: in 2007 China reduced the holiday from seven days to three.

 

[FWAAA]

That would be the same agreement that specified clearly, in writing, that the ORD-DEL waiver was a one time, non-precedent setting agreement. The DFW-ORD-PEK filing proved that they really didn't want the route or that the saying "you can't fix stupid" applies to the AMR senior management ranks.

No argument here from me. I posted at the time that applying for DFW-PEK was dumber than hell, given the measly O&D from the metroplex. Dunno which of your two reasons is the most applicable, but I suspect that both might apply.

 

[The Goose]

FWAA,

You stated that AA flying to China for May Day had to be bad news somehow: in 2007 China reduced the holiday from seven days to three.

Four extra days building their crap to sell in the US.

 

[ArtTang]

Now I know you will say, "How can I find time to learn Mandarin when I'm flying and raising my children and blah blah blah." The answer is simple: you make it happen. You commit. You work hard. You reap the rewards once you qualify in the language. Other "mei guo ren" (i.e., American) flight attendants have successfully done it, so it is not out of your reach.


Sounds like a GRE"AA"T job.....Hmm...lets see? Was in law school when hired by AA, told I could finsh law school while flying for AA. Hoping to go Corporate law with, AA but didnt finish because...Hmmm... furloughed, thrown on the street, recalled out of base, home foreclosed, moved in with family, and now subject to furlough again....What a GRE"AA"T job...I am so glad the I believed in the company that hired me...Lets all learn a language for AA so we can have a great career.....Been there done that!!! NEXT!

Wait a sec...you were in law school and actually believed what AA "told" you? The company has bridges in Brooklyn you can buy too. Sorry, I shouldn't be so caustic, but most informed job applicants know how volatile the airline industry is especially when entering at the bottom of the seniority list. I agree with you that being in the airline industry is hardly a guaranteed road to a "great career," especially in these times. The industry is clearly too susceptible to economic vicissitudes. I preach to any co-worker who will listen that we should all have an exit strategy...a back up plan...because if an employee is counting on AA (or any other airline for that matter) for job security, I think that person is in for a rude awakening down the line.

It sucks that you and so many others have been furloughed; I wish you could all come back today. Now, it is true that being qualified in a language will not supercede seniority order when it comes to layoffs. Same goes for being recalled after a furlough. These run in strict seniority order regardless of such qualifications.

As for my original post, I believe that the company will need more speakers when it starts the route to Beijing. According to the web roster, there are currently 39 qualified speakers in Mandarin system wide and only 22 are based in Chicago International. Of course, I may be wrong...it has happened many times before.

Peace,
Art Tang in Miami

 

[ArtTang]

Art, I wouldn't be too sure about that. Czerny, who is now in an East Coast base, was one of the last 96 on the furlough list senior to the most senior former TW f/a. He was in that first recall that brought back some former TW f/as. As he is a Mandarin speaker, within two months he held an IOR proffer for Mandarin speakers. He fell back to domestic in an IOR reduction in flying within the last year. During the time he was at IOR, if I remember correctly, he rarely got to fly a China flight because they had so many speakers senior to him. I'm sure he'll be on here one day soon and will confirm or correct my statements.

Hi Jim...yes, I see how this happened to your friend. However, if you look at the number of speakers system wide and the number based in IOR, I think the new route to PEK will necessitate a proffer for additional flight attendants qualified in Mandarin. The company also has the right to draft flight attendants from the domestic division in Chicago in case the proffer does not generate enough speakers. I may be wrong but I think the numbers indicate this would be the case. All I'm saying is that if I were on reserve (as my classmates who are currently based in IOR still are after 24 years), I would do my utmost to qualify in Mandarin. Years ago when I flew Paris out of Raleigh/Durham, I was one of the more senior French speakers and never served reserve even though flight attendants senior to me who were not qualified in French had to serve it. With the start of PEK, the company may find itself short of speakers in a similar manner, so all the Mandarin speakers on the reserve list could hold off reserve to cover the lines.

Take care...
Art

 

[czerny]

Art, I wouldn't be too sure about that. Czerny, who is now in an East Coast base, was one of the last 96 on the furlough list senior to the most senior former TW f/a. He was in that first recall that brought back some former TW f/as. As he is a Mandarin speaker, within two months he held an IOR proffer for Mandarin speakers. He fell back to domestic in an IOR reduction in flying within the last year. During the time he was at IOR, if I remember correctly, he rarely got to fly a China flight because they had so many speakers senior to him. I'm sure he'll be on here one day soon and will confirm or correct my statements.

All true, Jim. I was bumped back long term to domestic along with 4 others in my class. we have non-native speakers who are senior to us so they are flying, and we are on the S80. I was never off reserve the 1 year I flew IOR. I only held PVG for a few months and ended up with availability or LHR for the rest of the year. My class was hired along with the 1st 6 classess in 2001 to fly TPE. Look where that went.
I'm glad PEK is going to start but I don't know how many times I can get yanked around from int. to domestic, and then having to wait to get back to the East Coast. I grew up in Asia so I'm not fascinated with Southeast Asia at all. Furthermore, as a MAN speaker, you cannot just lateral with anyone to another int. base. You have to find another speaker from that base to match up. Trust me, the one MAN speaker i know in JFK absolutely does not want to come to IOR.

 

[ArtTang]

All true, Jim. I was bumped back long term to domestic along with 4 others in my class. we have non-native speakers who are senior to us so they are flying, and we are on the S80. I was never off reserve the 1 year I flew IOR. I only held PVG for a few months and ended up with availability or LHR for the rest of the year. My class was hired along with the 1st 6 classess in 2001 to fly TPE. Look where that went.
I'm glad PEK is going to start but I don't know how many times I can get yanked around from int. to domestic, and then having to wait to get back to the East Coast. I grew up in Asia so I'm not fascinated with Southeast Asia at all. Furthermore, as a MAN speaker, you cannot just lateral with anyone to another int. base. You have to find another speaker from that base to match up. Trust me, the one MAN speaker i know in JFK absolutely does not want to come to IOR.

You are absolutely correct about the fact that being qualified in a language can limit your ability to transfer, etc.
I never wanted to qualify in Mandarin for this very reason. I lived in Taipei as a boy (father is from Shanghai) and I love traveling to Asia on my own time, but not as a working crew member. Having said this, I wonder how many additional speakers IOR will require with the start up of PEK. Qualifying in Mandarin still seems like it may be a good path to take if one wishes to gain super seniority. It may not work in all cases, as your situation illustrates. At any rate, I am glad we're starting the new route.
Peace,
Art