While its a shame to lose any perk, exactly how many people in the company is this going to affect? I know of a couple that seem to ship quite a few "bags" when they travel that will feel the pain, but I cant honestly say that I've ever gone on vacation and checked more than 2 bags at most. Agents having to move are a different story and I would hope that a manager could help out if/when this happens to someone in their station since it isnt "vacation" travel.
On the other hand, if the company is now going to be getting a monetary bonus for this, I would hope that come negotiations the Union remembers to add this to the "already gave" factor when the company starts talking numbers.
USAPA perfect reply... industry standard is fine when they want to take but not for them when they want to give.
"Happy" Valentine's Day?
Just when we thought this company couldn't be more out of touch with their employees, they proved us wrong. On the 14th, US Airways Corporate Communications put out a US Daily that started with "Happy Valentine's Day." The first item was titled "Show US Some Love ..." and the second item went on to explain how they planned to start charging non-revs for checked bags. We note that non-rev is now referred to as a "fee waived service." (Lumping non-rev checked bags under any column that includes the word "fee" implies they are doing us a favor by "waiving" a fee. It goes from a negotiated "right" to a "privilege," setting the stage for its elimination and to become a profit center, in the process abrogating any negotiating process.)
They then go on to state that "oversize/overweight bags account (sic) for more than 16% of our total non-rev checked bags last year." Of course, it is the carrier that has arbitrarily determined what qualifies as oversize or overweight. Finally we note that the Company justifies this violation of nearly four decades of past practice by comparing this new policy to those of "other network carriers." How interesting. So, industry standard is the benchmark for determining executive pay. Industry standard is the benchmark when determining executive bonuses. Industry standard is the benchmark when determining non-rev baggage fees. But industry standard is NOT the benchmark when determining pilot pay and working conditions.
And let's look at the numbers. The Company claims that 16% of last year's checked non-rev bags were oversize or overweight. It can "create a strain on the system," they say. Hmmmmm ... 3,000 flights per day equals 1,095,000 flights per year. Calculating 16% of the reported 416,000 non-rev bags equals a total of 66,560 oversize/overweight non-rev bags. This means that on a whopping SIX PERCENT of the flights last year, there was ONE oversize or overweight bag! ONE! You can see how this might strain the system.
Yet another "tax to work at US Airways." For those who do not get it, Tempe sees a revenue opportunity and is setting the stage to capture it. Like a vampire sucking its own blood, they seem intent on enhancing their revenue stream by imposing more concessions on the lowest compensated and most vulnerable workers in the industry, their own.
