More Crew Cancellations This Weekend

[tadjr]

Saw a memo posted at work that they are precancelling about 40 flights this coming Fri/Sat/Sun due to continuing crew issues. Flights in my station were already full before this happened. Some of the rerouted customers are now having to wait up to 12 hours to get out of town since all of our flights and our competitors flights are full this holiday weekend.

When will it stop? Who will get a slap on the wrist or time out for this? If they present a fabulous excel graph or pretty enough pie chart as to why it happened will they be excused from discipline?

Senior management is wanting agents written up for taking 1 or 2 minute delays yet this can continue to happen with no outcome other than oops? Seriously Tempe, what gives?

 

[Hope777]

What do You Expect?

They Keep Their Heads Burried in the Sand and Answer to No one!!!! Not even out BOD or Share Holders...............

 

[Poug Darker]

During contract negotiations, pilots were told there are no staffing problems/issues during the holidays.
So, you must be hallucinating. Take a deep breath, and click your heels together three times.
See? There is no problem. Everything is OK.
Cheers.

 

[Art at ISP]

Can someone explain this? Is this because available crews have timed out or is there something else going on here? I seem to recall this happens almost every year at US, but I haven't seen it as bad at other carriers...

Quite sad actually....

 

[luvthe9]

Everyone who has vacation in January is being asked to move it to the end of the month by the company because they are very short of crews in the begining of the month, I hope all will refuse since we have so many on furlough. Tempe thinks the they know how to run an airline.

 

[SS255]

Can someone explain this? Is this because available crews have timed out or is there something else going on here? I seem to recall this happens almost every year at US, but I haven't seen it as bad at other carriers...

Quite sad actually....

Fri, Sat & Sun are the first 3 days of the month, so I'm also curious what is causing crew shortages. My parents are flying AVP-PHL-LAX on 1/5, so hopefully things will settle down before then.

 

[tadjr]

Can someone explain this?

They can, but they wont. We'll be told it had something to do with severe storms in July causing it or some other bs story. Someone needs to be held accountable. How am I supposed to do my job when the company cant provide me with a plane and crew to put the people on?
The first weekend I could see partial weather issues, but find it funny that of the 90 or so flights that cancelled due to crew issues on Saturday, 2 were 190s, 1 was a Boeing and all the rest were Airbus. Really, we had ONLY Airbus crews TIME OUT? Or is it beacuse we are SHORT Airbus crews?
Someone better ask the brain trust to come up with a new Excel chart so we can get this all figured out... h34r: :mf_boff:

 

[SparrowHawk]

Before I totally lambast the folks in Tempe can someone gently explain how this happens and what are some of the factors involved in the cause.

I recall way long years ago that someone told me to avoid flight that used the Fokker F-100's as they were consistently short crews at months end due to the A/C being retired.

My "Gut" tells me that this is Tempe at its operational finest, however I'd fell a little better if I knew what I was talking about

 

[westcoastflyer]

If I'm not mistaken, don't most other employee groups, other than flight attendants and pilots, receive additional pay as an incentive to work on certain holidays? This positive approach seems to work pretty well; I haven't read any posts about serious shortages of ground personnel. The company, however, believes its flight personnel don't need or deserve any holiday pay. They are expected to dutifully and happily be completely away from their families for up to four days, over Christmas and New Years. Depending on one's seniority (or lack thereof) some crew members are assigned trips like this, year after year. The bottom line is, these cancellations cost the company a lot of money, and employee morale suffers among all affected employee groups. The easy solution, offer holiday pay (time and a half or double time) to flight crews. There are those who would jump at the chance to earn a few extra bucks, and the airline would run much more smoothly and efficiently, resulting in happier employees and customers.

 

[Dilligas]

Holiday pay was a casualty of BK 1 or BK 2 for many employees. Holidays are paid like any other day, however, if you work a holiday you can bank a day to take off later, or get paid straight time pay.

My friends outside the industry can't relate to the 24/7/365 nature of this company and the lousy days off and shifts worked.

I don't think the crew shortage is due to anything other than poor planning... too many folks on furlough, people on vacation, not enough crews to cover the demand.

Proper planning and better attention to detail would minimize these types of issues, don't hold your breath waiting on that to happen.

D

 

[john john]

Saw a memo posted at work that they are precancelling about 40 flights this coming Fri/Sat/Sun due to continuing crew issues.Seriously Tempe, what gives?

Pre cancellations and reaccommodate in advance………….NO PROBLEMS all taken care of
Will be the spin

 

[bkrules49]

They can, but they wont. We'll be told it had something to do with severe storms in July causing it or some other bs story. Someone needs to be held accountable. How am I supposed to do my job when the company cant provide me with a plane and crew to put the people on?
The first weekend I could see partial weather issues, but find it funny that of the 90 or so flights that cancelled due to crew issues on Saturday, 2 were 190s, 1 was a Boeing and all the rest were Airbus. Really, we had ONLY Airbus crews TIME OUT? Or is it beacuse we are SHORT Airbus crews?
Someone better ask the brain trust to come up with a new Excel chart so we can get this all figured out... h34r: :mf_boff:

I am sure Kool Aid drinking M.D. from Corp. Communications will put some spin on this.

 

[luvthe9]

Item One: Numerous pilots have brought to the Association’s attention that schedulers are calling pilots in an attempt to persuade them to voluntarily move their days off and/or vacation in early January, citing “critical coverage.†Pilots are reminded that we currently have 224 pilots on furlough; these pilots were furloughed as a result of the Company’s own decisions, despite input from the Association that staffing levels were already unrealistically low. As always, pilots are encouraged to avoid actions that are detrimental to their fellow pilots.

Additionally, pilots are urged, in accordance with FARs and the FOM, to ensure they are fit to fly before reporting for duty. Under no circumstances should pilots allow themselves to be intimidated by various communiqués from Management that seem to suggest otherwise. A requirement to supply a “doctor’s note†should have no bearing whatsoever on a pilot’s decision as to whether or not s/he is fit to report for duty. Should you decide you are not fit, remember that the cost of any required “doctor’s note†is borne by the Company.

 

[SS255]

Everyone who has vacation in January is being asked to move it to the end of the month by the company because they are very short of crews in the begining of the month, I hope all will refuse since we have so many on furlough. Tempe thinks the they know how to run an airline.

Don't crews have to bid their vacation time months in advance? Shouldn't whomever is in charge of crew scheduling know this, and take these known absences into account?

 

[rvolkcpa]

We returned from TPA-PHL on Christmas Day. We learned on the website earlier in the day that our 5:20 pm nonstop flight was cancelled, and the system rebooked us on a 5:10 pm connection via CLT. An earlier nonstop was held in TPA because of a groundhold in PHL, and we were able to move to that flight when we checked in at TPA.

The ironic think was that there were crew members from our cancelled flight deadheading back to PHL. Apparently they had arrived in TPA the day before to staff the flight that was ultimately cancelled.