When The Whip Comes Down

Jan 9, 2004
950
2
Pittsburgh PA
I got a phone call today from an individual who will remain nameless. This person told me about a memo that came out on the 24th from Richard Pfennig, the CEO of PSA. So, of course I had to get my hands on it. Fax machines are just so technologically magical!

In distilled form, it states that:

1)PSA is closing pilot and FA bases in PIT and CAK,

2)105 pilots and 60 FA's will be able to bid another base,

3)About 125 PIT CSA's should expect furloughs,

4)Line maintenance in PIT will be phased out and moved to CLT, and

5)PSA's soon-to-be all CRJ fleet will be concentrated in PHL and CLT to support mainline operations.

All of this is to occur November 1st.

So, it looks as though no one is safe from the Focus City Slide, including the lowest paid group at US (PSA Customer Service).

It is interesting to note that when PSA started operations out of STL and SRQ, no one offered those same CSA's an opportunity to rebase themselves at those stations. Of course, it would make sense to have trained personnel at those stations, which may be why it wasn't offered.

Well, just like their mainline forebears, now W/O employees will get to enjoy the fruits of the poisoned tree. I reccommend syrup of Ipecac, folks. It will help to induce the vomiting neccessary to make you feel better.
 
Regardless of what happens I wish you the best of luck. U management made up its mind a long time ago about PIT. There is nothing left to do for a lot us except prepare and wait for the inevitable pink slip.

Good luck and God Bless!!!!
 
Wednesday, August 25, 2004

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As part of its cutbacks in Pittsburgh this fall, US Airways is closing the local crew base of Dayton, Ohio, affiliate PSA Airlines, resulting in 125 local furloughs and the relocation of an additional 142 pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.

PSA Chief Executive Officer Richard Pfennig broke the news to employees yesterday, blaming it on US Airways' plan to cut fall service at Pittsburgh International Airport by a third, down to 240 daily flights serving more than 50 cities.

PSA, a US Airways subsidiary, acts as a feeder for its parent company, ferrying passengers from smaller cities to US Airways' hubs. With less of US Airways' connecting traffic passing through Pittsburgh, PSA is shifting people to Charlotte, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Dayton; and Philadelphia.

The PSA move is the latest in a series of local job cuts by US Airways, which has eliminated more than 4,000 positions in the past four years, dropping local employment from almost 13,000 to less

Some officials fear employment could fall as low as 2,500 if the airline survives but shifts most of its nonflight work elsewhere. US Airways, seeking $800 million in new concessions from its unions, is trying to avoid a second trip through bankruptcy this fall.

PSA's Pittsburgh base will close Nov. 1, along with a base in Akron, Ohio. The furloughs will affect 125 local gate agents and ramp workers who work for PSA at Pittsburgh International.

About 63 local pilots and 39 local flight attendants will be able to apply for work at PSA's other bases. The same goes for 40 local mechanics, who will lose their positions as PSA's maintenance work is shifted to Charlotte.

US Airways spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said: "This is the sad part of our plans to make changes in Pittsburgh."

US Airways, as part of its survival plan, is shifting more of its flying to the East Coast and the Caribbean, with most connecting traffic now routed through its remaining hubs in Charlotte and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh, once the airline's largest hub, will be downgraded, losing international connections to London and Frankfurt, Germany, and nonstop service to more than 30 other cities in the United States and Canada.
 
I would think this cutback has more to do with parking the turboprops than anything else. I think the last DO-328 is to be gone early to mid Sept. Most of those fly out of PIT. The company is still in expansion mode...