Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelsup  I like this quote:
I haven't ever worked for scheduling but they are people just like us trying to make a buck. Why the need to cut them down? |
Thanks wheelsup, I am not here trying to start a fight that pilot's have it easy. I am trying to say that it is inappropriate to slam an entire group for doing a job that is a neccessity for you to be able to do your job.
Pilot602, as for the question of whether or not I have ever done it for a 121 carrier out of training the answer is yes I did it for ten months and have heard everything in the book. Furthermore I had to know pilot's and F/A's contracts inside and out that took three months of training. Don't speak to me like I do not understand the difficulties that you go through.
You make a complaint about being in a hotel bed just about every night in the month, I understand that is not the greatest thing in the world, but it comes with the job. I made a choice when I finished school, I could continue flight instructing move on to flying for a living never see my fiance or family, or I could move down the operational side and have a decent quality of life and make a good living. The fact is that I made the choice to move into operations and I do not complain to anyone else about how my life is. Bottom line if you hate it or the job is ruining your family life then do something else.
If you read my first post you see that I am in favor of you having shorter duty days. I am a big supporters of pilots and f/a's having representation that will force the company to treat them fairly. You have to realize that if your group has a union, your work rules are negotiated. If you want shorter days start with your reps and bargain for it in a contract. The 121 carrier that I came from had it so pilots were limited to a 14.5 duty day if they had regular rest or a later show time, but if they were clocking in before 5 a.m. or were on reduced rest then their duty days were cut shorter. Again if your work rules are so terrible jump up the union reps rear to bargain more effectively. If your company does not have a union, start a drive to get one. Finally, you say if the company bargained in good faith then you might have better qol, guess what if you are unionized your reps first have to tentatively agree to a contract, then second the pilots must vote for it. If you do not like what you see then do not agree. Management will do whatever they can to save a buck, but does that does not mean that you need to lay down and let them walk all over you.
Maybe the sickness/ commuting thing was an unfair jab but no worse then calling people worhtless. Aviation is like any other business some people take advantage of the system. I can tell you from experience that most people that call in sick are genuine and deserve to be treated with dignity that scheduling does not always afford. At the same time I can tell you stories about people abusing the system, reserve CA calling in sick anytime he had a trip he did not like, f/a calling in sick while sitting at the pool not realizing scheduling supervisor was there as well. We all know people that abuse the system, if you are going to complain about flights being added to your schedule you should first stand up and say something to those responsible.
Don't tell me that commuting is a necessity, 99.9 % of all working adults must live where there job is, if you have problem with commuting then live at your base and your problem will be solved. If I want to work for Airtran you bet I will be packing my bags for MCO because that is how the world turns. Do not expect anyone to feel badly for you because you had a tought time getting to work, it is your choice to live where you live.
I have dragged this on long enough, I enjoy my life and my career, I work long days like anyone else, but at the end of the day I am proud of what I do. I am now a dispatcher and it is a great job, but I do have the utmost respect for schedulers, everyday they are abused for trying to get flights moving. It is very easy to blame a group for your troubles, but you need to look more in depth and realize schedulers are simply the messengers that are trying to keep an airline running. I apologize if anyone takes offense to this post, but I believe that it is only fair for both sides to be able to present their point of view.