Comair Reductions

[JetsGoWhee]

Looks like it 300 under the gun at Comair starting this fall according to the memo just released.

July 7, 2008
TO: Comair Pilots and Flight Attendants
FROM: Dave Soaper, Senior Vice President of Aircraft Operations
RE: Aligning crew staffing with reduced flying

As was communicated last week, the significant reduction in our fall schedule will result in an overage of pilots and flight attendants, especially since we had just increased our crew complement to accommodate the additional flying we’re currently performing.

We are still making minor adjustments to the number of pilot and flight attendant displacements but the fall flight schedule calls for substantial reductions – 300 pilot positions and 220 flight attendant positions. For pilots, the displacement bid will affect both CVG and JFK CRJ captains.
However, we expect the largest impact to be in our JFK base for both work groups.

It is important to note that the number of displacements could still change based on the voluntary options we can put in place. We informed the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) of the reduction in flying last week. Since then, we published a joint letter to the flight attendants on July 3 stating that the company and the IBT have agreed on several voluntary options (part-time bid, base vacancy bids, early out opportunities, etc.) lessening the impact to that work group.

The next step for flight attendants is to release a part-time bid no later than July 9. For pilots, we expect the displacement bid to be released no later than July 21.

We recognize the reduction in schedule came as a surprise since we were recruiting pilots and flight attendants in recent months. As President John Selvaggio noted in his memo, our flying for this year has been a rollercoaster. In January, we said we would experience a 10-15 percent decrease in flying throughout the year. So far in 2008, we have been fortunate to be well above that plan. Our hiring plan was based on the fall schedule (which included the additional flying) and our desire to be in a strategic position to capitalize on short-notice flying opportunities.

The initial reduction in September and further block hour cuts in October through the rest of the year bring our actual flying much closer to the original estimate and seem even more dramatic given our good fortune during the first eight months of the year. As fuel prices continue to climb
to unprecedented levels and capacity is further reduced, we are faced with the unpleasant task of aligning our workforce with another revised plan.

We understand these fluctuations can be frustrating, and we continue to do our best to manage through them as proactively as we can. We appreciate your ongoing efforts to serve our customers and run a safe airline. We will keep you informed as we have more news to share. If you have questions, please talk to an Inflight supervisor or chief pilot.

[gtpilot]

That really sucks - Was talking to the Comair gate agents and rampers in MCO yesterday and seems they're being downsized (cut completely) in September. Seems that the higher paid Delta staff is more cost effective than the underpaid Comair staff. They're not happy.

[NC_BE300]

MCO and FLL stationed Comair people were being closed.

There was no known # for pilots/fa's floating around for cutbacks.
This is alot more than expected.

[H46Bubba]

I think it's complete ########! That number is waaaaay to high for the amount of flying that we're loosing. It seems like Comair has become the pinch hitter for DCI. Fill in when needed and easily taken out of the rotation!

[Doug Taylor]

I heard it described (maybe here? I dunno) as "ready reserve" for the DCI system.

Crazy days folks.

[CRJDriver]

I think that number is way too high, not sure if they are just trying to give us the worst case scenario, or if they're for real. JFK will see the biggest reduction, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some CAs getting downgraded back to FOs. Some people will get displaced, as they'll realign the staffing with the schedule. As far as MCO goes, DL will only have a few flights in/out of there, ASA will be leaving and the Comair station will be closed. We will however keep our Maintenance base down there. In the meantime, I'll continue to do my job, as there is nothing I can do, except hope for the best and plan for the worst.

[dakovich]

another memo has said possible:

-early retirement packages

-COLAS

-Voluntary short-lines


gonna be interesting. good thing my upstairs tenants just gave 60 days notice. AARRGGGHHH! i'll actually have to pay my own mortgage if i can't get anybody else

[CRJDriver]

Looks like it already leaked out to the media...

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlan...html?ana=yfcpc

[blee256]

Who does IBT represent at Comair? the F/As?

[mxflyer]

Originally Posted by gtpilot

That really sucks - Was talking to the Comair gate agents and rampers in MCO yesterday and seems they're being downsized (cut completely) in September. Seems that the higher paid Delta staff is more cost effective than the underpaid Comair staff. They're not happy.

That makes me sad...DCI stations are so nice to fly into because the employees are nice and friendly. It seems like Delta station agents act like we owe them for some reason because they work for Delta. They're usually rude to both DCI employees and the passengers. Not Good.

[Trip7]

Wasn't Comair on a hiring spree last month?

[Nick]

Originally Posted by 777forever

Wasn't Comair on a hiring spree last month?

There is a thread somewhere in the Jobs Available section passing on Comair's need to hire 400 pilots this year.

Of course in the past few months lots of regionals have gone from hiring to not hiring to furloughing but none of them have gone from hiring to furloughing as fast as Comair from what I've seen.

I think there are still people in class right now.

[Getburned]

People still in class, I just had a guy in the Jumpseat on his observation ride a few days ago. Everything at OH changes on a weekly basis. Never know what to expect.

[Trip7]

Man thats tough, going thru class knowing you're going to get furloughed.

[surreal1221]

It just keeps getting better.

Good luck guys/gals.

Hope you guys band the #### together and don't pick up any damn open time.

[heading180]

So i'm a pretty new FO at Comair. I was hired in Nov. of last year. Could someone tell me
if I am understanding this correctly.. the term "displacement bid" for captains basically means
a downgrade bid due to the furlough of FO's? Does anyone think enough people will take COLA's or opt out, so many that the ax won't swing my way? There are about 100 NH below me.

[dakovich]

from what i understand it could be any number of those things. it should be spelled out in that bid, when it comes out.

[heading180]

Can someone explan the new memo that is out today. 130-150 now being said??

[H46Bubba]

Originally Posted by heading180

Can someone explan the new memo that is out today. 130-150 now being said??

We are basically 160 pilots over what we should have to man the hours and aircraft for the fall reductions. Management pulled a huge 300 out of their asses and now you're seeing the correct number. Basically it's moslty newhires.

[H46Bubba]

Originally Posted by blee256

Who does IBT represent at Comair? the F/As?

Yeah the FA's are IBT.

[heading180]

Right, so they send 160 captains back to F/O and then 160 F/O's to the house for a while?

Will any of those NH 160ish be required to change bases in order to stay?

Well, I'm 116 from the bottom, so who knows.

[H46Bubba]

I really believe that no one on either side has a friggin clue as to how it's going to end up.

[Getburned]

My math is not the best, but I still have flown with a few guys in the past few days that insist we getting rid of 300. With the displacement that came out a few days ago and using the min staffing levels they said we would need, 150 at most is what I count. What do you other OH guys think.

[cavu4u]

From what I've been told, for every Capt. that's downgraded you can expect two FO's to be furloughed. It's not as simple as a one-to-one ratio. For example, let's assume that there's a pilot of 1,000 total pilots, 500 of which are Capt's and the other 500 are FO's. Now, let's say that 100 Capt's get downgraded. Now we have 400 Capt's and 600 FO's. To bring the number of FO's back in line with Capt's, they'd need to furlough 200 FO's. Crude calculations, but might prove accurate.

Comair is downgrading 149 Capt's, which might imply the furloughing of 300 FO's. Of course, COLA's, voluntary furloughs, and early retirements all have an impact on this number. To date, Comair is only offering monthly COLA's. I've never been through this process before. Those that have are the ones that explained this scenario to me. So... who knows... only time will tell.

[Getburned]

From the memo, "Therefore, according to the current seniority list,for current or awarded captains, you are safe from being displaced if your seniority number is 673 or lower." We need at least that many FO's right?