ccguy,
That's exactly what I said about the bases in a previous post but
no-one wanted to hear it. New bases have to make ECONOMIC sense to the company before they will pour money into it. There are a lot of fixed costs associated with opening a base and paying for even hundreds of overnights won't rival that cost. Overnights only cost the company $4 mill per year (as stated in my roadshow), when you look at the overall costs for the company as a whole it is not very high. It doesn't come close to fuel costs or even the leasing of their permanent office spaces around the country. It's hardly the "fat" they are presenting it is. This whole "new bases" talk is designed to panic crew into voting for a DTA, even a ridiculously low one.
I totally agree with the DM situation. No other airline that I know of has such a high ratio of DMs to crew. Crew are already managed on flights by CS's, it's enough. The company needs dedicated crew who give their all and fly the flag for their brand. Get your priorities straight.
I agree, optimise your rosters guys, that's within your control and should be your first port of call.
Yes, it's not an "extra" ten days off a year at all. It's the additional days rest required to accomodate a higher work load in the year. This is not a freebie we're being offered here. QF have 9 days off per 28 day roster but they are also paid additional $ over 120hrs per month. So we can deduct from that, a QF roster would average less than 120hrs per month (260hrs per year less than
VB want us to work, or put another way 26 fewer working days in the year) and that is why they have 9 days off.
Please don't deface the aircraft. It's bad enough our passengers treat them like a dump, without crew doing the same. I'd like my workplace to be respected and cared for. I don't want to spend my 2 and half minutes a day in which I am expected to eat a meal, cleaning up your handiwork. I don't need to be told how to vote, I have a mind of my own, and I sincerely hope so do the rest of the crew.