Papa2Charlie, a very good post that highlights some of the realities that the airline faces. It is true that this thread has involved a lot of complaining without raising any solutions. I will endeavor to provide some suggestions whilst still raising concerns and elaborating on existing gripes of the flight crew.
1 The gravity of the economic situation is not lost on any of us and most of us expected a deterioration in pay. The problem is the manner in which the current contracts and agreements were unceremoniously disregarded and no effort was provided to find any loopholes in the tax system to help crews some of which have been placed in very precarious financial situations. Lack of a real pay structure has left a situation where a year 4 Captain earns little more than a new 200 hr F/O , this one point has led to a lot of very upset Captains who are actually suffering for their loyalty. A reward system would have lessened the impact and increased productivity. You would find people much more willing to work on a day off if the financial rewards were as you say realistic. The major problem most have with the working days off is the company expected and demanded loyalty without giving anything in return.
2 virtually every pilot I have spoken to has applied elsewhere, some speak with a sense of desperation to leave, most cite pay as one of the lesser reasons. The terms and conditions, poor communication and lack of respect shown towards captains are all reasons but the lack of direction of the company is the major one. Some truly daft decisions have been made from above wasting massive cash. The arrogant attitude of "we don't recognize unions" while every day taking advantage of the fact there is no union, that won't have a happy ending.
3 It's not a case of "what would we would different" more a case of what we wouldn't do. Aer Arann Regional?? WTF!!! Don't tell me you are planning to call the operation from Southend Aer Arann UK or Europe? Is this the best Andrew Kelly can come up with?? He really is earning the nice Lexus parked outside. I don't even want to think about the cost of this farce. Firstly in order to compete in the UK market a complete re branding is necessary, and the argument that it's too difficult to break the UK is not good enough. The Irish market is dead (for the foreseeable future) A concerted effort is needed and not the half assed attempt that was the Luton base. The problem with management is they stretch too far with too little. The 42's must be ditched they are an insult to the passenger who can pay half the fare on a new 737 and the recent sight of BYO flying Aer Lingus pax from Shannon was a disgrace. If reducing the fleet in order to improve quality leads to lay offs then so be it, either do it right or not at all. Leasing those dreadful 72 212's backfired worse than the engine in BRS and showed a lack of forward thinking, yes 500's would have cost a lot more but one cannot put a price on the improved passenger experience, reliability and importantly ensuring the security of the shamrock deal. The slow death endured by Galway and Waterford is terrible to watch as the customer has suffered so much. Nearly every flight is delayed and Southend is all well and good but the public don't get what they want the slide in pax numbers has been spectacular.
4 The technical condition is getting worse and is not being helped by our operations department showing a lack of respect and understanding when a Captain refuses to take an aircraft with an inop autopilot and yaw damper. descending to bulling tactic's as they view such things as GPS and pressurization as a luxury and not a necessity. Yes it is legal to dispatch with items in accordance with the MEL but it is happening far too much and factor in all the other challenges in this operation the holes are lining up. Saying it was legal after the incident has happened won't cut it with the media.
I couldn't include everything such as the hire care situation etc but I hope I've gone some way to providing a clear picture as to our concerns we cannot voice as we have no proper representation. Unfortunately we are only as strong a sour weakest and we have many "weak links" The guys that complain of fatigue after working days off 3 weeks in a row. Ironically many of these individuals plan on remaining but their actions will destroy their future T's and C's. The company exploit their goodwill. One such genius went 3 hours in to discretion last week.... not smart.. not safe.
In closing commercial pressure should never outweigh safety. Papa2Charlie can you hand on heart say the company culture as it stands reflects this?
Last edited by The real examiner; 19th May 2011 at 22:27.