Rex management... you cannot be serious!

[chief wiggum]

I read with interest the powerpoint presentation put to the board to try to arrest the growing number of pilots leaving. All good points I thought, but one point was omitted - the EXTRA work pilots are having to do alongside the EXTRA flying that the company has lumped onto them.

I was particularly interested to see that Jim Davis has dismissed almost EVERY point as not being relevant or unique to REX, and is STILL touting the cadet scheme to be their saviour.

I got news for you, rex board....
No money
+No support and
+No lifestyle
=
No pilots
+No airline
+No bonusses

[Lodown]

...almost EVERY point as not being relevant or unique to REX...
Relevant? Ummm, depends on viewpoint. Certainly not unique to Rex. What is unique is how Rex is electing to deal (or not) with the issues.

In the words of EH, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls..."

Geez! If I was a cadet, those little warning bells in the head would really be clanging now and I'd be wanting some sort of guarantee on my money.

[Delta_7]

What a bunch of idiots.

Management are so busy telling everyone that pilots will leave to fly jets no matter what, that they have come to believe it - and it's utter crap. I don't give a **** if I fly a jet or not. I am 29, would be quite happy retiring in the SLAB with Rex. That's 31 years of service, because the lifestyle and ability to have a life outside of work is what I want. The arrogance shown in the reply which I just read is just exactly the reason why. Just keep telling yourself people will leave, and it will keep happening.

As for defending poaching because it's not "all from the one source", what a joke. Are you saying virgin/J* don't get pilots from anywhere other than the "ranks of the elite, that is, rex pilots", because that's completely false - they are getting them from wherever the hell they can find them. Do you really expect anyone on the line at Rex is going to swallow that? How stupid exactly do you think Rex pilots are to try and spin a story like that? Ask a certain Cairns based operator if they feel their pilots were targeted by Rex. I'm sure they wouldn't agree that Rex didn't take more than a few from certain upper-end GA operators.

The response management have issued (and the fact that it's obvious they don't really give a ****) will, I have no doubt, cause more people to start looking elsewhere. And yes, if you bumped the wages 30 grand all round and paid extensions/increased callouts/DTA/better C&T allowances, I would stay at a place like Rex, as would a HEAP of guys who really couldn't care less whether it's got a prop or not.

"We are not obligated to provide parking". That statement alone summarises the situation. Better make sure you have heaps of space for parking aeroplanes, you'll need it.

[The Original Jetpipe]

I do not think the rex cadetship will even get off the ground!!! (No pun intended) "rumour" has it that they have been unable to employ any instructors to train the cadets so the whole process has been put on hold!!
Not only should there pay the pilots more the engineers should get a pay increase to!!! Might stop them leaving and the aircraft being maintained by apprentices! :ugh:

[das Uber Soldat]

I see their school having a very hard time getting senior instructors on board unless they pay some serious money. Flight schools in Bankstown at least are bleeding senior guys left right and center at a rate that I wouldn't have believed possible 2 years ago.

[G Cantstandya]

What is rex going to do when they have a stack of cadets that can't be upgraded for quite some time....

At the rate the experienced captains are leaving they'll have no choice but to employ DEC if they can get them!!! (at a hefty price!!)

Also I see that their offshoots (pelair/airlink) are finding it increasingly difficult to find crew, just look at the add on the afap website!!

Something has to give soon, it will be interesting to see what!!

[Aussie]

Yeah ya could be on the money mate, although they do have good backing...

However if it was to go down, it will be bought out, there is plenty of market for them....

[KRUSTY 34]

Aussie,

The market isn't the problem. Getting pilots to fly the aeroplanes, that's the problem. There's no point taking over an airline if it has no pilots!

So much of what has been said here makes perfect sense, and it's all been said before. Frustrating isn't it!

The REX chief of staff's reply is not surprising. Rex management has not once sought advice on this matter from the people who are at the face of it. The meeting between the REXPC/AFAP and the board was instigated by the pilots in an attempt to save the airline by pointing out the obvious. At no time has the management of REX initiated any contact with their pilots over what has been described by Jim Davis as a "catastophic shortage." Does anyone else think that to be extraodinary? In light of such an attitude is it any wonder that the company would respond with a contrary view. They probably know what needs to be done but are either unable to come to grips with it, or have conceded that it may now be too late! Either way they appear committed to a path of action that will not in any way mitigate the losses of experienced crew. I'm afraid that in the current environment this will probably prove fatal for REX.

To the Chairman of the REXPC, his office bearers and the AFAP, my congratulations on a well thought out, professionally presented but I'm afraid ultimately futile submission. Your time and efforts are very much appreciated by your peers, but wasted on those who hold us all in such obvious contempt.

[Icarus53]

Anyone got any info on recent ticket sales??? I'm wondering whether the cancellations are eroding passenger confidence and sending people to other carriers (especially once the Embs start service).

If passenger numbers start dropping off, I'll be very interested to see whether the company's market share restabilises or if it perpetuates a cycle that eventually shuts the place down.

Also just another question of interest - how many pilots do Rex employ right now?

Icarus

PS - Wait 'til aircraft gets into this thread!!!

[ABX]

PS - Wait 'til aircraft gets into this thread!!!

He's banned... isn't he?!?

[NoTrainingWheel]

Would any current Rex pilots mind outlining a typical duty cycle / month at Rex, say out of Sydney. Interested in the:

typical number of hours flown in a week or month
number & frequency of rest days at your base
rest days spent away from base
schedule of a typical day
amount of non flying hours you're required to put in
entrance level salaries
salary you could expect to earn after 2/4/6 years

[Icarus53]

He's banned... isn't he?!?

I thought that was just his new personal title .... but I've been offline for a while so perhaps I've missed something???

So many Ppruners have probably erased his posts from view that he doesn't effectively exist any more!!!

If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it .....


Sorry for the thread drift, but it seems you can't have a Rex thread without a few sparks lately!

[Delta_7]

NoTrainingWheel,
I will answer your two last dot points.

entrance level salaries
salary you could expect to earn after 2/4/6 years


not nearly enough
not nearly enough/not nearly enough/not nearly enough

And I know of more people (who were happy to stay) who have sent out VB and J* resumes in just the last two days because of the board's "we have done the right thing on all 14 issues raised, so case closed" response.

[morno]

What exactly were all the points raised and put to the board??

[NoTrainingWheel]

Delta_7

Thank you for your input - appears morale at Rex is in terminal decline. Would you mind expanding on the typical Rex career path for new entrants via their cadet scheme. Be interesting to hear your informed views.

[Howard Hughes]

NTW, as the Rex cadet program is only new and the first are still some time away from graduating, any description of the career path would be merely speculation!

I don't think you could read much into any career path at this stage, other than to say you would probably spend a very long time in the right hand seat.

Cheers, HH.:ok:

[Delta_7]

NTW,
Ring them and ask them the hard questions (such as the morale one you mentioned) yourself.
My views are that if I worked at Rex, and you were a 200 hour cadet sitting next to me, in anything other than light and variable/cavok day conditions, I'd call taking over at the MSA. Why? Because if something goes wrong, I expect the big C&T whacking stick would come out rather than identifying training deficiencies and admitting experience does actually count for something.

What is it they say?

Until morale improves, the floggings will continue...

[NoTrainingWheel]

Delta_7

I did consider ringing them, but figured I'd never get a straight answer. I'm 100% in favour of experience & apppreciate that there is no substitute for it.

HH
Still curious as to what a/c and training program a Sydney based cadet graduate could expect. Any possible / realistic scenario would help

[Howard Hughes]

I reckon I could sort out the aircraft type for you, as they only operate one type these days!;)

[NoTrainingWheel]

Gathered from this thread that it's most likely the cadets will be shipped off to Pel Air / Airlink initially and wouldn't see a Saab for quite a while? Makes sense considering the learning curve to be overcome.

[KRUSTY 34]

NTW, wouldn't be so sure of that.

The cadet course from what I can gather is partially tailored around the SAAB SOP'S. The intent is to have them (cadets) ready to move into the right seat in as little as 8 months!!!

As ambitious as that sounds, the operating environment at both Pelair and Airlink is no less challenging. I would venture to say probably beyond a typical 8 month wonder to succesfully adapt to. Where Pelair and Airlink may come into play, is to provide a means to log command time to satisfy the Requirements for these cadets to move over to the left seat of the SAAB. I suspect this would be looked at after some time as a serving SAAB F/O.

As commands at REX are now coming up in less than 12 months, it is probably a little academic because finding experienced pilots who are suitable for upgrade over the next year or so will be increasingly difficult. None of these cadets will be suitable for upgrade for several years. The reality is that every Captain who now leaves REX will be virtually irreplaceble.

Oh, and I heard today that 12 more REX pilots have resigned in the last week!

[essbee]

I see Rex have been advertising for pilots in the USA, via Propilot magazine
:p:p:p

[Howard Hughes]

the cadets will be shipped off to Pel Air / Airlink initially and wouldn't see a Saab for quite a while? Makes sense considering the learning curve to be overcome. So flying a B1900, Metro or Westwind (on night ops) is a piece of cake then, compared to the SAAB?:rolleyes:

Whatever way, it will be a big learning curve, but it can be done, the problem is there will be no experienced Captains left to train them! Unless of course they are going to offer some serious incentives to keep people there! If they are, they had better start soon!

[NoTrainingWheel]

It all sounds very tenuous. Literally being run on a wing & prayer! Hope some potentially good pilots are not ruined by being rushed into something they aren't ready to deal with.