Calling Anna

[CokeZero]

Hello Anna

After giving weekly updates as GMA are you going to talk to the troops about anything important in your new role? Apart from the weekly update - are you going to say anything important?

Why? Because after taking over the role as DFO, you as quiet as a stale piece of bread!!!

Are you hiding on the 9th floor or have you been told to keep quiet from the other Swire Directors on the 9th floor? What ever way you want to spin it.... I hate to say but even Dicky was more vocal.

[744drv]

Think she is sulking, her nasty pilots had the audacity to speak their minds and the truth :*

[betpump5]

Anna has finally realized that the DFO position is the poisoned chalice of Swire. A graveyard for Swire managers who have no hope of progression within the ranks.

They are sent to the DFO spot to live out a 3-5 year contract where the failure rate is 100%. That is their glass ceiling. After which they either move sideways and become Manager Cargo or devise a new role for themselves - Manager People. For the older DFO, a choice of Retire of be Fired looms.

MH - Are you reading this? Apparently you are the next in line for DFO. Your ineptitude and incompetence has spoken volumes. When the call comes, that will be your realization of failure.

[Shep69]

If they only gave you 80% of the fuel you needed (really needed) to make a flight would you go ? Or would you refuse to launch or let them know you'd be diverting to an alternate along the way ?

Would a USD 10,000 bonus for making the flight anyway affect your judgment (I would hope not) ? Or would you flatly refuse and let them know that YOU won't do this unless you're given the resources you need to make it happen ? And have the honesty to do so.

That's why it's nice to be a pilot.

Most experienced guys (and gals) have learned the valuable lesson that--absent good folks getting shot at and a willingness to lose the jet to help them--one isn't responsible for accomplishing a task unless given the resources to do so.

One has to look at chaotic rostering to FTL a lot like running engines absent from any forms of derates. You can do it for awhile, but it costs you more in the long run because it increases costs elsewhere.

[Trafalgar]

Curtain Rod. Excellent post. Nails it, right between (her) eyes. It's curious that she seems to have gone to ground. I guess embarrassment and shame finally put people in their place. Frankly, I was sick of listening to her worthless bleatings. She has done NOTHING since she arrived, other than a big negative, the RP debacle. All I know is that I now take matters firmly into my own hands, and because of that I have a wonderful roster. She is a two-faced, lying, conniving failure. The fun thing is, I meet with her two to three times a week (in a group setting) smile and nod a lot when she speaks. Inside I want to throw up. Her day is coming. I hope she sleeps well knowing there are 3000+ pilots who loath her. Good riddance...and it can't come soon enough.

[Arfur Dent]

In reality, she has no power to "do something". She has no budget to recruit more pilots or improve housing/COS generally. All she can do is to put some kind of 'spin' on the cards she has been dealt. There is no way that spin can be positive unless she thinks we really are morons so silence is pretty much her only option.
If I were her, I'd get on the 251 and go and rattle some of the guilded cages in London because it all comes from them and will soon meltdown. Do they know how chaotic it has become? Who's to blame? Who's the DFO? Oh - It's YOU Anna!!
Earn your bonus - do SOMETHING!!!! Show some LEADERSHIP - a trait sadly lacking in your 'yes men' predecessors!!!
You're quite old and probably rich enough to survive a nice life after Cathay so if they don't listen - RESIGN!!!:E

[asianeagle]

The fun thing is, I meet with her two to three times a week (in a group setting) smile and nod a lot when she speaks

Sounds like an AA meeting??

Oooohhhh!!! thats why the AOD testing is not for the grown ups :}

[monster330]

The fun thing is, I meet with her two to three times a week (in a group setting) smile and nod a lot when she speaks

How can that be fun for you and why don't you speak up?

By not speaking up you're as culpable as she. You internally want to "throw up", yet you sit and nod and say nothing. Why? Speak your mind, and if needs be get out and resign from your post.

You won't achieve your goals via Prune.

By saying nothing that confirms the Cx way of intimidation is well and truly active.

Good luck.

[BusyB]

Shame about your integrity Trafalgar:suspect:

[Bob Hawke]

CURTAIN ROD.

Best summary I've seen. I'd like to see it stuck on the notice board.

Anna, phone home, your abscense is poking us all in the eyes.

[Trafalgar]

You are very 'brave' BusyB. You have no idea what I am doing, have done and will do. I can safely say I have done more to help the cause than you could ever dream of. I'm sure if you were sitting in front of Anna, Nick, Rupert et al you would tell them exactly what you think. Plonker.

[From a distance]

When my kids were little and it was all quiet around the house I knew they were up to no good. So what is Anna up to. I think we will find out soon enough and it will not be good. And I don't think there will be any shame or embarrassment in evidence.

[Sam Ting Wong]

Rod, I hear you.

But as long as nobody walks away from this job, as long as recruitment gets thousands of application each year, and as long as we do not find effective industrial tools to really cause some damage to the operation, this is just pointless.

I also think we need to choose our battles. Does it really make sense to fight three men crew when ALL our competitors are operating this way? Safety as an argument for acars roster change? Really? Fighting an inevitable base closure caused by a legislation shift clearly out of the hands of the company? What was the offer on the table for HKPA, like plus 20 or 30 %, and that is not enough??

I say: let's get real and move on. Concentrate on what can be achieved and not what we dream of to have in a fantasy world. I am so sick of the the constant complaining on the flight deck,and then the same guys stay on until 65 and as soon as an outsider critisizes cx in the bar they are all over him. What a joke.

Anna is not talking to us because she doesn't take us seriously any more, that's why.

[Trafalgar]

Sam. So you think that a 20 or 30% increase to HKPA is 'enough' do you? I'm sure you would enjoy living in HK, with a family on $13K a month. You and Anna planning a dinner date soon? With support from 'brothers' like you, Anna has little to do really...:ugh:

[Sam Ting Wong]

No, that is NOT what I said.

I say we need to be realistic and choose our battles, and I do not think HKPA will increase dramatically. Nor do I think lawyers fees for a long lost base are a good investment. In my 15 years in aviation I observed one constant: contracts and conditions get worse, not better. And I also said with applicants piling up in front of the door, why should they? Besides the fact that HKPA did not change after joining, it is what they signed up for after all. I never expected A scale when i joined, nor should C scale expect B, it just won't happen.

Again, I am not saying it is fair, not saying it is "enough" ( well, define enough. If people stay I guess from an employers view you could argue it is "enough", can't you?).

And for the record, under protest but as a union member, I do follow CC and do wear my red lanyard. Hope that makes you happy, because it sure will not do much else.

[Trafalgar]

....glad you weren't in a place of power in the UK in the lead-up to WWII...

[Sam Ting Wong]

Funny you bring that up. The real motive of Chamberlain was that he knew Britain wasn't ready for battle in 1938, mentally nor physically . Yet.

That is why he (wisely) chose to try appeasement ( but really to win time).

Now, Trafalgar,how many troops do you have?

[Trafalgar]

Your understanding of past history is as misguided as your understanding of the present. In everything you have said, defeatism is wholly evident. Unlike you, i'd rather die standing than on my knees. The only 'army' I need is that of my 3000 determined colleagues (minus one or two like yourself). The operation is drastically deteriorating, and can't be sustained much longer. Either there is a dramatic sea-change in attitude and policy from your 'leaders', or we will finally suffer an event that the airline will not recover from.

[Sam Ting Wong]

The problem is that the opposite is true.

You are NOT willing to die standing, because you, nor anybody else of your 3000 "comrades" is really willing to fight (= STRIKE).

CC and red lanyards do not match my definition of fighting, nor does complaining or making sad and angry faces in the street.

The inflationary use of safety as an argument is a tired one, no pun intended. (and plain ridiculous when talking about HKPA).

Nobody is listening.

Either you are willing to die in battle or you better not fight at all.

[Trafalgar]

Sam. Sometimes the only option is asymmetric warfare. That is effectively what the AOA is engaged in. We are limited in the 'weapons' we can deploy, therefore we have to use other means, like strategic sickness, fatigue and other personal initiatives. The one thing we mustn't do is sound defeatist, or give even the slightest indication that we are 'beaten'. We are not. The operation IS suffering greatly, and is now being held desperately together day by day. We must police our own ranks, and stay committed to the long term. We will win a better contract if we keep highlighting the ineptitude of our 'leaders'. Don't provide succor for the likes of AT or anyone else on the 9th floor (or London).

[OK4Wire]

Spot on, Traf.

It beggars belief that others seem not to be able to understand something so simple.

[swh]

CR,

Other airlines also have 72 hrs off down route and don't mix in regional or split duties with these patterns.

[iceman50]

But we have W patterns and they are safe!!!:ugh:

[betpump5]

Sometimes I wonder what side Sam, aka PM, is on.

As Curtain Rod pointed out, again, 3-man long haul is not the full story. Those guys in BA and Virgin have guarantees in their contracts. Us chumps have to rely on words such as "should" and "in the event of roster disruption".

And who are you to speak on the behalf of us all and say an Acars message doesn't affect ones performance?

Your "by the way I wear my red lanyard" end-of-sentences are getting tired, on this forum and the AoA.

[freightdoggiedog]

She has spoken!

-Improvements are being rolled out faster
-We are actively engaging
-A lot of work is underway
-A working group is being tasked
-Issues are being reviewed
-We are concentrating our efforts
-We are using better hotels
-Catering has improved (I mean, what is the loss of A Days or Rostering Practices when you get Illy coffee!?
-Recommendations will be made

I swear to God, boys, it wasn't my fault!"

JFvujknrBuE

[BusyB]

Trafalgar,

No I don't know what you do apart from what you say you do in your statements on PPRuNe.

Those seem to indicate that you feel a little bit precious if anyone should criticise you (imaginary criticism in the thread you deleted).

It is quite clear overall that you, me and 3 thousand others, have no respect for the incompetent management in place.

If more people said exactly what they think to these managers (yes, I have done that) perhaps there would be an end in sight.:ugh:

[Bo Wing]

Yawn! More of the same BS. She waffles on and so typically of that position, offers nothing of substance nor value. I'm not buying it, it's all smoke and mirrors, as usual. If only someone will really lead in this company and make meaningful change, (a pipe dream I know).

[cxorcist]

Let me see if I've got this correct...

You are working on it!?! Well, what have you been doing all this time until now? If you've been working on it, you sure don't have much to show for it. A couple of new hotels and Illy coffee on the freighter. That's it???

How hard is it to take the coffee already used on the passenger fleet and make it part of the freighter catering? What does this cost? Almost nothing, and yet you point to it like it is a big victory. Please, stop insulting us. We ALL know better.

Here's what you really have...

1) Senior crew that are so pissed off at being stuck on junior fleets that they can't even see straight.

2) Commuters that pay astronomical prices for the worst staff travel system in the industry, only to sit reserve (no useable A days) at their own expense.

3) Cadets being crushed by the cost of living in Hong Kong while you attempt to sell them out in exchange for an extension of the expat housing package beyond 2017. Nice attempt at divide and conquer.

4) The highest pilot unfitness rate in the industry by very large margins.

5) The worst roster instability in the industry, again, by large margins. Show me one other airline wherein a pilot shows up for a simulator or a regional out and back and ends up on the opposite side of the globe.

6) Absolutely no career visibility. Bases? No bases? Long haul / regional? Airbus or Boeing? Seniority at CX means next to nothing.

7) A rostering system that makes no effort to keep pilots flying on their daytime body clocks or utilize mixed crew flying sensibly.

8) An FOP that manages crisises only. There is no forward vision except for a few pilot managers who are literally pushing on the rope and shunned to silence by bean counters like you, AT and DP.

Need I go on or do you catch my drift?

To your bonuses! You don't deserve one cent of that money. You are doing the worst job imaginable. Please don't write us anymore condescending emails drafted in your Oxford forked tongue language. We are NOT buying it!

[Liam Gallagher]

Are my eyes deceiving me?

Over 100 of the most senior pilots sign a very detailed letter expressing their concerns as to safety and the Company responds by listing 6 countermeasures, one of which is to change the brand of coffee loaded on the aircraft.

I don't think our esteemed leader needs to leap up and change the brand of coffee.... She needs to wake up and smell the coffee!!

WTF are CSD doing during this fiasco? .... Rebranding themselves the Coffee Serving Department.

Flight Safety: proudly brought to you by Starbucks....
Flight Safety: milk two sugars.....

Wibble.....

[Progress Wanchai]

Sam Ting Wong - been in aviation 15 years.
Anna - been in aviation 15 years.

Sam Ting Wong - believes the industrial unrest is due 3 crew Europe.
Anna - believes the industrial unrest is due 3 crew Europe.

Sam Ting Wong - lately, very vocal on prune.
Anna - lately, completely disappeared from yammer.


Sam/Anna,
The industrial unrest is due to the unilateral removal of a negotiated agreement.
If your contract is not a battle worth fighting for then nothing is. What's the point in "choosing our battles" when a victory can simply be overturned with the swipe of the DFO's pen?

[RAT Management]

Oh, this is all crap. How long is this going to keep dragging on.
The lies. The procrastinating. The problems are obvious. No fix is in the pipe line. Because there is no fix without grounding aircraft and losing the all mighty bonus! Things will keep rolling on until crisis point. But, no one will admit crisis point is here because that equals a Swire fail! Keep selling Us Crap! That is the solution. The only solution. This will be going on for another year and still nothing much will have changed... Including this and the aoa forum..... I for one am sick of it! Literally sick.

[incredible hong kong]

I reckon she too busy pumping 8reast milk for Georgia, in her room now :rolleyes:

She is only productive in milk making, so if you guys are going to complain then dont. At least she can make coffee.

You guys had faith in her? As an back office support staff, I didn't trust her since day one. Lies and deceive? you should have seen what she said to me. Pampered me in and settled me down, saying its all ok and will be fine. Next day she laid me to rest........... on the death bed for good.

Guys don't be naive. Wake up, she aint one of you guys. you are all just workers and servants to her

[bogie30]

Good post Mr Curtain Rod

[Dan Winterland]

Don't diss the Illy coffee. Stronger coffee is a useful fatigue mitigation strategy!

[2 cents]

So in summary, the only issues they are willing to fix are the ones with little or no cost to them. They are quite simply not interested in spending any money to fix the real problems....yet.

Enjoy the coffee ladies and gents. :ugh:

[Hugo Peroni the IV]

Illy coffee will probably be no cost; it's a useful advert for Illy.

[kenfoggo]

Creating "Working Groups" would be the refuge of a weak manager with no leadership skills who wants someone else to draw the obvious and unpalatable conclusion. A conclusion which we all could write with one sentence in black ink on a blank piece of pure white A4 paper.

"We do not employ enough pilots to fulfill the commercial task as given."

[Lowkoon]

Illy is a wonderful coffee, but how on earth do the coffee machines on board make it taste so disgusting? Im sure water is half the problem, it isnt a good add for illy at all, it tastes like cr@p. Yep we are covering the big ticket items here. How many months of intense negotiation and industry 'working groups' were required to order a different coffee? She is taking the pi$$.

[BusyB]

Hopefully no AOA member would accept a position on this group!!!

[Arfur Dent]

What THEY are after is a solution that doesn't cost anything. It doesn't exist so it won't be fixed.

[ron burgandy]

Actually Arfur, I don't think it will cost money, in fact, a proper solution would raise productivity, and so save money.

What it will cost them is control, and that's what they can't stomach. The GMA side of the business just can't accept the fact that the GMF side of the business should either have control, or a large input into roster construction and management.

The big ticket items like a new rostering system may take some time to implement, but there's a whole host of fixes that could be implemented immediately, for no cost, if there was a a genuine desire to do so.

From the pilots' perspective this working group will only reiterate what the AOA has already told them, and from the company, the relics in ICM and elsewhere will continue to say how they can't change or how those suggestions won't work.

What is truly amazing, is that at the COO level, the order doesn't come down that their way of doing business had clearly been shown to not work, so let's try something new. But that would take someone in FOP to stick their neck out and bypass the usual chain of command, and then be able to defeat a whole brigade of ass covering muppets lying to the 2IC.

And therefore, nothing is going to happen

[Ben revoD]

CX is a narcissistic organisation. Try telling a narcissist they're wrong.