Air Canada prepares to lock out pilots Monday

[revelations]

Originally posted by pea_soup
We also need to get high speed rail going through North America to eliminate a lot of these short and highly ineffecient flights.

Why we as of yet don't have high speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton that would cost a fraction of flying is beyond me.

I think the entire system is ready for a major change instead of it being the same old business structures we've had in place for 50+ years.

The major airline executives are the most conservative people you will ever meet.

Every improvement in existing technology is micro-incremental and ultra-carefully measured against share price demands of the holders and the wishes of he general public.

As an example, the new 787 originally had a more fluidic exterior design but airline executives worried that passengers would be concerned about flying in something that didnt look like a regular airplane.
(most passengers think the engines are ALL that keeps the airplane flying)

Sir Richard Branson is the exception.... he'd be the person to watch.



Trains wont work Canada-wide because of our very low population density.

Edmonton-Calgary and Toronto-Ottawa -Montreal are the only real locations for high speed rail in Canada. HIgh speed rail hasnt really panned out here because people are worried about crossing safety (you know, those people who cant figure out that lights and bells mean a train is coming?)

[Sugarphreak]

...

[revelations]

The pilots' association was not immediately available for comment, but some pilots took to Twitter on Saturday to say the weather was the cause of any service disruptions, not sick calls by co-workers.

[Xtrema]

Fuck it. Let's piece meal Air Canada out and fire everyone.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1


Whoops, guess that one backfired eh?

I'm not saying how well/if it was handled, and I've saw plenty of cases go to court and the plaintiff lose. It's amazing what a multi-million dollar in profit per year company can spend on excellent lawyers versus joe schmoe without a job.

With a union? The union does those things for you, even though it would be EXTREMELY unlikely those types of things would happen in a union-job to begin with. YMMV!

Hey, I already admitted I was wrong on that. I honestly had no idea that an engineering grad could make that level of coin out of the gate. I know that none of the technologists I went to college with did anything near that. We were all in the $40k range.

Not the first time I've been educated by beyond, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by pea_soup
Why we as of yet don't have high speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton that would cost a fraction of flying is beyond me.

Maybe it's the 20 Billion dollars up front to build it?

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by codetrap


I know that none of the technologists I went to college with did anything near that. We were all in the $40k range.

As a technologist myself, I STILL expected a minimum of ~$26/h. I started at that for one month doing inside technical sales for a large instrumentation company, then jumped to R&D where I am now, and may be making a move at the end of this week if all things go well.

I graduated in 2010, so again, YMMV, but anyone in the engineering field (whether us lowly technologists or actual enginerds) should be making a minimum of $50k out the gate. Also, since our education was only two years, we don't have to experience it, but could you imagine the debt level an engineer in training has to carry on a $50k a year (gross) salary? After you paid rent, paid bills, and paid your $500 (or more) loan payment, there isn't much left when you are netting $35k per year!

[Supa Dexta]

I try to avoid AC as much as I can, but said f-it and booked with them again.. Im sure this will end up only cementing my hatred for their service.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1
, but could you imagine the debt level an engineer in training has to carry on a $50k a year (gross) salary? After you paid rent, paid bills, and paid your $500 (or more) loan payment, there isn't much left when you are netting $35k per year!

Nobody said it would be easy, or fair. I got the impression at first that you were trying to imply that it was industries responsibility to pay high wages because some new grads had a bunch of debt.

On another note, I'm sure happy I was denied student loans. I simply worked 2 jobs in the summer, and one during school. Some of those 24 hr shifts were brutal, but they allowed me to pay off tuition/bills as I went along. Had zero time for partying too, so didn't blow any cash along the way.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by codetrap


Nobody said it would be easy, or fair.

All I'm saying, is that it's a tough road to hoe. Which is why I understand why first year pilots want to get paid more.

The most important earning years of someones life is NOT when they are 40 and raking in the cash, but it does help. The earlier you get off the ground, the better. I'd rather see people have higher starting wages, but lower peaks. I'd rather see people not be stressed when they have a kid, because they aren't earning enough money as a young professional. Their problem? Absolutely, but that still doesn't mean I don't empathize with them!

[Xtrema]

More bad news out of AC.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...ir-canada.html

[clem24]

^^ So are these the same maintenance guys and machinists that were threatening to go on strike (and now they've lost their jobs) or different?

[XylathaneGTR]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
I try to avoid AC as much as I can, but said f-it and booked with them again.. Im sure this will end up only cementing my hatred for their service.

It's not my favourite airline, that's for sure...but I have had to fly with them a few times over the last year and it hasn't been all bad.

A flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver was delayed by about an hour, causing me to miss my Calgary connection (all with AC). They placed me on the next flight and made sure my seat was still with those in my group...no hassle, no sweat.

Just flew with them last week to catch a concert in Kansas. A rep actually called me a few weeks before the flight to let me know that my return flight had been pushed back an hour.

It could always be worse...

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by clem24
^^ So are these the same maintenance guys and machinists that were threatening to go on strike (and now they've lost their jobs) or different?

I think these guys are for major overhauls. But looking for alternate suppliers will cost big $.

[5.9 R/T]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
I am surprised this hasn't been posted yet...

Air Canada pilots are calling in sick across the country and fucking up flights for their consumers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...ellations.html

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories...ations-120317/

AC is a disaster.

FYI compared to the same weekend last year the same amount of pilots called in sick. Management is just up to their old tricks again and joe public buys right into it.

If you have flights on AC booked near the end of the month be warned, there may be cancellations as I suspect most in the pilot group will not be working overtime anymore to make AC's schedule work.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by clem24
^^ So are these the same maintenance guys and machinists that were threatening to go on strike (and now they've lost their jobs) or different?

No, AVEOS is an offshoot that does contract maintenance, like for Canadian North. (737 operator)

edit: Actually I just found out that although it's a seperate run company, the AME's are still part of Air Canada's union. So yes, they are (some) of the same guys threatening to go on strike.

That being said AVEOS has been doing poorly for quite awhile, and it's of no surprise to anyone that they're shutting down.

[1barA4]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T

FYI compared to the same weekend last year the same amount of pilots called in sick. Management is just up to their old tricks again and joe public buys right into it.

If you have flights on AC booked near the end of the month be warned, there may be cancellations as I suspect most in the pilot group will not be working overtime anymore to make AC's schedule work.

While I'm not going to claim dishonesty on the AC union's part (given I have no proof), what I will say is that union members did the same thing at TELUS leading up to the strike (techs would make sure their days were booked full, or would accept overtime and let their load fill up, then call in sick to affect operations the most).

I was a dispatcher, then a regional scheduler around that time, so I was directly aware of this happening (I was very pro-Union then, so I often directly or at least indirectly, helped facilitate that too).

[71/454]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok



edit: Actually I just found out that although it's a seperate run company, the AME's are still part of Air Canada's union. So yes, they are (some) of the same guys threatening to go on strike.

Not the same guys. They belong to the same union as AC guys but these guys work for Aveos.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by 71/454

Not the same guys. They belong to the same union as AC guys but these guys work for Aveos.

That's exactly what I said

They are the same union though. When ACTS got sold off, and became AVEOS, splitting the employee union was so complicated, they never bothered.

So anyone who works for Air Canada, and doesn't have enough seniority, can get bumped out of position (laid off) by an AVEOS employee with higher seniority.

[71/454]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


That's exactly what I said

They are the same union though. When ACTS got sold off, and became AVEOS, splitting the employee union was so complicated, they never bothered.

So anyone who works for Air Canada, and doesn't have enough seniority, can get bumped out of position (laid off) by an AVEOS employee with higher seniority.

Not true. As of October all these people work for Aveos and not Air Canada, they cannot bump in between anymore.