The geniuses running my pilot union at the airline I fly for (that’s based out of the airport in dallas that’s not DFW) managed to negotiate an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with management that gets rid of contract tracing and follow up phone calls. We’re incredibly short staffed and have operational issues (lots of Covid call-outs for flight crew and can’t keep ground personnel on the job when they’re working for shit wages and being overwhelmed)- so many of us are stretched out. With this MOU, I’m beyond fucking angry because from the start of this pandemic, our management and Union have been so behind in terms of promoting mandatory mask wearing, employee health/safety and of course, getting vaxxed (our company is one of the only major airlines to push back on the now shot down federal vaccine mandate). This MOU is another kick in the mommy-daddy buttons for those of us who actually give a flying fuck at work. They have sadly capitulated to the vociferous “freedom fliers” who relish their freedom and won’t help because they throw a fit having to wear a mask or won’t get vaxxed. Hell, our ceo even told congress masks don’t work on airplanes and our union president was on glen beck once. I work and fly with an incredible amount of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers and it’s maddening to hear some of the inane drivel from so many of these purportedly “intelligent” people when our job is literally based on science, technology, etc.
I had 3 phone calls regarding flying with 3 flight attendants who tested positive for Covid when I flew over NYE weekend and now that our pilot union has in essence given in, I’m at my wit’s end. I have to assume now that every dim witted chucklefuck I fly with is un vaxxed and not into masks. It’s added stress for an already stressful job and what’s truly sad is this pandemic has shown how incredibly self-centered, selfish and petulant so many of my coworkers are truly. So much for this being the “luv airline.” At this point, I have to protect my health and wellness at any cost.
Sorry, I needed to vent.
OWA is a godsend for me sometimes…
Wow, I didn’t know your CEO had made that asinine comment. And then almost immediately afterwards tested positive. That certainly has a huge impact on how I view your company and whether I choose to fly with them or not.
I love traveling, and when I fly I usually fly that airline because I use the associated credit card to buy everything and have a zillion points and a companion pass, plus it’s usually going where I want to travel. Flying to Hawaii last week we flew Delta, but then flew inter-island on SW. SW canceled a flight on us, but meh.
SW used to have the reputation of being a pretty good place to work. I’m sorry that’s changed (if its earlier reputation was deserved). If it’s any consolation, I figured that between sitting on the planes and layovers in the airport, I just assumed we were going to be exposed, and I don’t see how airline personnel can avoid it. I have no doubt that we were, mask or no mask, though we got home and tested negative. We must have been protected by the mai tais.
By the way, I keep meaning to ask, is flying a plane similar to Microsoft flight simulator? Can you get up and leave during the middle of a flight?
ETA: And is Airplane! a realistic portrayal of the airline industry?
We are in a unique situation here, however, in that 1/3rd of the sitting justices were nominated by a president who was impeached twice and very likely fomented an insurrection in order to prevent the transfer of power and instead install him as an unelected despot.
Further, the workload on the current court is far, far greater than what was the case when congress set the court to 9 justices. As I said in my earlier post, there were 9 districts then and there are 13 districts now.
Now Trump has clearly heightened attention on the court, which the court itself is amplifying by rolling back previously settled laws. So reform has been long overdue but has now become urgent.
Such reform needs to go beyond the number of seats, to include term limits (to avoid seats being gamed the way all of Trump’s open seats were) and independent ethics oversight with real teeth.
Neil, I sure hope we took good care of you in Hawaii. From what I gather, the locals in the islands are relieved we do that service as Hawaiian has been gouging them for years since Aloha folded.
I do love the inner island stuff- the views are spectacular and the flying is fun.
I wouldn’t begrudge you for thinking differently about us, either. Lord knows the past 2 years have shown me that dollah bills/profit is more important to so many here. That’s sad.
And yes, Airplane! is incredibly accurate regarding the airlines.
The issue with the recently appointed justices isn’t that they’re ‘conservative,’ whatever that means. It’s that they aren’t serious jurists but rather paid political operatives.
Sorry to unleash my inner seven year old but what happens when one of you needs to go to the bathroom? A flight attendant stands in there? What would s/he do if the pilot suddenly decided to fly into a mountain?
Whoever started it, the current and pressing problem is that the six justices in the conservative bloc have gone completely feral. They can do whatever they want, wreck whatever they want, with no limits and no accountability (they’ve even dabbled in foreign policy with the ‘remain in Mexico’ decision). There are obvious reasons why the Executive branch shouldn’t meddle with the Supreme Court, but the designed limiter on the Court’s power (legislation or even amendments to the Constitution) no longer works with Congress totally gridlocked. The Constitutional system of checks and balances has completely broken down, and there’s no practical way to fix it.
Chuck, yes, the FA occupies the cockpit as well (or, a jumpseater sometimes) so as to ensure there are always 2 people up there when we need to hit the little pilot’s room/lavatory or stretch.
The 2nd person is up there so that access to the flight deck can be made if need be. In the case of the German Wings/Lufthansa crash, the suicidal pilot locked the Captain out and there was no way of accessing the flight deck, sadly.
There is a means to get in if need be, but that’s not something everyone needs to know.
Not a lot one could do quite honestly if someone is crazy enough to take out an airliner with suicidal intentions. There’s a crash axe in the flight deck, a 1’ x 2’ metal encased maintenance log, 4 12” stout metal landing gear pins and some pilots are qualified as Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDOs) so they’re carrying a sidearm. If some one was really deranged like say a dojers or ny steM fan, not a lot to stop them from incapacitating the other pilot
Well in that case I guess I’ll have to hope that your fellow pilots are simply garden variety anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers and not a bunch of unhinged anti-social freaks who don’t care if others suffer in the wake of their weird ego-centric agenda.
