oops!

[rvictor]

immelman,

Interesting story, but irrelevant to the present situation. According to what I've read, they've lost their pilots' licenses.

Are you telling me that they still have their jobs?

I understand that at some point they will probably get their licenses back, but the question is whether they have their jobs at the present time.

If you're saying that the union will be able to get the FAA to give them their licenses back, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Given the amount of publicity that this got and the reaction from Congress, it seems unlikely that they will get them back in less than the year provided by the FAA's action. Meanwhile, it would seem likely that they don't have their pilots' jobs.

None of my comments imply any opinion on the seriousness or lack thereof of their conduct and whether they should have lost those licenses or not.

Dick

[immelmen]

Its not irrelevant as its a carbon copy of what is happening now. The point I was trying to make is that getting "fired" does not mean the same thing it does for most other professions. In this line of work it mean you will have a few months off without pay and you will need to go work in the lumber department at Lowes until the union gets your job back. You will never get highered at any other airline, but you will keep you position with you current employer...oh, and you can go through this process multiple times too, its not just a one shot deal

To date the most times I have heard of a single flight crew member being "fired" and getting their job back with out lifting a finger is SIX times....kinda sad, but true. It a power the union has in exchange for looking the other way or even being complicit when company management craps on their constituents in other ways.

As for the FAA and getting the tickets back...the airline, union and FAA are all in bed together. It wont be the first time that's happened either...If this case is any different it will only be because the news media sticks on the story for the long haul.

[rvictor]

I don't know what their employment status is at present, but I'm pretty sure they can't hold jobs as pilots without their licenses. That seems evident.

You've indicated that they have been or will be fired, but will get their jobs back. Could be. But even if they eventually get their jobs back, they will still have been fired.

They obviously won't get the old jobs back until they get their licenses back. I read that they could reapply for their licenses in a year. Didn't say that it would be automatic, but that they could reapply. Of course, the FAA could decide to give them back sooner. It could also be that the employer will reassign them to positions that don't require licenses until they get them back.

BTW, the reason that I feel your story is irrelevant is that the situation you described obviously didn't get the kind of press coverage that this story did. I may not have the experience with an airline that you do, but I've worked for government for 36 years and can tell you that press coverage trumps the facts on many occasions. When you get Congress calling for new rules, things are different than some unknown errors by some unknown pilot.

Although this type of thing obviously shouldn't happen, I share your view that it is being blown out of proportion. One contributing factor is that their explanation of what actually happened hasn't been perceived as truthful.

Dick

[immelmen]

it boils down to this...unlike most of the rest of the professional world, in the airline industry, getting fired and losing your job are two different things. Time will tell, but I would wager that this crew is experiencing the former, not the latter.

[poltergeisty]

edit-------

[poltergeisty]

Could Letting Pilots Nap Make Flying Safer? - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

I'm sure when your getting prepared for the landing you wake up quick.