Nevets
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Posts
- 2,431
7 March 2012
David and Dennis,
First and most important I would like to thank you for giving Crewing Solutions an opportunity to demonstrate and educate you on SmartPref as a different approach to solving the PBS dilemma that faces crews everywhere. We wish you the best in your continued use of Flightline PBS for the ASA side of ExpressJet and as a retired pilot who bid with PBS, I do in truth hope you can achieve the best possible schedules for each and every one of your pilots every month. That is what we are all about at Crewing Solutions, as we feel SmartPref gives more pilots than any other PBS on the market that chance or opportunity month in month out. I hope you can say the same for Flightline after the JCBA gets ratified.
Secondly and now speaking as one ALPA pilot to another ALPA pilot and not as a salesman for SmartPref, I’d like to address a professional aspect that seems to be lacking from your group. As you are aware in late September and early October 2011, we offered to bring the ASA side up to speed on SmartPref to get you on equal footing with the XJT side. It was not until just before Christmas that Dennis finally contacted me with the desire to now become more informed about SmartPref. We had already delved deep into customizing SmartPref for the XJT relief line project and had not heard from nor received even one email from ASA for that 9-10 week span. So my team was skeptical at the outset as to why we were to spend time and effort with ASA as it was evident you were very against SmartPref anyway.
I convinced my team that it would be in our best interests to bring the ASA side up to speed, give you all the tools and environments the XJT side had with the hope that you would ultimately understand the many advantages of SmartPref. Consequently we spent countless hours, days and weeks working with you to do just that. The problem arose however that your PBS committee was consumed in continually trying to compare Flightline to SmartPref and to mold SmartPref to award like Flightline, which is really apples and oranges. This along with not understanding SmartPref globalization sidetracked the process. It also actually blocked them from realizing the ultimate benefits of SmartPref when used in real time live environment where globalization will begin to decrease.
We then were put on a very short timetable that no PBS company would have accepted but we did so for ASA unconditionally, still assuming you were seriously considering SmartPref. That as we now discover was a flawed assumption on my part and far from the real truth. When we recently learned the ASA PBS committee was upset because our very respected and successful founder, Chris Boegner had to depart early on the second day of his seminar with the two PBS committees (Feb. 27 -28 in California), it all became very clear and their true colors surfaced. We all know his spending another 4 hours with them was never going to change their position about SmartPref as their minds had been made up since the very beginning.
As a consequence and again pilot to pilot I feel very much deceived, taken advantage of and hoodwinked to say the least. This is only further confirmed because as of this date we at Crewing Solutions have yet to hear from your side what your decision was regarding SmartPref. We learned of it through the XJT side.
To put it in further perspective, as a captain for 26 years at PEX and CAL when it was your leg I expected you to fly the aircraft the way you like to fly it within the SOPs but using your techniques and the tools the way you best desire to fly a safe and efficient aircraft. But there were those few pilots over the years that always thought they had all the answers, even when they botched an approach and landing they would never admit it. But the worst ingredient of those who had that persona was they also would never compliment the other pilot in any way or fashion. Even a “hey, nice landing” was never uttered from this type pilot.
Hence, despite our different PBS systems, it would have been polite to receive the professional courtesy of a “thank you for your efforts, but we’ve decided to remain with Flightline.” Just that little touch would have made our time with you seem worth our while and this letter unnecessary. It appears however we had been flying with the latter type of pilot as mentioned above. Honestly, I find that type of attitude a sad premonition for the future of your merger with XJT, but nonetheless wish you well as you go forward. Fly Safe.
Fraternally,
Steve “Gyro” Jaros
Captain, ALPA retired #0830471
David and Dennis,
First and most important I would like to thank you for giving Crewing Solutions an opportunity to demonstrate and educate you on SmartPref as a different approach to solving the PBS dilemma that faces crews everywhere. We wish you the best in your continued use of Flightline PBS for the ASA side of ExpressJet and as a retired pilot who bid with PBS, I do in truth hope you can achieve the best possible schedules for each and every one of your pilots every month. That is what we are all about at Crewing Solutions, as we feel SmartPref gives more pilots than any other PBS on the market that chance or opportunity month in month out. I hope you can say the same for Flightline after the JCBA gets ratified.
Secondly and now speaking as one ALPA pilot to another ALPA pilot and not as a salesman for SmartPref, I’d like to address a professional aspect that seems to be lacking from your group. As you are aware in late September and early October 2011, we offered to bring the ASA side up to speed on SmartPref to get you on equal footing with the XJT side. It was not until just before Christmas that Dennis finally contacted me with the desire to now become more informed about SmartPref. We had already delved deep into customizing SmartPref for the XJT relief line project and had not heard from nor received even one email from ASA for that 9-10 week span. So my team was skeptical at the outset as to why we were to spend time and effort with ASA as it was evident you were very against SmartPref anyway.
I convinced my team that it would be in our best interests to bring the ASA side up to speed, give you all the tools and environments the XJT side had with the hope that you would ultimately understand the many advantages of SmartPref. Consequently we spent countless hours, days and weeks working with you to do just that. The problem arose however that your PBS committee was consumed in continually trying to compare Flightline to SmartPref and to mold SmartPref to award like Flightline, which is really apples and oranges. This along with not understanding SmartPref globalization sidetracked the process. It also actually blocked them from realizing the ultimate benefits of SmartPref when used in real time live environment where globalization will begin to decrease.
We then were put on a very short timetable that no PBS company would have accepted but we did so for ASA unconditionally, still assuming you were seriously considering SmartPref. That as we now discover was a flawed assumption on my part and far from the real truth. When we recently learned the ASA PBS committee was upset because our very respected and successful founder, Chris Boegner had to depart early on the second day of his seminar with the two PBS committees (Feb. 27 -28 in California), it all became very clear and their true colors surfaced. We all know his spending another 4 hours with them was never going to change their position about SmartPref as their minds had been made up since the very beginning.
As a consequence and again pilot to pilot I feel very much deceived, taken advantage of and hoodwinked to say the least. This is only further confirmed because as of this date we at Crewing Solutions have yet to hear from your side what your decision was regarding SmartPref. We learned of it through the XJT side.
To put it in further perspective, as a captain for 26 years at PEX and CAL when it was your leg I expected you to fly the aircraft the way you like to fly it within the SOPs but using your techniques and the tools the way you best desire to fly a safe and efficient aircraft. But there were those few pilots over the years that always thought they had all the answers, even when they botched an approach and landing they would never admit it. But the worst ingredient of those who had that persona was they also would never compliment the other pilot in any way or fashion. Even a “hey, nice landing” was never uttered from this type pilot.
Hence, despite our different PBS systems, it would have been polite to receive the professional courtesy of a “thank you for your efforts, but we’ve decided to remain with Flightline.” Just that little touch would have made our time with you seem worth our while and this letter unnecessary. It appears however we had been flying with the latter type of pilot as mentioned above. Honestly, I find that type of attitude a sad premonition for the future of your merger with XJT, but nonetheless wish you well as you go forward. Fly Safe.
Fraternally,
Steve “Gyro” Jaros
Captain, ALPA retired #0830471
