Could somebody print this thread or any thread in
this forum and present to da BOSS on Sunday's meeting. Yours
truly will be working.
10 things I hate About MAS
1.Pay : The pay sucks. How come other
airlines can pay a lowly first officer like me what a
commander here gets and still make tons of money whilst we
can't? Until things improve paywise...I'll always set my
sights on moving to another airline whenever I can. Forget
about loyalty etc. The grass at the Dubai Creek Golf Course
will always seem greener. I know for a FACT...IT IS!
Inequitable system of type pay. Too much difference in type
pay. Pay everyone the same. Makes less of a scramble to get
to the B747. A330/B777 Crew work harder than their
conterparts on the B747 but get paid less. The days of being
paid based of the weight of the Aircraft are over. Are you
kidding me? Does it take much more brute force to lift a 747
off the ground compared to a A330/B777? If the argument is
based on the number of passengers carried and the revenue
generated...maybe the B737 would have a higher type
pay....they carry more passengers in a da compared to a
single B747.The beancounters can do the sums. I for one
think that all should be paid the same. Let the pilots
decide on the equipment/lifestyle they want. Solves the
company's problem of having too many rookies on the B737.
There will be a better spread of experience throughout all
fleets.
2.FTL : No FTL. Makes me feel ashamed to
work for a Flag Carrier who has no regard for MCAR or
CAP371. Where is the Company's responsibility to the
travelling public? Doesn't the Company feel the need to do
things right? Or is the Company's aim only to
make money? Makes a mockery of the SVP(FO)'s foreword in the
FOPM..aspiring to be the safest etc.etc. Can't we finalise
an FTL so that crew and scheduler's are not left to grope in
the dark trying to figure out how much more a person can
fly. As it is...nothing stops me from telling crewing that I
have hit the 100 hours in 28 day limit and will not be able
to fly for the next 10 days. Crewing does'nt know my hours.
They depend on me to be truthful. What kind of Company is
this? Even a boy scout troop is run more efficiently!
Computerise everything....makes it efficient.It could cost
more initially. The benefits outweight the cost. Fed up of
having to count my hours every other day to make sure I do
not bust the limits.
3.Roster : Lousy system of paying crew
productivity in excess of 80hours. Productivity should be
paid hourly. Not fair to the crew who has 80 block
hours/month but in 28 days could work up to 100 hours. Pay
every hour. Would make flights like KUL/MAA/KUL seem
worthwhile compared to KUL/PEN then n/stop. Feels more
equitable/fair to the crew. This includes cabin crew too. No
wonder so many of them report sick. Rostering could be
fairer and equitable. What has happened to the block roster
system? Make sure there is variety in a month. Short and
long flights. North, South, East and West. CAP371 limits to
be adhered to. As it is, crew are left to determine for
themselves whether rosters are legal or not. Are there
enough Days OFF? 2 days off in 14 consecutive days? etc..
4.Staff Travel : There's got to be a better
way about this. Put it on the internet. Crew can then look
up flights which are not so fully booked, purchase tickets
on the internet and then have the price deducted from their
pay at the end of the month. Makes travel a lot easier.
Those without computers can still purchase at the counter.
5.Preflight : Most stressful part of
flying. Especially when ex-KUL. By far the worst station to
be departing from. Long walk to the airplanes I can deal
with. But the other duties which are tedious. Eg. Searching
the Alternates Cluster for the relevant charts and
documentation. If all departments play their part right,
then I don't have to rush to make sure that they have done
their part. More often than not, charts are
misplaced/incomplete. Adding stress to crew. I agree there
are crew who choose not to be stressed by this. Just close
one eye. 99% of the time, you don't divert or you wont have
an ETOPS diversion. For flight attendants too preflight can
be stressful ex-KUL, warped service carts,meals not loaded
properly(understand catering does it for foreign carriers).
If every department does their job, crews duty would be much
easier.
6.Uniform : Lousy, poor quality uniforms.
How are we supposed to carry ourselves internationally let
alone publicly in Malaysia in cheap uniforms. Often with
trouser length much to be desired. Peak caps of poor
quality. Lousy plastic nav bags. We look cheap and sloppy in
our uniforms. If the company wants to project a better image
it has to be willing to spend some money first. Money well
spent on QUALITY items will last longer and look better most
of the time. There is nothing cheap and good in this world
,only Cheap and Awful.
7.HOTAC : Lousy choice of hotels in some
stations. Leaves the public with an unsavoury image of the
crew. Again, it's up to the company what kind of image they
want of the company. However, meal allowances must be
increased and strict enforcement of nil cooking before we
can afford to stay in good hotels.
8.Training : Insufficient training of
ground staff to handle passengers the way flight crew handle
them. Onboard the aircraft, passengers are treated royally
by the flight attendants only to see their efforts come to
nought when handled by ground staff. Given the runaround at
terminals etc.etc. We need quality staff, ordinary well
trained people can do the job, some with skills in other
languages. Nonchalant attitude of staff must be eradicated.
Teach the staff to be conscientious of their actions
affecting other departments within the airline.
9.Engineering Support : I bet our
colleagues at Engineering would say they have insufficient
spares. Airplanes dispatched with U/S entertainment modules.
We spend so much telling the passengers we have the biggest
this, you can order flowers ,cappucino etc.etc., half the
time the stuff don't work. Flight attendants are then left
to face the wrath of passengers.How dedicated we are in
solving problems will show how dedicated we are/sincere we
are in pleasing customers. I have seen A320's on foreign
carriers with better interiors than or B747's or A330's. All
boils down to what the company wants to project. How much
are we willing to spend on quality goods.
10.Lousy PR :We need to have a good PR
department. If necessary tell the truth but make known your
plight. Eg. the recent London low fuel scenario....if we had
a good PR department we could have turned the tide by
highlighting the difficulty in obtaining levels over the Bay
of Bengal or something like that. I'm sure other carrier's
would have pitched in to voice their concerns too. Have you
seen a good MAS ad on TV recently? Neither have I.
Hope others contribute. I would recommend that Dr.Don
accesses this site often. Not to look at what others think
of him, those are just personal attacks which I do not agree
to, but to get a feel of what the pilots morale is and maybe
get some good
suggestions/ideas.