Saturday, November 08, 2003
Well, my chapter of the Vanguard Airlines Saga may finally be coming to an end. The bankruptcy court recently settled the matter of the major creditors. Hopefully the attention will now turn to employee claims.
For those who didn't know, I flew the MD-80 for Vanguard from Aug. 2001 to July 2002. They went into bankruptcy July 29th, 2002. They just closed the doors. Without warning, it just ended. It was a rather odd experience actually. I was on a four day trip. We had spent the night in Pittsburgh and were on our way back to Kansas City. We were to pick up passengers there and go on to Las Vegas for the night. I was flying with one of my favorite captains, Greg Wineke. Greg was the only black pilot at Vanguard and stood out like a sore thumb in the Kansas City crowd. He had a great sense of humor and I always enjoyed flying with him. We had just called "In-Range" to KC and the operations desk informed us that our Las Vegas leg was canceled. "Vegas?...Cancelled?...Vegas never cancels." There could be atom bombs falling all over the earth with the planet cracking in half while the deadliest plague swept across America and there would still be somebody heading to Vegas for the weekend!
We asked why the flight had been canceled. After a pause that seemed a little too long, a guilty voice came back and said "operational concerns". What the hell does that mean? We blew it off and continued. As we pulled on to the ramp in KC we could see no other Vanguard planes or personnel. I turned to Greg and said "watch...when we pull in all the doors will be locked and we'll be out of business." We both laughed. Now, before you start thinking that I am clairvoyant, I must say that I have made that comment before. You see, the most common assumption in the airline industry is that, at any minute, your company is going to go out of business...you fear that more than atom bombs falling all over the earth or the planet cracking in half or the deadliest plague sweeping across America. We pulled in and called Scheduling to see if we were going to pick up the trip the next day. They told us "no." When we queried further, the girl told us to watch the 10:00pm news. Then she told Greg that she was going to miss him. With a look of panic on his face, he verified "Are you going to miss Chris too?" You see, the second most common assumption in the airline industry is that you are about to be fired! She said "yes" and we started to get the idea. Greg said "you know that joke you made when we were taxiing in? I think it just came true." We took our bags and went home. Never to see the place again.
Too make a long story longer, we never got paid for the month of July. In addition, I have a year of vacation pay due to me as well. Altogether, it is about $4,000+. And I want it! I may not get it all but some would be nice. I'll let you know. Of course, if you take into account the pace of the U.S. Court system, I will probably get my money just in time for my retirement party.
For those who didn't know, I flew the MD-80 for Vanguard from Aug. 2001 to July 2002. They went into bankruptcy July 29th, 2002. They just closed the doors. Without warning, it just ended. It was a rather odd experience actually. I was on a four day trip. We had spent the night in Pittsburgh and were on our way back to Kansas City. We were to pick up passengers there and go on to Las Vegas for the night. I was flying with one of my favorite captains, Greg Wineke. Greg was the only black pilot at Vanguard and stood out like a sore thumb in the Kansas City crowd. He had a great sense of humor and I always enjoyed flying with him. We had just called "In-Range" to KC and the operations desk informed us that our Las Vegas leg was canceled. "Vegas?...Cancelled?...Vegas never cancels." There could be atom bombs falling all over the earth with the planet cracking in half while the deadliest plague swept across America and there would still be somebody heading to Vegas for the weekend!
We asked why the flight had been canceled. After a pause that seemed a little too long, a guilty voice came back and said "operational concerns". What the hell does that mean? We blew it off and continued. As we pulled on to the ramp in KC we could see no other Vanguard planes or personnel. I turned to Greg and said "watch...when we pull in all the doors will be locked and we'll be out of business." We both laughed. Now, before you start thinking that I am clairvoyant, I must say that I have made that comment before. You see, the most common assumption in the airline industry is that, at any minute, your company is going to go out of business...you fear that more than atom bombs falling all over the earth or the planet cracking in half or the deadliest plague sweeping across America. We pulled in and called Scheduling to see if we were going to pick up the trip the next day. They told us "no." When we queried further, the girl told us to watch the 10:00pm news. Then she told Greg that she was going to miss him. With a look of panic on his face, he verified "Are you going to miss Chris too?" You see, the second most common assumption in the airline industry is that you are about to be fired! She said "yes" and we started to get the idea. Greg said "you know that joke you made when we were taxiing in? I think it just came true." We took our bags and went home. Never to see the place again.
Too make a long story longer, we never got paid for the month of July. In addition, I have a year of vacation pay due to me as well. Altogether, it is about $4,000+. And I want it! I may not get it all but some would be nice. I'll let you know. Of course, if you take into account the pace of the U.S. Court system, I will probably get my money just in time for my retirement party.
// posted by Chris @ Saturday, November 08, 2003
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