onetime

Does anyone find the number of XTRA pairings in open time right now a tad odd?

Lindy

Probably equipment change.....most if the X-Pairings are FLL.

Gunter

Depends on what you mean by odd. Makes perfect sense if you want to keep the VTO average low.

MX727

Nope, they've been preparing for a winter storm that bearing down on MEM for the last couple of days.

One morel time to let them man the trips with the overmanned crewforce. But many will jump on the draft train anyway....

FXDX

This is BS! This company is putting 3 or 4 week long airport standbys worth 40-42 hours as X pairings each and every week in the 72. Every fng week, and they have been doing it for months. EVERY FNG WEEK. What a crock.

Keeping the BLGs artificially low and forcing everybody to burn up their makeup banks just to try to keep up. This has to stop, and our MEC ought to be all over this.

pipe

Did you read your post?

You're upset about 4a2b yet you're burning up your makeup bank? You realize that it's you making the management program work!!!! Right??!! You get that don't you?

If nobody took the open time it would go back into the lines eventually. But no, there are plenty of you guys cleaning out the open time -- and playing your part to depress the BLG's -- AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR OWN BANK!!!!!

Do you usually saw off the limb you're sitting on?

PIPE

FXDX

Pipe: I have no makeup bank. Its not me picking up any of these week long pairings. I've been at zero for much longer than we've been in 4A2b. Burned it up trying to consolidate in 2007. The most I could hope for is 6.0 hours a month anyway.

Yes, I understand that guys burning up their makeup banks is helping to keep us in 4A2b.

I also understand that it is in the contract to use your makeup bank, however you see fit, so I don't begrudge guys from making up work that they dropped at some earlier time.

I'm not in favor of having a bunch of carryover while in 4A2b, I'd rather that at least the guys flying makeup were covering work they actually had to drop rather than phantom carryover drops.

Either way, its all in the contract, and these were the same arguments made in 04 when we also had a bit of stagnation.

Beyond all of that, I don't know how the company can continually put these pairings into open time EVERY WEEK for several months. Put them in the bid packs to we can bid on them and bring the BLGs up to cover the flying that is being scheduled.

FXDX

We are definitely our own worst enemies, and the company is taking advantage of our collective greed (the simple desire to make up some of the losses suffered over the past year of 4A2b).

We are a bunch of crack *****s and the they are waving free crack pipes in front of our noses. We can't help ourselves but take the crack. I say we in a collective sense. Same thing with the 777 pay rates, or lack there of.

Smart on the company, but dishonest and not in accordance with the contract. That flying should be in the bidpacks. If not they ought to at least bump up every BLG retroactively each month to reflect the additional flying that we should have been able to bid for in the first place.

My complaint is that we're doing this flying EVERY WEEK for the past several months, and its not in the bidpack.

pipe

I have a huge makeup bank. I don't view it as my personal insurance policy against 4a2b. The company is wrong. Me using my hundreds of hours of makeup to mitigate my own situation at the cost of my fellow pilots might be contractually legal - but is it morally right?

The company will tell you that they're just "complying with the CBA" as well. I'm part of the "collective" in the term Collective Bargaining Agreement. If I use my personal make-up bank to subvert what's in the best interest of the majority of pilots, I am clearly a bad member of the "collective". If I use my bank to further enable the company's reprehensible behavior, how am I any better than them?

PIPE

FXDX

Pipe: we are in violent agreement. I understand all of the concepts you are advancing, and I applaud your restraint.

I'd rather vent my wrath at the company instead of our fellow pilots.