Originally Posted by slowplay

Can all you guys that are reserve tell me how many times you've broken guarantee in the last 12 months? Systemwide the average is less than 5%, and most of those were created through yellowslip situations according to the data we were provided.

The ALV system was designed for the Delta network of 2004/5. That network had about a 14-15% swing in flying from peak summer to trough winter flying. The new Delta network has a 22% swing from peak summer to winter trough. That left us very short of reserves in the summer and very fat on reserves in the winter. Our productivity is down from 66% in 2006 to 59% now primarily due to changes in the network and how our workrules interact with that network. SWA's productivity is at 72% by comparison.

I may be mistaken but it appears you're looking at ALV + 15 in a vacuum. It works in conjunction with a whole bunch of other things.

1. TLV got raised by one hour to 75-80 hours system wide. That means reserve guarantee should pay 75+30 on average (ALV-2). Anytime you go above ALV-2 you're costing the company additional money beyond guarantee. They'd rather split the trip or do something with someone that has guarantee to burn.

2. All known absences are now figured into each individual reserve guarantee. That reduces the amount of guarantee you have left when you're on reserve (2nd example you quoted).

3. The staffing formula requires additional staffing when reserves average over 60 hours. An extra body for a year costs way more than a greenslip.

4. Reserves have 6 extra X days off per year, reducing their availability.

There's some more, but I think I've made the point. ALV+15 will be used the most in short staffed categories with long trips. An example would be reserves that used to not be available for a 12 day NRT because they'd flown a turnaround at the beginning of the month.

Originally Posted by Bill Lumberg

Do you really think every reserve will fly ALV+15? How much extra flying have reserves flown lately? DL staffs this airline for two busy months of the year, July and August. Those are the busy months. The other months still have the same number of reserves, but the flying hours go down, especially in the Winter. ALPA has stated that this could cost 300 jobs as a negative, but the Early Out program will target 250 total, and then the addition of the 717s would add another 1100 (according to an ALPA guy in ATL lounge).

Originally Posted by MrBojangles

I've capped out at ALV twice in the last year. How do you go above ALV now without a yellow slip? They can't force me to.

Originally Posted by slowplay

Can all you guys that are reserve tell me how many times you've broken guarantee in the last 12 months? Systemwide the average is less than 5%, and most of those were created through yellowslip situations according to the data we were provided.

The ALV system was designed for the Delta network of 2004/5. That network had about a 14-15% swing in flying from peak summer to trough winter flying. The new Delta network has a 22% swing from peak summer to winter trough. That left us very short of reserves in the summer and very fat on reserves in the winter. Our productivity is down from 66% in 2006 to 59% now primarily due to changes in the network and how our workrules interact with that network. SWA's productivity is at 72% by comparison.

I may be mistaken but it appears you're looking at ALV + 15 in a vacuum. It works in conjunction with a whole bunch of other things.

1. TLV got raised by one hour to 75-80 hours system wide. That means reserve guarantee should pay 75+30 on average (ALV-2). Anytime you go above ALV-2 you're costing the company additional money beyond guarantee. They'd rather split the trip or do something with someone that has guarantee to burn.

2. All known absences are now figured into each individual reserve guarantee. That reduces the amount of guarantee you have left when you're on reserve (2nd example you quoted).

3. The staffing formula requires additional staffing when reserves average over 60 hours. An extra body for a year costs way more than a greenslip.

4. Reserves have 6 extra X days off per year, reducing their availability.

There's some more, but I think I've made the point. ALV+15 will be used the most in short staffed categories with long trips. An example would be reserves that used to not be available for a 12 day NRT because they'd flown a turnaround at the beginning of the month.

Originally Posted by Rather B Fishin

Extremely clairvoyant of you. Let's build a TA on what reserves are doing TODAY, not 5 years from now. When we start retiring a pilot a day plus, do you really think reserves won't be flying to ALV + 15???

Originally Posted by The Cavalier

If you are arguing that reserves now never hit ALV therefore ALV+15 isn't important, you have to ask yourself why then is it so important to the company for the next 3 years. The answer is so simple a blind man can see it.

Originally Posted by MoonShot

I'm curious (if the TA is ratified, and I'm a NO vote BTW) where the line will be drawn on "critical category staffing" for the early out? DALPA has already said that we are going to lose 300 (give or take) jobs to efficiencies during this agreement.

Here is how I see staffing going down the next few years under the TA:

1 - We lose 300 jobs to efficiencies right off the bat.
2 - IF we get lucky, we will have 250 or so early outs. Call it a wash, BEST CASE?
3 - The airline is still a bit over staffed.
4 - Military guys and a handful of furlough bypasses want to come back.
5 - As the senior folks leave, many of the spots on the fat international categories aren't backfilled.
6 - Folks that took the early out constitute the majority of the guys that would have been leaving in the next three years anyways, so its unlikely we will see many retirements within three years of the early out.

Originally Posted by SawF16

Please tell me when you last flew to ALV on reserve without a YS? There may have been a high frequency of it in the summers of 2007 and 2008, but it certainly wasn't everyone. I have even on reserve for 4+ years at DAL, have never broken 70. The few times I got close was back in late 08/09 on the MD when the ATL category was WAY understaffed and we had a waiver to ALV requirements for the MD88 as a way to surge block hours and take flying that would have otherwise been RJs. The reserve manning formula doesn't change, bu I will concede that this will probably result in less GS.

As a long time reserve, I m pretty happy with the changes to reserve thru this TA, the changes to reserve avail/required, and the RAW changes. Topped off w a guarantee that will likely be 5 hours greater on average and one less on call day on about half the months, I think reserve will be very senior in winter.