Check Essential

Heard an idea floated the other day:

They are thinking of making reserve much friendlier and more financially lucrative and much better staffed; but only for the most junior categories in each base. So the changes would essentially help only the M88Bs, A320Bs and DC9Bs , etc. Only the positions where guys have no alternative to reserve.

The logic is that everyone else is on reserve by choice.

If you think it sucks to be a captain on reserve then bid a smaller jet or bid FO. If life is unbearable as a reserve co-pilot on the 777, then bid the 7ER where you could hold a line, etc. etc.

What would you guys think about that concept?

Apparently Delta management is very reluctant to make reserve "commuter friendly" because of the costs and it is going to cost DALPA a lot of our negotiating capital if we want to do it.

Jughead

I think I'll get grief for saying this, but being new or junior, and having nowhere else to go, is part of the deal in any job. It's been that way since someone got the bright idea to haul people in airplanes for profit.

There are a lot of guys who came before us that "paid their dues" (sorry for the tired cliche') for years sitting sideways on a 727, DC-8, or 1011. Years in those positions. Or some dude bouncing all around the system everytime a base closed/opened or a new jet was introduced or removed.

I hope we don't waste resources and energy persuing this avenue towards our contract restoration efforts.

As always, JMHO, YMMV, et. al.

80ktsClamp

That is nearly identical to the WN system as well.

acl65pilot

Check, you would have guys bid junior jets and bid reserve if it was lucrative. Might look good on paper, but reserve probably needs to be the same in every category.

Also, not everyone is on reserve by choice. They just got bumped down there and rather than going through another training event and a two year lock and sat tight and toughed it out.

Check Essential

Exactly. I would expect that.
Then the guys who truly didn't want to be on reserve could hold lines.

Ultra long call, a 75 hour guarantee, strictly voluntary short call with 2 hours pay above the guarantee for every short call, stuff like that ---- but only for NYCM88B or MSPM88B or DTW320B, etc.

You'd have plenty of guys bid that. The rest can then be lineholders.
Or reserve by choice on bigger equipment.

That would be more fair and cheaper than trying to make reserve life easier and commutable for wide-body captains.

Check Essential

Isn't that their choice?

If you make reserve attractive for the bottom categories then NOBODY would ever be forced to be on reserve.

acl65pilot

It's an idea, but I think that it would not pass MEMRAT. I would expect it to be equal to have any chance of passing.

Good idea though. Ultra Long call work better on International Jets.

johnso29

I like it.

Check Essential

Doing it for all categories would be great. But very expensive.
There's the rub.

Just do it for the bottom paying categories and sell it to the membership by pointing out the benefit --> no pilot at Delta Air Lines will ever have to sit reserve again unless they choose to do it.

TOGA LK

A brilliant concept and most definitely in-touch with the reality around junior pilots. With just a few hundred retirements per year until the later part of this decade, there will be many guys forced into a reserve life-style in those categories. The realities are, a SLC or LAX type may very well be a reserve on the junior most eqiupment from 2008 until 2016 or even later, depending on the negotiations concerning scope with Alaska and 70+ seat flying conducted by Skywest. (It's obvious in our network where the Trojan Horse was cut loose, the furthest most direction away from mecca.).

Now that I have complained, a possible solution.

If said pilot is living within 180 miles of a Delta pilot base in the junior most category:

Artificially beef up the staffing formulas on the bottom of said categories.

Alternate said pilots between a month of reserve and a month of holding a schedule. No one is punished as the staffing is artificially high to begin with.

or

If a currently commuting pilot maintains a bid prefence under his AE and/or VD indicating ONLY a preference to be based within 180 miles of his home of record AND maintains that top preference until he is awarded a base within 180 miles of his home of record:

a. Positive space to work for shortcall assignments

b. Positive space for the assignment of a trip

c. Paid hotel rooms and perdiem a. and b.

d. An alternating monthly schedule of reserve and block

e. Seat locks will be removed as required to enable the pilot to bid into a base within 180 miles of his home of record, in seniority order

and

For all reserve pilots:

a. 15 days of availability for 75 hour guarantee, based upon average daily credit of 5 hours per day. This can be shifted as low as 13 days for 65 hours of pay enabling the pilots to maintain a line of work outside of flying as a hedge and preparation against future economic downturns and furlough. Such pilots will be permitted to conduct outside flying under part 91, flight instructing, EMS, police, fire, etc. Such pilots must ensure that this time doesn't conflict with FARs.

b. The ability to bid short call RAP periods and/or longcall in seniority order, a maximum of six short calls per month.

c. The option of bidding all shortcalls for the entire month and being awarded the higher of 80 hours, the ALV or the actual hours or days flown based upon all the duty rigs associated with a regular line pilot and five hours per day guarantee.

d. Scheduling will maintain a ratio of long call and shortcall, with a minimum staffing for shortcall.

e. Trips in open time awarded in seniority order. If a pilot has not put a yellow slip request in, then trips for the following day must be offered by scheduling in seniority order, unless the senior pilots has indicated a preference via yellow slip.

f. Eliminate the requirement to check your schedule on a day off. However, a pilot can expect an assignment or RAP as early as 12:00 the first day and a commuting reserve pilot must anticipate a positive space flight to his base of coverage on the first mainline, codeshare or DCI flight available from his home of record.


These concepts would reward those attempting to bid into a base in which they already live within 180 miles of and rectify the pay discrepancies between those stuck each month at 70 hours and those that can hold regular line positions. In effect, everyone would have about the same pay and 15 days per month of obligation. Of course greenslips and working over the ALV with swaps and open time would still be an option.