CAAC ATP

It seems to me that the issue with the current reserve system is its lack of predictability. The flexibility of schedulers to use us is detrimental to our ability to guess our short term futures. Making seniority the number one denominator in the reserve system fixes this so long as we can access the information and it is completely transparent. I do think it will improve but only a step at a time because scheduling is not going to give up all its perceived flexibility at once. I'm going to wait it out before I place judgement.

On another note, as a commuter, I don't think I would ever voluntarily bid reserve.

Jesse

Sorry you feel that it's "been over the top", but that's just a reflection of how unpopular the bucket values are. I hear the justification being made that the majority wanted seniority restored; OK, yes, I think we can all agree with that, but was that (those inputs) considered "over the top."? I guess some voices calling for a change are welcomed and considered valued. But a call for tweaking the buckets (as we've been told they're open to tweaking) and that's over the top? If you don't voice it then silence is consent. We're talking about people being on the lowest equipment and on reserve for six to eight years (four have since passed). Simply voicing that we adjust what was said adjustable, yet some don't like the thought of junior pilots exercising that right. I'm glad to report my reps don't feel that. While they aren't ready to recommend a change yet, they were receptive to my input.

Jesse

Again, love the way you refer to it Buzz when suggestions are made to adjust what is said to be adjustable.

I can just see the solution for this: we need to hire more pilots so we have enough reserves to 1.) Cover trips 2.) Cover SCs 3.) Allow senior pilots to not be called out on a trip or SC.

I'd love to see hiring, but I don't think this one will pass muster.

formerdal

Actually this was done by Gulfstream several years ago...Boeing just copied them!!

FlightAware > Gulfstream Aerospace #17 > 06-Feb-2007 > KATW-KATW Flight Tracker

scambo1

Jesse, et al;

Man O man, I feel your pain. When you are at the bottom and manning is tight, it is almost preferable to have no job. The exhaustion caused by what "they" can do to you (and will do to you) is untenable. Been there.

One month, as a junior narrowbody reserve, I slept in my bed 4 times (not necessarily at night) AND I lived in base - days off all at outstations. No payback days, no nothing - not even enough time to figure out how I could be scrogged so badly. I had enough time to pay my bills, do my laundry throw away the food in my fridge and go back to work. I bid out of that category as fast as I could, but while it lasted, it was brutal and it scarred me for life.

BUT I could bid out, which is not necessarily an option these days.

Oh, and save the "when you show up for work you are fit for duty" stuff. And I still don't know how I didn't get payback days.

gloopy

Yeah sometimes we chase our tails on this one. While "productivity" is a four letter word among unions, it is why SWA has been so phenomenally successful while paying dramatically more than their competitors all while having 100% scope.

As nice as it is to think we can legislate through our contract massive unproductively to drive hiring it just doesn't work like that. All that does is push for even more outsourcing at an ever more fervent pace (thanks spell checker).

Some guys still think we can open section 6 and be all like "ok you ignorant managers, here's a contract doubling the number of pilots required to do the exact same amount of work...AND we're getting a big raise!" It just doesn't work like that. Little scams like "buddy-bid-month-off-greenslip-line-triple-pay" and touch drop vacations that many want so a select few can get over a month off with each week's vacation while others only get 4 days are sneaky little jailhouse lawyer tricks and are extremely expensive and unproductive ways to concentrate the value of a CBA into the hands of a very select few while having NOTHING to do with honoring seniority. Likewise, senior reserves flying 2 days a quarter while junior reserves fly max lines every month is equally unreasonable.

Seniority should matter for a lot of things on reserve, but it shouldn't mean getting an entire month off while others in category work 18 non commutable days. All line holders, junior or senior, fly a full line value. You can bid min or max, but you're flying a full line. But somehow when it comes to reserve, seniority is an entitlement to be the absolute last to be used under any circumstance. So senior reserve under that type of system becomes yet another micro empire slush fund and the rest of the CBA has to eat the cost of that. Like I think FTB mentioned, the logical equivalent would be to give the top 10% of lineholders the month off while distributing their trips among the other line holders to fly on their days off for no additional pay because hey, we got to respect the seniority.

Some will say productivity will result in excess staffing, but that is only true if you keep the insanely high levels of outsourcing we have. And when we go for SWA pay, the company will demand SWA productivity to which I say we tell them to bring it on...right after we get their scope and pay. We have the upper hand on the productivity argument anyway. Want us to fly 800+ block hour years for narrowbody domestic? OK, but we're getting SWA pay for small narrowbody flying and up from there and work rules that give reserves 14/15 days a month off and the average line holder 18. That means we will need extremely good rigs to drive that productivity, amirite?

TeddyKGB

This new raw bucket system is only used as a tie breaker if all else is equal. Senior reserve pilots are still going to fly as there will be many cases where they will get trips before more junior reserve pilots. The #1 reserve pilot will get the 3 day trip if he is the only reserve pilot who is on 3 days of availability. The #1 reserve pilot will get the trip when he is the only one on short call whose contact times work. The only time the senior reserve pilot will get bypassed for a more junior pilot is when there are more junior pilots who meet the same days of availability. I don't see an earth shattering change. I'm junior reserve in my category and I haven't flow yet this month while a lot of pilots senior to me already have raw scores of 30-95.

nwaf16dude

I think the problem right now is amplified by the lack of flying available. Leads the regular guys to pick up everything they can via white slip leaving very little for the reserves to do except short call. When/if we start adding flying back, I think this will settle out into a more equitable system. I think it would make sense to reduce the bucket size until they start adding some flying back.

Amish Pilot

Deleted post.

MoonShot

I think that senior folks in larger categories are going to enjoy the positives from the new rules more than senior folks in small categories. If you are senior in a larger category, then you are much more likely to have people junior to you on any given days of availability but in a smaller category, there just aren't enough people to pad the senior folks each day of availability - thus increasing your chances of flying while being senior.

I think the new system is good and I believe the 80 RAW to be a fair bucket threshold. I look forward to seeing the short call seniority implemented. I do believe that the new system is going to be a pain for the extremely junior folks, especially for the commuters.

I'm currently a handful from the bottom in my category (hoping to get displaced next bid to go to more junior equipment) so I while I certainly understand the plight of the junior folks, I welcome the new system.