Herkflyr

I don't know about you but my QOL is pretty damn good. I just bid for CQ (for the third straight time) and got exactly the dates and sim periods I asked for. Under all previous contracts including C2K the company got to decide for me. One of my last CQs under the old system got me scheduled for the two days after Christmas (in my drop dead month no less). I got to go to the sim while the rest of the family got to travel. All the C2K pay rates in the world wouldn't have changed that.

I also have slid my vacation numerous times (thanks NWA guys! that is a great thing that you brought us). We didn't have that in C2K. How about commuters getting a paid hotel for CQ as well as initial qual? Hell when I got hired in the late 90s ATL commuters had to stay in a crappy crashpad for all training, recurrent and initial. Now you get a hotel for all initial training (even if you don't commute) and for CQ as well if you live further than 50 miles from the schoolhouse.

How about the Average Calendar Day guarantee of 4.30 a day? We didn't have that in C2K. Every trip that used to fly one leg, layover and then dh home used to be worth 7.15 (5.15 duty period average for day one, plus the 2 hour duty period minimum for the dh-only day two). For a reserve it was even worse, often worth only four hours. Now that same trip is worth 9 hours, for regular line holders AND reserves.

As for reserves flying to 99 hours--for starters that will hardly ever happen, about as often as an NFL game will end in a tie--yes it COULD happen every game, but only rarely does. Further, will you acknowledge that reserves now--for the first time--get credit against their "full" status with their vacation, preposted MLOA, etc? It never counted before.

I contend that while our current contract is hardly a "slam dunk" that there are numerous good provisions in it, and QOL in the aggregate is probably better for this pilot group than before.

Yes, I know there will be exceptions. For January we have 68 categories. It is inevitable that some will be overmanned and the reserves get to fly very little and play lots of golf, while others are critically staffed and the reserves get hosed (unless they adopt the Rolling Thunder mindset) while the regulars get multiple green slips. But overall I think ALPA has done a good job of improving things on the QOL side, one small step at a time.

Carl Spackler

That's the issue Herk. ALPA presided over the biggest collapse in our pay and QOL in one giant step. Now we're crowing about ALPA getting it back one small step at a time.

Carl

DAL 88 Driver

And that's the whole problem. With the severity of the cuts and inflation, You can't "get it back" one small step at a time. It's going to take some large steps.

But "getting it back" is not DALPA's objective. So for those who see bankruptcy as a reset, the small step thingy is just fine.

Starcheck102

Are you kidding? You know that the company wanted 82 seat scope and a straight extension of the PWA, right?

Reserve rules actually respect seniority for a change, and pay is tethered to the ALV. Reserve is so much better, it goes senior.

The Average Daily Guarantee means that I won't ever again get stuck with lines that pay less than reserve. The line construction methodology now creates more lines by including known absences - more lines for those eager to get off reserve, a meaningful improvement in QOL to commuters.

Vacation rule changes make it possible for me to go skiing with my kids. Yeah, it's killing my QOL, losing races to my little girl all the time.

They fixed sick leave. Sick leave was an abomination before, a product of concessions in bankruptcy, and now they allow me to call in sick without a second thought.

Can we talk about scope? In 2015, DCI will have 450 hulls, down from a high of 693 in 2009. C2012 was the first contract to actually increase mainline block hours to the detriment of outsourced flying. Cover your nethers when I taxi by, because I will look dashing in the left seat of that 717 someday, another product of C2012.

Productivity. The sheer volume of white and green slips tell me that pilots have no problem with flying more to make more. Overtime is a senior man's option in any case - I haven't gotten a green slip in years.

And produce JUST ONE reserve pilot who has gotten a 99 hour month without shooting the moon to get it. Just one.

gloopy

Objection: irrelevant.

They want infinite seat scope relief, always and forever. So what. That in no way should trigger a mitigation bargaining strategy to counter their fantasy demands.

If that was even a real thing, all we would have to do would be to go in and say zero seat scope, 100% recapture, then let them pay to keep what they have while calling it a victory. Do you think they would fall for that? Neither will we.

johnso29

Say what? You're comparing increasing from 76 to 82 seats the same as demanding full recapture???

scambo1

He's using an example to show the irrelevance of starcheck's assertion.

Starcheck102

Gloopy,

If it's irrelevant, then why did we get a deal? There are downsides to "100% recapture:"

American Eagle = $104
ExpressJet = $97
Republic = $119
SkyWest = $112
Air Wisconsin = $101
GoJet = $97
Horizon = $114
Mesa = $104
Pinnacle = $87
Trans States = $97

Average = $103

Delta E195 - $154.48
Delta E190/CRJ900 - $131.42

The money has to come from somewhere (hint: it's your profit sharing).

scambo1

So what you are saying is there is more value in a portion of an $8-12000 profit sharing check than in more bidding options and captain seats at the airline...Not to mention the lack of outsourced (un-interviewed) pilots?

Not seeing it.

johnso29

It's apples to oranges though. They're not even remotely comparable. Management likely has a better chance of going from 76 to 82 seats than the pilots are at grabbing full recapture in one contract. So I don't think it's irrelevant at all. To state that not allowing it in the TA isn't a win is wrong. Especially when UsAir pilots allows 86 seats in the RJs in UsAir Express colors.