Spirit of NKS
11-13-2012, 08:49 AM
#4861
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2011
Posts: 218
Of course, good work rules (a 5+ hour min day and .7 hour duty rig when you convert it from SWA's 'Trips for Pay' system to hours) require Southwest to schedule their pilots productively when they do work, allowing more days off. "Approximately the last 5 years, SWA pilots averaged just over 18 days off per month" (AirTran Welcome packet sent to all the AirTran pilots during the merger). If you have 18 days off, you might be more willing to choose to go down to 14 days off to pick up 4 days of flying.
The trips are so unproductive this month here at Spirit (multiple 4 day trips which credit less than 15 hours
in FLL), the line pilots drop them into open time for anything better, and, frankly, nobody wants to lose days off to pick those kinds of trips up, especially at straight pay. So the reserves have to cover them - losing a pilot for 4 days so they can fly 3 legs. What do you expect when you build trips like that?!Seems to me, the company could build shorter trips (1 or 2 day trips are easier to fit into blocks of days off) or lower the 'optimizer' settings to let a bit of soft time to creep into the trips. Or, of course, they could actually build productive trips when we block at least 20 hours in 4 calendar days.
One way or another, you've got to have pilots work more. Either build trips that fly more, or offer contractually compliant incentives to volunteer to work more on days off. The current incentives are not cutting it. Asking for 'permanent concessions' (if 'captscott26' is right) is a non-starter.
11-13-2012, 01:12 PM
#4862
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2008
Position: A320 CA
Posts: 549
Great post
11-13-2012, 01:13 PM
#4863
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2008
Position: A320 CA
Posts: 549
If those rumors are true, then that is similar to the system Southwest uses. Those guys regularly can grab some extra flying (if they choose to) to add additional income. I've been told that, frankly, if all the Southwest pilots stopped picking up open time, the wheels would come off - the entire SWA staffing model essentially requires it.
Of course, good work rules (a 5+ hour min day and .7 hour duty rig when you convert it from SWA's 'Trips for Pay' system to hours) require Southwest to schedule their pilots productively when they do work, allowing more days off. "Approximately the last 5 years, SWA pilots averaged just over 18 days off per month" (AirTran Welcome packet sent to all the AirTran pilots during the merger). If you have 18 days off, you might be more willing to choose to go down to 14 days off to pick up 4 days of flying.
The trips are so unproductive this month here at Spirit (multiple 4 day trips which credit less than 15 hours in FLL), the line pilots drop them into open time for anything better, and, frankly, nobody wants to lose days off to pick those kinds of trips up, especially at straight pay. So the reserves have to cover them - losing a pilot for 4 days so they can fly 3 legs. What do you expect when you build trips like that?!
Seems to me, the company could build shorter trips (1 or 2 day trips are easier to fit into blocks of days off) or lower the 'optimizer' settings to let a bit of soft time to creep into the trips. Or, of course, they could actually build productive trips when we block at least 20 hours in 4 calendar days.
One way or another, you've got to have pilots work more. Either build trips that fly more, or offer contractually compliant incentives to volunteer to work more on days off. The current incentives are not cutting it. Asking for 'permanent concessions' (if 'captscott26' is right) is a non-starter.
Of course, good work rules (a 5+ hour min day and .7 hour duty rig when you convert it from SWA's 'Trips for Pay' system to hours) require Southwest to schedule their pilots productively when they do work, allowing more days off. "Approximately the last 5 years, SWA pilots averaged just over 18 days off per month" (AirTran Welcome packet sent to all the AirTran pilots during the merger). If you have 18 days off, you might be more willing to choose to go down to 14 days off to pick up 4 days of flying.
The trips are so unproductive this month here at Spirit (multiple 4 day trips which credit less than 15 hours
in FLL), the line pilots drop them into open time for anything better, and, frankly, nobody wants to lose days off to pick those kinds of trips up, especially at straight pay. So the reserves have to cover them - losing a pilot for 4 days so they can fly 3 legs. What do you expect when you build trips like that?!Seems to me, the company could build shorter trips (1 or 2 day trips are easier to fit into blocks of days off) or lower the 'optimizer' settings to let a bit of soft time to creep into the trips. Or, of course, they could actually build productive trips when we block at least 20 hours in 4 calendar days.
One way or another, you've got to have pilots work more. Either build trips that fly more, or offer contractually compliant incentives to volunteer to work more on days off. The current incentives are not cutting it. Asking for 'permanent concessions' (if 'captscott26' is right) is a non-starter.
11-14-2012, 09:03 AM
#4864
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2008
Posts: 647
The new A320 is days away from being ready for delivery. It looks like also we may get one of the A319 a little earlier than planned. One of our CA flew today on a 'test flight' in Shannon, Ireland.
11-14-2012, 12:27 PM
#4866
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: in front of a computer screen
Posts: 712
^^^^ FWIW: it was his first JA for the year;-)
11-14-2012, 05:07 PM
#4867
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2008
Posts: 647
I miss that bid everytime.
11-16-2012, 03:54 PM
#4868
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,577
Hey Cappy, I'm a bit FLUMMOXED at your post. You "missed" that bid like the rest of us - ie. it didn't happen. This leads a normal, out-of-the-know member to believe that you, a scheduling helper, one heart beat away from the chairmanship, doesn't think that the deliveries are assigned correctly. If that is the case, have you or the schedcom chair filed an NCC or brought this atrocity do the mec? If so, what was the MEC's response? Thanks, missed that in the last update.
11-16-2012, 05:12 PM
#4869
Banned
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,857
Hey Cappy, I'm a bit FLUMMOXED at your post. You "missed" that bid like the rest of us - ie. it didn't happen. This leads a normal, out-of-the-know member to believe that you, a scheduling helper, one heart beat away from the chairmanship, doesn't think that the deliveries are assigned correctly. If that is the case, have you or the schedcom chair filed an NCC or brought this atrocity do the mec? If so, what was the MEC's response? Thanks, missed that in the last update.
11-16-2012, 09:37 PM
#4870
First Rule of Fight Club
Joined APC: Jan 2007
Position: My seat smells like cat pee
Posts: 1,536
I have my popcorn!
Here to enjoy the show....
Here to enjoy the show....
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