horrido27

This..

It IS unfortunate that some don't understand the foundation of Unionism and Seniority. That being written, reserve has always been, and will always be- a position that is dedicated to the junior pilots of any BES (I am currently on Reserve.. by choice.) A position that one loses certain controls over their life.
That being said, YES! There are items in our current UPA that need fixing with the reserve system. Keep in mind though, they WERE voted in by the pilot group back in 2012, and then extended in 2016. We can argue all we want about the right or wrong of doing that, but it is what it is.

It is amazing that some new hires are getting lines within months of getting done with training. But I would hope that EVERYONE understands, that is not the normal.
Just like unfilled Captain Vacancies are not normal. Nor is getting to bid WB FO during Indoc!

Pilots should not only look at where they are now (per any TA..) but where they want to retire at. Don't think anyone expects to retire as a junior NB FO, on reserve or barely lineholder, in their 20's & 30's..
Hopefully they expect to retire as a WB Capt, in their 60's and holding a line, having had (unfortunately) a health is themselves and some other family issues..

Your needs, wants and desires are probably very different now then they will be in the future.
After what just happened in the NFL, everyone should recognize that LTD, Sick Leave, Duty/Trip Rigs are JUST as important as Reserve rules and SC/FSB, Duty times and call outs.

5 Yr 756 Capt is amazing... but lets be brutally honest- as they have already announced that the 756 will be replaced by the A321/787 in the next 3-8 years, junior pilots getting that slot need to understand that Reserve will suck. It will suck less if you are local.. but it will suck.
Understand and use the UPA. Aggressive pick ups and expect to sit SOME short calls and not be used. Expect to have a crash pad or hotel if you commute.

Hopefully with a new UPA, (ILC23) we will see some changes to call out time (18hrs?), stronger limits on SC's, paid FSB (no matter what!) and lower duty day times with more credit per day equaling a few more days off. Oh, and an OFF Day is just that, a Day Off.

Happy New Year~
Motch

luv757

I think it’s a perfectly sound method of calculation. The poster isn’t suggesting that one must drink or they must drink. Rather, is that option there? I’ve used the same litmus test for going downtown during the dreaded ‘day over”. It’s not a sentiment of “Man I wish I could have a beer right now” or “I need a beer now” but “If I were to drink a beer now would it be alright?” If the answer is “No”, you’re either at work or going downtown at a stupid time.

On the topic of reserve I’m all for anything that makes reserve a palatable option. As I’ve stated before it’s always going to carry a minimum level of suck. But we can get rid of or limit the amount of optional or self-inflicted suck. Seniority is about having choice. Reserve being attractive to a senior pilot is one more choice.

Spartacusbob

All ye, thusly shall I present thine holy and manipulated g-line. Kneel and penitently worship it in it’s flexible idolatry, those disiringeth to cross it shall reap the golden paths of owning thine own days, dropeth thine trips, and thus find qualities of life unfounded in the darkened valleys of reserve.

Not making a point, your wording made me laugh, couldn’t resist.

dmeg13021

Motch-

No pilot job here should suck. Understand that.

Be it so resolved MEC.

johnwick

Not sure what fleet you’re on, but reserve on the Bus in EWR was pure abuse and I live in base. Not sure what you mean regarding sitting at home a lot. In the current operation, reserve is absolute hell on earth.

horrido27

Guess we will agree to disagree.
Cause, "Suck" is in the eye of the holder.
A three day LHR.. pays 15:40 or a three day FRA that pays 17:00

Hmm.. that 3 day LHR sucks! Hate the security issues in London, the ride to/from hotel.. Late night flying and can't commute home!
Line holder has the option (seniority) to choose which sucks less for them.
Local reserve guy doesn't care.. as a 3 day LHR sounds better (sucks less) than a 3 day domestic with 5 legs!

EVERYONE will "hate" aspects of their job. It's just natural. Should we strive to make it "less suck"? (LOL) of course!
But we should also be honest.

Motch

horrido27

JW (great screenshot name, btw!)
Have you thought of switching to a WB? or to the 73/Guppy?
As has been stated here over and over again- each BES will have a different category of Hell.
While we DO need some fixes on the reserve side. That being said, I expect to work every day on Reserve. And when (has happened about 50/50) I don't get used.. cool.
But it would seem your Base (EWR) fleet/seat (Bus/?) has it worse than some of us.

Why I think we need to see some of the stuff I've posted before, with regards to callout time, SC/FSB and days off.
How much better would 14 days off, 18hr call out and max 12-14hr duty day on SC/FSB plus paid ADD PAY for EVERY FSB (used or not!) be in your world?

Need to get this info to our NC, and also compare to what the rest of our Industry and Peers do/get

Good luck and Hang In There!
Always
Motch

dmeg13021

You tangentially proved my point. No WB lineholder jobs sucks. This pilot group has gone to great pains to make it so. Now we just need to bring the rest of the options up to a more palatable level.

hummingbear

If you’ll read my post I referenced the qualities of a “truly random sample”- didn’t say our phone polling system was bias free. Still, if you think APC is more representative than even a poorly randomized phone survey I’ll respectfully disagree.

m3113n1a1

Just a casual unsolicited observation from a Delta guy. It's really interesting reading this thread and noting the difference between how Delta guys view improving reserve vs United guys. At Delta there's a lot of support for improving reserve (which is already pretty good at Delta), but here there's seemingly zero. I wonder why there's such a difference?