CloudSailor

I apologize for posting this twice, but thought it might be better to start a new thread on this.

I know that I can speak to my sponsor about options, but thought I'd see if you guys are interested in answering the specifics.

For a new-hire, or a current line pilot, taking an FDA assignment what are the options? I don't really know IF there are any options other than the new LOA. But to my fuzzy understanding of it there is:

Option 1)
To take the LOA FDA package, with an additional $2700 for expenses (regardless of seat or seniority) and a three year commitment. Then the pilot can bid back to another domicile, once there is a bid, and a vacancy, after the three years.

Option 2)
To move under the CBA's terms (previous to LOA) without the $2700, but with no long-term commitment. One can move higher weight of household goods also?

Option 3)
Is there one?

As always, your input is appreciated.

iarapilot

A. Permanent Vacancies in CDG and HKG
Permanent vacancies for FDAs in CDG and HKG shall be posted, bid upon and awarded as provided in Section 24 with the following modifications:
1.
The 18 month bidding restriction set forth in Section 24.E.1.b. shall be waived with respect to pilots bidding for permanent vacancies in CDG or HKG.
2.
In order to be awarded a permanent vacancy in CDG or HKG, a pilot must agree to sign a CDG/HKG FDA Agreement, agreed upon by the parties (Attachment A), which provides, in part, that the pilot’s terms and conditions of employment are governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and applicable laws of the United States, and not by the laws of the country where the FDA is located.
a.
In order to bid on a CDG/HKG vacancy, a pilot must first indicate, via VIPS, his commitment to sign the agreement.
b.
Pilots awarded vacancies at CDG or HKG will be provided with paper copies of the agreement and shall sign and return such signed copies to 1
the System Chief Pilot prior to the start of any training for the FDA vacancy, or, if no training is required, then prior to the distribution of any benefits stemming from the pilot’s FDA vacancy award (e.g., seed money).
c.
Absent extenuating circumstances, if a pilot later fails or refuses to sign the agreement in the required time frame, he shall be frozen in his current crew position for two years, as if his failure to sign the agreement had been a down/lateral bid covered by Section 24.E.1.c. Such freeze shall not result in any passover pay.
3.
Visas
a.
If, having been awarded a permanent vacancy in CDG or HKG, a pilot is unable to secure or maintain any required visa, he shall contact his flight manager immediately and shall be released from his FDA vacancy award.
b.
If a pilot’s spouse or child is unable to secure or maintain the required visas, the pilot may elect to be released from his FDA obligation by submitting an appropriate explanation to the System Chief Pilot. The timing of the release shall be determined by the System Chief Pilot, after consultation with the pilot, and shall balance the pilot’s desires with the Company’s operational requirements.
c.
The crew position of a pilot who was released from his FDA vacancy award as described in this paragraph shall be determined as provided in Section 13.A.6.b.ii. as if the pilot had been on a leave of absence when the posting on which he was awarded the FDA vacancy closed.
d.
The pilot’s inability to secure or maintain required visas shall not, by itself, constitute grounds for penalty or discipline.
B. Package Options for CDG and HKG
Except as provided in paragraph I. below, within 15 days after being awarded a permanent vacancy in CDG or HKG, a pilot shall choose from either the “existing CBA option” or the “enhanced option” set forth in paragraphs B.1. and B.2., respectively.
1.
Existing CBA Option (3 year commitment)
Pilots who choose the existing CBA option shall be entitled to the following:
a. Relocation benefits as described in Section 6 of the basic Agreement, except that Section 6.E.1.e. (FDA Bonus) shall be inapplicable.
b. Tax equalization as provided in paragraph C. of this Letter of Agreement (LOA).
2.
Enhanced Option (2 year commitment)
Pilots selecting the enhanced option shall be entitled to the following, in lieu of the benefits available under Section 6 of the basic Agreement:
a. Seed Money. Pilots who select the enhanced option shall be entitled to a one time payment of $10,000. This shall be paid upon a pilot’s activation into the CDG/HKG crew position.
b. Four Year Service Credit. If a pilot completes 48 months as an active pilot in the same FDA, he shall receive an additional $5,000. This payment shall be made within 30 days after the pilot completes his 48th month as an active pilot in the FDA. If a pilot upgrades within the FDA, time spent in ITU training will not be counted toward the 48 months.
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c. Storage. A pilot shall be entitled to expenses associated with the storage of his household goods in the location of his permanent residence immediately preceding his assignment to CDG/HKG. Reimbursement shall not exceed $4,000 per year and the storage must be at a commercial storage provider.
d. Housing Allowance
i. Rental Allowance. Pilots shall be entitled to a rental allowance of up to $2,700 per month to offset the cost of rental housing in the FDA location. Money paid to a landlord for water/utilities, internet/cable, parking, maintenance, etc., may be included in the rental allowance.
ii. Home Ownership Allowance. Pilots who choose to own, rather than rent their housing, shall be entitled to a monthly allowance of up to $1,300.
iii. To be eligible for this allowance, pilots must relocate to the FDA and occupy the housing for which an allowance is being paid. Standards for determining whether a pilot has relocated his permanent residence under this paragraph shall be the same as for full relocations under Section 6 of the basic Agreement. The housing must be located within 100 nautical miles of the base airport. A larger radius may be approved on a case by case basis by the System Chief Pilot, if the proposed residence affords access to the hub airport that is at least as expeditious and reliable as comparable residences inside the 100 nm radius.
iv. The rental/housing allowance shall be provided for each month during which the pilot is assigned to the FDA. On the first and last month of a pilot’s assignment to the FDA, if the pilot is assigned to the FDA for fewer than 15 days in that month(s), his rental/housing allowance for that month(s) will be prorated. The pilot must provide adequate substantiation including, but not limited to, a lease agreement, canceled checks or receipts, to his flight manager.

iarapilot

e. Tax equalization as provided in paragraph C. of this LOA.
f. Airline Tickets. The pilot shall be entitled to one set of round-trip business class tickets to position him and his dependents from his permanent residence to the FDA at the beginning of his assignment and from the FDA to his next base at the conclusion of his assignment. For each year a pilot completes in the FDA location as an active pilot after the end of his two year commitment, the Company shall provide one set of coach class round-trip tickets for the pilot and his dependents living with him at the FDA back to the location of his permanent residence (or a destination of similar cost).
g. Commitment Period
i. A pilot must complete two years as an active pilot in the FDA, unless released from his obligation due to extenuating circumstances by the Vice President, Flight Operations.
ii. If a pilot fails to complete his commitment period without a release from the V.P., he shall be obligated to repay his seed money and any money paid by the Company for storage.
iii. If a pilot changes or attempts to change his crew status within his FDA (e.g., upgrades from F/O/CDG to CAP/CDG), his original commitment period shall be extended by twelve months plus the time spent in training.
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h. Return Household Goods Shipment. Upon successful completion of his commitment period, a pilot is entitled to household goods shipments via FedEx Express, on a space available basis, of up to a total of 3,000 pounds. Unless different locations are authorized by the Managing Director, Human Resources Operations Support, shipments shall be from the FDA base where the pilot served his commitment to his last pre-FDA permanent residence or his new base at his option. This provision shall not limit or abridge any relocation rights which accrued to the pilot prior to his FDA assignment (e.g., rights accrued by SFS and ANC pilots under 1999 and 2006 LOAs)
i. In the event the Company closes an FDA, pilots who have not met their commitment period shall not be required to repay any seed money or monies paid by the Company for storage and shall be permitted to return up to a total of 3,000 pounds of household goods as provided under paragraph B.2.h.
j. Upon a pilot’s activation into the CDG or HKG crew position, he shall be entitled to a household goods shipment to his FDA location via FedEx Express, using international economy (IE) service (or the most comparable such service if IE is discontinued), not to exceed a total of 500 pounds. If the pilot’s shipment exceeds 500 pounds, the pilot shall be responsible for paying the cost of the excess.
k. Orientation and Housing Search Services
During the first 30 days of a pilot's assignment to the FDA, the Company shall make available to pilots awarded CDG/HKG local real estate and orientation assistance. This shall be provided through individuals who are fluent in the local language and who are familiar with the FDA location. This service may last up to two days and may be provided individually or in small groups. If a pilot chooses to live in a local hotel during the first 30 days of his assignment , instead of the housing allowance for that month, the Company will reimburse the pilot for the cost of hotel arrangements up to $250 per night, for up to 30 days.
C. Federal Tax Equalization Services
Pilots accepting permanent vacancies in CDG or HKG are both entitled and required to use the tax equalization procedures and tax return filing services (US and foreign) offered by the Company through its vendor. The purpose of tax equalization is to provide that a pilot bears approximately the same US Federal tax burden as he would pay if he were assigned to a domestic base rather than CDG or HKG. To facilitate accurate tax computations and reporting, pilots will be required to provide all necessary tax information to the appointed tax provider.
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D. Special Temporary Vacancies for CDG and HKG
In lieu of Section 24.B.2., the following rules shall apply to Special Temporary Vacancies (STVs) at CDG or HKG. STVs shall only be available for the first two years after each FDA opens. Thereafter, if the Company advises ALPA in writing of its intent to close CDG or HKG, the STV rules contained in this paragraph shall once again become available in the FDA that is closing, when the Company is regularly operating fewer than 50% of the aircraft which it regularly operated in that base at the time of the notification of its intent to close. The use of STVs in conjunction with a base closure is limited to 540 days from the Company’s first use of the STV application rule in that context.
1. STV awards shall have a duration between one and three bid periods.
2. STV awards shall begin and end concurrent with a bid period.
3. A STV posting shall specify the crew position(s) from which bids will be accepted and, if applicable, the number of bids which will be awarded at each domicile from which bids are accepted.
4. A pilot shall be entitled to one business class ticket positioning him to the STV location at the beginning of his assignment and back to his permanent base at the conclusion of his assignment. The Company shall also provide a pilot’s dependents with one round-trip coach class ticket from the pilot’s permanent residence to the FDA location during the assignment.
5. The pilot shall be entitled to per diem for the duration of his STV assignment, when the pilot is not otherwise being paid per diem (e.g., on a trip). This shall be accomplished by the submission of a pay log unless pay automation eliminates the necessity for a pay log.
6. The pilot shall be entitled to Company paid lodging in accommodations of quality similar to that of the local contract hotels.
7. Notwithstanding Section 24.C.5., if a STV position(s) remains unfilled following the STV award process, the Company may inversely assign the most junior qualified pilot(s) holding the applicable crew position to the remaining STV positions. If a pilot is inversely assigned, the following shall apply:
a. A pilot shall not be inversely assigned to a temporary vacancy at CDG or HKG more than once in any period of six times the duration of the STV (e.g., for a temporary vacancy of 3 bid periods, a pilot could not be assigned more than once every 18 bid periods).
b. The pilot may not be inversely assigned for more than three bid periods at a time.
c. The pilot shall be positioned and de-positioned to the temporary vacancy using business class accommodations. If the pilot so elects, his dependents may join him using round-trip coach class tickets provided by the Company.
d. The pilot shall be entitled to per diem for the duration of his STV assignment, when the pilot is not otherwise being paid per diem (e.g., on a trip). This shall be accomplished by the submission of a pay log unless pay automation eliminates the necessity for a pay log.
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E. Pilots Relocating from SFS to HKG or CDG
Provided he otherwise qualifies, a pilot may elect to take his FDA move back
provided in Section 6.E.2.b., prior to his activation into CDG/HKG. Once moved
back to the United States, a pilot who selects the “enhanced option” may take
advantage of the household goods storage provided in paragraph B.2.c.
F. Pilots Relocating from ANC to HKG or CDG
For an ANC pilot who is entitled to a "return move" relocation package from ANC, the pilots may elect to be treated in the same fashion (except that their base is in ANC and not SFS) as the SFS pilots in paragraph E. above.
G. Surface Transportation from Hong Kong to Guangzhou
Surface transportation from HKG to CAN is estimated to be slightly over three hours. The limitations contained within Section 8.B.1. of the basic Agreement are waived for purposes of this LOA.
H. FDA Maximum Time Limitation
Should an FDA have a maximum stay time limitation established by the host governmental authority, the Company shall advise the Association as to how it intends to transition pilots to this restriction without abrogating seniority as articulated in the CBA.
I. Crew Position Changes to Different FDAs in the Same Geographic Location
If the Company opens multiple FDAs in the same geographic location (e.g., 757 MEM/CDG; A300 MEM/CDG), the following shall apply to pilots who activate into a different FDA within the same geographic location (e.g., a 757 F/O MEM/CDG upgrades to A300 F/O MEM/CDG).
1. The following shall apply to pilots who chose the enhanced option as part of their original award:
a. Such pilots shall be eligible for the benefits described in paragraph B.2.a. (seed money) and B.2.b. (Four Year Service Credit), treating their new award as a completely separate award to an FDA in CDG or HKG.
b. The commitment period for the new award shall be accounted for treating their new award as a completely separate award to an FDA in CDG or HKG.
c. The benefits described in paragraph B.2.c. (Storage), B.2.d. (Housing Allowance), B.2.e. (Tax Equalization), B.2.f. (airline tickets), B.2.h. (Return Household Goods Shipment), and B.2.k. (500 lb. household goods shipment) shall be administered as if the pilot had not changed FDAs, but rather, had been on one continuous assignment in the same FDA.
d. If a pilot’s crew position changes to a different FDA in the same geographic location and the pilot has not completed his original commitment period, the pilot shall not be eligible to receive the seed money otherwise provided by paragraph I.1.a. above.
2. Pilots who chose the existing CBA option as part of their original award shall continue to receive tax equalization benefits provided by this LOA.

CloudSailor

Thanks Iarapilot. It was nice to be able to see the entire LOA and read it.

Deuce130

Drastic times call for drastic measures. Get your dream job at FDX, accept the FDA assignment, go on mil leave. Just kidding. Sort of.

bustinmins

Your C.O. should expect a call from your C.P. if that were to occur. This has been done in the past but if it is done, you're still a probie until you've put in your time "on the property" and not in a squadron. Meaning, if you take a 10 month voluntary deployment, then you can expect another 10 months on probationary status.....

Whether or not the above holds true - remains to be seen. A few new-hires in my class attempted it and were spanked pretty quickly.

Gunter

Yes, you are right. But after a year of mil leave you come back to second year pay. Still on probation, but at least you have a fighting chance to afford some furniture and food at the FDA.

Albief15

Not to go "high road" on anybody, but if you do that, here is likely what will happen...

1. Nobody in that unit will get hired down the road. Legal or not--hard to prove with a tough interview that the reason he/she got turned down was a bunch of guys from that unit burned the company. My unscientific opinion is there are a few units with a "bad name" out there and guys have a harder time getting hired from them. This isn't' FDX specific...it applies to most majors.

2. Proabation will get extended. Again--for the individual--I don't think that's a big deal. I don't know of any probies who've been canned for trivial stuff.

An alternative might be to go to Paris/Hong Kong, but drop two weeks every two months--say the last week of one month and the first week of the next. FDX gets you 3/4 weeks--which should be reasonable, and you commute once to your unit for two weeks solid of work....the classic "week a month" deal. Might not work in high tempo squadrons or special ops jobs, but for the guys doing the training gig it might just work. You'll be a hero to your unit for bringing in French wine, and a hero to your FDA bros for bringing over BBQ.

Having done both jobs, I can say even living in your ANG base flying two jets and doing two jobs is tough. However, if you could roll in for 2 weeks straight away from family in the land of the big BX, then RTB to your FDA, you could probably keep both your bosses generally happy. I took some heat a few years back asking for some leave over Christmas (it was legit--I was behind on sorties after just completeing 727 FO training) but right now I think manning across the board is fairly fat. I cannot imagine with the importance of getting the FDAs launched effectively that they will min man them so the point any changes might affect reliability. Perhaps one of our Subic folks can give us some insight into the relative manning at an existing FDA.

Hefeweizen

When someone has a spare moment or two for a cut and paste, I would be curious to find out what qualifies as "pilot relocation of a permanent residence" according to Section 6 of the CBA. I know this sounds like a dumb question, but, as a poolie, if my only offered choice to fly Purple is to head overseas, one of my personal choices may be an "unaccompanied remote" (not selling the house and leaving the family here in the US). I want to make sure that I'm operating with correct info and not assuming anything...thanks in advance for your help.

Purpledriver

I know the idea of sucking up a FDA as a new hire might not be high on the list, but before anyone starts rethinking coming here, we might want to sit back, have a drink, and let this excess bid and follow on posting play out. They weren't looking for a huge number of guys to start these things up....it may not be a factor for new hires. No purple eggroll program has been started yet....at least not according to some of the flex guys I've talked to. The chance to pour coffee on the 727 will still be around for several years.....