Your Boss that came from Ryan, he was an accountant in a previous life. He knows money.
Try to connect with some Ryan pilots who worked at Ryan under their first contract from 2000-2004, or even before then. Ask them about your boss and the promises made during company road shows about how “we won’t really enforce that” or “don’t worry”.
Without specific language with the words like will or must, he has all the wiggle room he needs.
120 mile gateways. How is that defined? By point to point mileage using an internet mapping site, or drawing a circle around your house. Draw a 120 statute mile circle around Queens, New York. Now you can fly out of LaGuardia, and then fly back into Philly, Newark, Newburgh, Hartford, JFK, Islip and find your way back to LaGuardia?
How many airports within 120 miles of Long Beach? What is the defined minimum level of service from a Gateway airport. One turboprop flight a day?
Taking a bid block of say 28 days. Do you have minimum and maximum number of blocks of days on and off?
So you have this:
10 on / 10 off / 8 on
9 on / 10 off / 9 on
6 on / 3off / 6 on / 3 off / 6 on / 4off
The first two lines go senior, and go over guarantee. The third line sits in Bangor doing inside domestic turns and never breaks guarantee. If you don’t have min max block protection, you will see it.
How is your flying assigned? Is it built into the lines, or are your lines all reserve? If there is no base, how is flying assigned, to company favorites, or Hi time Low time? Hard to get that pay raise to work if you don’t go over guarantee while other guys are killing it.
What is your furlough protection? By straight seniority? By seat? By equipment type? Does the 5 year DC10 FO get the axe before the newhire 777 Captain?