Originally Posted by
FDXLAG
So lets assume he spends 140 days away from his fda home for work, that leaves 220 days to split between his "real home" and his FDA home. 111 in HKG and 109 in Vegas good enough for you? How about a commuting day does that count as real home or fda home to you?
We screwed this pooch; we should fix it. But instead it sounds like we are delivery boy for the company's last and final threat.
I agree that the term, primary residence, could be grey to some.
I'm not sure if you commute and have a crashpad, but for arguments sake, let's say you do. If you show up the day before your trip (or reserve) and leave to go back to your other residence when you finish your sequence, would you call your crashpad your primary residence? I wouldn't, but maybe you would, I don't know.
You know the company has detailed records that detail when the pilot came and went, and time spent on duty. If said individual finished his trips and immediately took the jumpseat to go to his other residence, what would you call it? Some guys took amnesty in this situation. The payback could be very large, depending on the time you were at the domicile. Some chose to fight it. I hope they win, I think the company should pay the money to every pilot that bids the FDA. Use the housing allowance to find a decent crashpad.
Of course the company wants people to actually live there, and that is why they provided an incentive to get people to move there. If you remember, from a former chief pilot's email, that they were looking for a certain demographic (single, but mainly no kids). They obviously didn't get the demographic that they desired and added some enticements for families (education).
I don't think the company is not allowing people to take vacations or ban them from exiting Hong Kong. They've kept records of those that they think didn't move their families, yet took the allowance. My guess is that many had unique situations that they will air in their hearing.
I'll tell you, I am not a company man. However, I follow the contract because I want to keep my job. The intent of the FDA LOA was pretty clear to me. Maybe it wasn't for others. None of these guys are bad individuals. The company believes they didn't adhere to the contract, these guys obviously think they did. I wish them all the luck in the world with their hearings....