Originally Posted by
viperdriver
What is the best way to bid for May if you are finishing training at the very end of April? What about protecting min days off and such.
I am finishing training at the end of April and bidding as if in my old seat for May.
I am asking about the coming up monthly bid, not the custom line I will get when done.
Thanks for the bidding wisdom, don't worry I am sure I am junior to you!
V
I assume you have read the pertinent secitons of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, aka The Contract, right? (
Section 25. SCHEDULING Paragraph I. Custom Lines)
The situation that applies to you is:
1. A custom line shall be comprised of trips, R-days or a combination of trips and R-days. The Company may construct and assign a custom line to a pilot if:
b. he is returning to line flying after having been awarded a pay only line (e.g., completion of IOE, extended sick leave); or
So, in your case, you'll be getting a custom line for May, and the line you're awarded will influence its construction. How?
Well, first, if the Custom Line has trips or trips and R-days, the provisions of D.1.b. and/or D.1.e. will be observed. In other words, they'll have the same TAFB and work day limits as Regular lines, and they'll fall within the Hi/Low spread in terms of CH. If the Custom Line has only R-days, the provisions of D.3. will be observed. In other words, with May being a 4-week bid month, you should expect 15 R-days.
Second, . . . well, there really is no second. That's it. Well, unless you consider the
Custom Line Preferences worksheet that you should accomplish at least 72 hours before the anticipated eligibility for the Custom Line Assignment (Section 25.I.4). For you, that will be completion of IOE. You'll need to accomplish a worksheet for April (the remainder of the month when you complete IOE)
and May (the month for which you have a Pay-only line). (Your first assignment can be after a legal rest period following your last IOE event, so don't wait until IOE is over to submit the request.
25.I.4.a.
The custom line for a pilot who was in training, shall not be constructed earlier than his completion of training. He shall check VIPS for custom line assignment between 1000 and 1200 LBT after his legal rest period following his final IOE trip.
Notice the "shall.")
Given the above, I would bid for the MAX CH for the May bid month. It's up to you to decide if you want to include lines with carryover, or to exclude them. Your Custom line will likely have as much carryover as your awarded Pay Only line.
A more interesting question is how should you have bid for April, when you will have to finish the month (after completion of IOE) with a Custom Line. In this case, the above provisions apply, and there's another "protection" that you might consider. For this "Prorated" situation (Sect 25.I.3), the "number of days off on such pilot’s pay only line shall be preserved when constructing his custom line." (25.I.3.b.i.) Considering that, you might have bid lines based on a Max Days Off strategy.
Of course, if you don't care about Max Days off, if all you want to do is work your little tail off and bring home money, then disregard that strategy.
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