Originally Posted by
JetJocF14
Question: If I expand into May say 30 hours or so can I use the other 30 or the balance of what I don't use to cover these June dates. Or do I need to just worry about June and cover the first week or so.
I've never tried this myself, so I had to go look at the calendars and the CBA.
Section 7.E.3.c. seems to be a perfect fit to your question:
A pilot may not expand his vacation period to conflict with
a trip(s) that begins outside the bid period of his vacation
as awarded or slid. However, a pilot awarded vacation that
extends into the next bid period may expand within either
bid period.
Example: A pilot awarded a 7 day vacation period in week
1 of August may slide his vacation back so that it overlaps
both the August and July bid periods. He may then expand
his vacation period to hit trips in either July or August in
accordance with normal expansion rules.
So, you take your 10 days in June, Slide them back to May, and you can then Expand them in -- watching the language closely here -- either month. Contrast that with the language of 7.E.3.a. where it says "a pilot awarded a regular line may expand his vacation period in either or both directions to conflict with a greater number of credit hours." That makes me wonder if expanding, in your case, into May would preclude you from then expanding into June.
I gather that the most important priority for you is certain days off, and the next priority is getting the most days off. Have you considered Sliding into May (as you've described) to protect those days, and then bidding Reserve for June? The limit of expansion for a Regular line holder is 6 CH, but the limit for a Reserve Line holder allows more days off. This would allow you to protect those days in May you've identified, and clear a wider path in June. If you have good luck with the Reserve Line Reconstruction (R-days placed at the end of the month) you could wind up with a long break from work.
Like I said, I've never tried expanding in two months, so my answer might not be accurate. If anybody has experience doing that, maybe they could enlighten us.
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