Originally Posted by
shiznit
I didn't like the 31/30 change, it was a concession that was traded for something else within the reserve system that was a benefit to the pilot group.
Bold is incorrect.
Under C2012, you are "Full" when you reach res. Guar...usually ALV-2:00 (or even less)
Before C2012, you were "Full" when you reached ALV or were within 2:00 of ALV because of DPM of 2:00.
Training did nothing fill up faster and lower your "Full" limit prior to C2012. Now it has a direct impact by lowering your "Full" and also replacing reserve days instead of pro-rating them. That means at least 2 extra days off each year.
Old PWA:
Res pay 70:00
Full when within ALV minus 2:00.
New PWA:
Res Pay 72:00-80:00
Full when within ALV minus 2:00-4:00
There is some myth out there that reserve pilots were done at 70:00 prior to the new PWA. That is not the case... Reserves were PAID 70:00 unless they flew above that up to the ALV.
Now: Reserves are paid 2-10 hours MORE than that whether they credit above 70:00 or not and they get up to 2 more true days off per month.
Reserve being a "massive concession" just isn't true. It is significantly better under the new PWA.
One thing I'll add that makes it not as good of deal as one might think, is that becoming full is not as simple as adding say vacation credit + Training credit + flying credit to meet or exceed ALV-2 for reserves. Your accumulated credit must meet or exceed your PRORATED reserve guarantee.
For example if a given month has an ALV of 81:30 and therefore RES guarantee is 79:30. Pilot has 1 week of vacation and Sim training. Vacation = 22:45 credit
Recurrent Sim = 11:15 credit
Totaling 34 hrs credit. One would think that this pilot would need to credit 45:30 (vacation cr + training cr + flying credit = greater than or equal to RES guarantee) or more of flying in the month to be full. But wait...his pro rated guaranteed is 48:08 because of the number of on call days. So what looked to be attainable is much more difficult to achieve. The additional 2:38 of flying required to be full is pretty significant given the number of RES days he has to reach that number. The example above is basically my May month and the reason I will likely fly over ALV and not receive any additional time off. Is it good that training and vacation count towards being full, absolutely. But it's a moving target.