Originally Posted by captainv

Part of the reason we suggest you read the entire thread (or 50 pages, or the Cliff notes, or whatever) is that you need to hear some things we do 50 different ways for it to sink in. Even after a couple of years on line, some things ingrained at other carriers prove hard to accept here.

- you get paid 62 hours a month, 50 the first year. You should never expect to make more (although you often will). Were you awarded a 90-hour line? Great! Doesn't mean a thing until the month is over and you look back to see what you actually did. Trips can and will change all the time, and line balancing can and does occur. On the plus side, if you only make guarantee, you're only working 13 days a month, so there's that, but the company makes the choice, not you. Many of us want trip or bid pay protection in the next contract, but that's down the road.

- seniority doesn't mean much here. It's good for bidding your monthly work footprint and vacation and (finally!) training events, but that's about it. even the #1 pilot on the list can have his line blown up for operational necessity. That said, the DHL stuff tends to go as scheduled, but other flying not so much. Reserves aren't called out in seniority order, either. Seems the 767 reserve guys who live in CVG get called out first while JFK guys who sit CVG reserve are left to rot in the hotel, waiting for something to do.

- vacancies/base swaps are announced after the fact, not before. your standing bid is captured on the 15th of every month. If any changes are needed, the results are announced at the end of the month. Only new bases/new equipment positions are publicized ahead of time.

- although a trip trade module is in the works, there's really no way to alter your awarded schedule unless you request personal leave or call in sick.

Things like that. It really is like flying for several different airlines. I flew the 767-200s for the first time in more than a year, and it's been forever since i've done an ocean crossing, ETOPS/CPDLC or been to Europe, but that could change tomorrow.