Originally Posted by
Check Essential
As long as you are able to walk straight over to the gate and depart, they should not care if you are flying in during that first two hours of short call. There's no reason it should not apply to any on-call day.
I'm only guessing here, but keep in mind that the normal "promptly available" swings both ways, when it comes to just how long that means. The only stated rule is that a pilot must be in the "general area of his base" and that he must respond and report "promptly," i.e., drop whatever he's doing and head for the airport.
Our expectation in this is that it's perfectly OK for a pilot to need 2-3 hours to report in rush hour traffic. Similarly, the Company's expectation is that a pilot who lives 20 minutes from the airport (or who happens to be sitting at the airport) can report in significantly less time.
Having agreed to an additional two hours to begin short call, they may not then have been willing to give up another two hours to report, when they currently anticipate that some pilots (commuters or locals who live close) can respond more quickly.