Originally Posted by captainv

Yes, there has been a shift in Quality of Life here lately. In part, it takes a while for the glamor to wear off - OMG, I'm flying big iron all over the world! I'm in a first class lounge at the airport! (I'm as guilty as anyone on this, but eventually you start to wake up.) But the company is definitely tightening the screws as well. Our pilot group could put a stop to a lot of it by getting to know the CBA: you don't need a backup flight, ever; hold the company to CBA-compliant hotels or travel, and use the relief granted in the CBA when they don't; and WRITE IT UP when they try something funny. The union can't fight what it doesn't know about.

On a recent DH back from Asia, another FO told me he'd been woken up by Scheduling 5 hours into his 24/7. They wanted to retroactively start his rest 4 hours earlier so he'd be legal for an assignment they'd given him. To his credit, he said no, and insisted the 24/7 be reset. But he never wrote it up or notified the union, until he casually told me about it a week later. On the same trip, Scheduling had notified him of a trip change properly, but they wanted a three-man crew to operate a flight that went 5 minutes past their max duty day. They asked him to take the trip and then they'd "fix it" en route. Again, to his credit, he said no, and - after asking every other FO at the hotel the same thing - they eventually put a 4th pilot on the trip, which finally made it legal. Everybody said no, which is great, but nobody wrote it up, which means Scheduling will just try it again next time. At least nobody accepted an illegal trip for a free $50 meal...

Those of you in the pool might think twice if offered a 747 class in the next few months. If you accept, be fully aware of what you face getting to/from ANC. (Thanks to Trout for the heads-up, I didn't realize the trips were so much shorter up there.) Personally, I would love it if you guys all told HR you'd like to wait for the next 767 class. Yes, it pays less, but you'll see continual seniority advancement and the commute to CVG is much less of a hardship, depending on where you live.

Lots of guys leaving, or trying to leave, right now. Management is basically unconcerned because we have a stack of resumes a mile high and long lines at the job fairs. Come if you want to, but do your homework and know what you're in for.