There weren't any changes to Alaska's rigs in the last contract. They are as follows:

5 hours per duty period
1 hour of credit per 2 hours of duty (rarely this)
1 hour of credit per 3.5 hours time away from base
International pay is $5/hour for captains, $4/hour of FOs
No night pay

Something Delta was able to solve in their last contract that we need is a solution to the low credit 3 day. We have pairings that report late, fly a redeye, layover 24 hours and fly home. You could effectively be gone for 3 calendar days and credit 12 hours.

Reserves get 12 days off--1 5-day block, 1 3-day block and 2 2-day blocks. You can trade days off with yourself as long as you keep your reserve blocks between 3 and 6 days long.

Long Call is an 11 hour call out and credits 75 hours. LCs can be converted up to 3 times per month, 2 hours credit for the first conversion, 1 hour credit for subsequent conversions. LCs are basically used first if they can be given enough notice.

Short Call is a 2 hour call out and credits 79 hours. The irony is that SCs, at least outside of SEA, tend to fly less than LCs, so you get paid more and fly less.

In the last contract reserves were given the ability to fly on "days off" for pay only. What this translates to, is a reserve could pick up a turn worth 6 hours on what was originally a day off and that pay goes above guarantee. A short call in this case would now be paid 85. This section of the contract is controversial. Some look at this as a benefit and some look at it like a give back. I've heard stories of pilots picking up 3 or 4 day trips on their 5 day off block and getting paid 100 hours for the month.

Bid block holders (BBH) are guaranteed 75 hours. Lines are built between 75 and 85. A pilot can trade up to monthly max plus 5 (usually 90). The company can flex up when needed. For instance, for July all bases have lines are build from 78-88. This effectively makes lines with slightly fewer days off.

BBH are technically only guaranteed 4 2-day blocks free from duty. The reality is, with other rigs, even the most inefficient lines will have 10 days off and usually the trips are late reports or early returns.

BBH can trade pilot to pilot up to FAR max and can also drop to 0 if they can find enough takers.

Vacation days are worth 3:30.

Accrual rate:
1-4 15 days
5-8 21 days
9-12 24 days
13-19 30 days
20-24 35 days
25-30 40 days
31+ 41 days

Vacations must be bid in 7 day blocks. I believe new in the latest contract, after vacations are awarded, pilots can trade with open blocks, vacated blocks due to upgrade and attrition or pilot to pilot. For instance, I was awarded a 14 day block in November and a 7 day block in September. I now have vacation in August, September, November and December.

New in this contract, should a BBH or reserve feel he or she isn't getting enough of this place, we can now pick up open flying on vacation days.

Training pays 4:40 per day in the sim. If you sim and then travel home on the same day, it pays 6:00. Travel to and from sim on a day without any other duty pays 3:30.

We bid for training days and slot times. We can bid to train early, in our base month or in our grace period.

I know you didn't ask for it, but thought I would offer it anyway.

July line stats*:

Average credit per duty period:

SEA 5:54 (15.5 days off)
ANC 5:43 (14.9 days off)
LAX 6:07 (15.4 days off)
SNA 5:17 (not broken out from LAX)
PDX 5:55 (15.9 days off)

Average layover 18:37 (Lots of 24 hour layovers in Hawaii and east coast skew the layover time high. If you have all west coast flying, taking a wag, layovers are more in the 12-16 hour range)

Average duty time 8:13

Average sit time 1:15 (all of those quick turns in Alaska and relatively quick outstation turns balance out the 2 to 3 hour hub sits). The company loosened up the pairing parameters and there are some 3:30 sits showing up in July.

*The MEC is having a meeting this afternoon and it looks like the company and the union might be agreeing to a different line solution. The pilots were not happy with fewer turn lines and longer sits. I'm not sure what leverage we had to get the company to change their mind, but it looks like it might happen.