Originally Posted by
Qotsaautopilot
I do believe people are using automated apps to snag open time. It's happening in both seats. FOs it's the same guys getting everything. Then after they decide they don't like it it magically reappears in open time two minutes later. They take the risk that if the day isn't green they can't drop back in but I'd almost be sure if something hits open time and they are legal and it's a turn or a two day their app pics it up automatically. They then analyze it and keep it or dump it back in.
This was confirmed to have happened at JetBlue with flica. It happened at Expressjet with an in house software package. It's naive to think it's not happening here. The key is getting proof and stopping it to level the field in first come first serve.
They don't seem to be doing it this month because there is lots of open time available. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but until the union scheduling reps acknowledge it, I'm not willing to accept changes to the contract or the way we handle open time. FLICA alerts are great, but in the lean months by the time you get a FLICA alert, the trip is already gone.