From everyone's favorite council, C44:
June*2, 2015
Work Rules
Our overall quality of life at Delta Air Lines is determined in large part by our work rules. Next to pay, work rules are a top issue for Delta pilots, and the tentative agreement we have before us contains significant changes that will directly affect our quality of life.
This tentative agreement improves two major quality of life issues for Atlanta pilots: reroute and trip mix. We acknowledge that some compromise was required in order to obtain the improved work rules for all pilots, first officers and captains alike, specifically with regard to OE rotation awards for first officers. Below we will discuss some of the major changes, and offer a scorecard for the work rule changes.
Reroute:C44 pilots have let us know loud and clear that reroutes often unfairly compromise their seniority, and adversely affect their quality of life. Under our current language, Delta does not pay a pilot premium pay for “circumstances beyond the company’s control,” and mechanical issues were among a list of examples of these circumstances. This TA eliminates the mechanical exception to a premium pay award. In summary, only items such as weather or airport closures will be considered a circumstance of which the company has no control going forward.
Additionally, if our pilots ratify this tentative agreement, a rerouted rotation must end no later than 4 hours after its originally scheduled return or the company must pay the affected pilot premium pay for the extended duty period. Under the present PWA the company must only return you within 4 hours after the rotation was originally scheduled to end, or on the same calendar day, whichever is later. For international rotations the trigger for premium pay has moved from 30 hours to 25 hours.
These improvements, along with the MEC Grievance 14-13 settlement regarding violations of Section 23 L.4, which reads: "Note: An uncovered flight segment(s) will be placed in open time if, in doing so, the resulting rotation reports 14 or more hours from the time the flight segment(s) first became uncovered,”result in significantly tighter reroute language, which would trigger premium pay for rerouted pilots, and theoretically drive a reduction in reroutes. This is the added benefit, and the reason work rules are in place to begin with. The extra money involved drives the company to look for solutions other than pilot reroutes to solve scheduling problems. Delta’s scheduling software seeks the low-cost solution, which might be a green slip, white slip, yellow slip or reserve call out.
Rotation Construction and Trip Mix: Another major issue for C44 pilots is the seasonal loss of 1, 2, and 3-day trips as a result of Delta’s need to reduce credit time in order to stay within TLV constraints. TLV constraints are pushed to the limit due to increased flying and tighter staffing. Additionally, FAR 117 compliance has led to reports of an overall deterioration in the quality of rotations during pre-month bidding.
Under our current contract Delta’s Crew Resources and Scheduling department has often disregarded the Rotation Construction Committee’s recommended inputs to improve the trip mix and quality of the rotations.**Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) 15-02 is a one-year test program included in this tentative agreement that gives the Rotation Construction Committee the necessary credit time and authority to build better quality rotations of various lengths for all pilots during pre-month bidding by raising the TLV to 81 (from 80). The improved quality and variety of the rotations in the bid package for all captains and first officers was a major goal for C44 pilots as expressed in a C44 resolution. Even with a TLV of 81 hours, we remain well below other airlines in this parameter.
This MOU is a test. Should the increase in TLV not provide the needed trip mix and quality, the entire MOU may be rescinded or not extended by ALPA, which would reduce the TLV once again to 80.
Scheduling Flexibility: Pilots also expressed a desire to have the ability to adjust their schedules to their own personal needs. Individual Vacation Days (IVDs) and an increased ability to swap and drop rotations due to the new “reserves required” formula in open time will give Delta pilots much greater control and ability to adjust their monthly schedule to fit their personal needs. Additionally, the improved transparency in the vacation move-up process, contained in this tentative agreement, will help Delta pilots manage their vacation weeks more effectively.
Rotations Withheld from PBS Award When Designated for OE/TOE: A compromise was the OE trip removal. Up to 75% of the identified OE trips for an individual category can be withheld from first officers in PBS. Trips will first be identified based on the specific hours needed in that category, and first officers will bid in seniority order until 25% of the trips are “bid.” At that point the remaining 75% of identified trips will be withheld for OE training. While we fully acknowledge the effect it will have on some first officers, we also took measures to limit and mitigate the impact, and extracted as much value as possible to achieve your goals for C2015. Here are a few more facts to consider:
OE trips account for less than 2% of first officer trips.
Narrowbody trips are impacted the most. The greatest number of OE rotations are scheduled in the 717 category, where the seniority movement is the most rapid, lessening the impact of the trip pulls upon seniority. For example, while the NYC 717 category will have 5-8% OE trips, the first officer sitting at 50% in that category was hired in 2015.
LCA will have no reduction in their ability to manipulate their schedules; they can still drop, pick up, and swap trips as they do under the current contract.
Trips are specific to the pilot’s base and category; an OE originating in ATL for a pilot based in NYC would still result in the company having to buy off the first officer who was awarded the rotation in ATL.
Not all Line Check Airmen are at the top of their categories with respect to seniority, and the net effect is not likely to be a linear push-down, but a completely different outcome as pilots adapt their behavior and bidding strategies to the new system.
Since some pilots who would have been bought off will now fly something else, the net result*could*be a few more pilots on reserve.
Below is an example of the possible impact on the Atlanta categories using 2014 OE data and based on June 2015 bid awards. The “New Reserve” column reflects the possible net effect:
