Originally Posted by
Hou757
What' are the typical schedules like at Frontier? Usually 4 on 3 0ff? Reserve and Lineholder min days off? Thanks!
12 days off minimum for reserve and hard lines. All reserve lines are built with 12 days off.
75hr guarantee for reserve and line holders.
Monthly open time bid in rounds.
Daily open time computerized on a first come first served basis.
You can drop to finish the month with as few as 70 hrs credit but can't fall below 50hrs month end prediction as you adjust your schedule.
You can go to legal maximum per month, but if you look like you're going to time out for the year when CS audits your flying in September you can be forced onto reserve in December to keep you FAR legal.
August out of DEN the average line credit was just over 80hrs, avg days off 15.5, a mix of 1 - 5 day trips with almost 50% 4 day trips. Day turns go senior - 80hr 20 days off, and butt kicking 5 day red-eyes go junior at sometimes 98hr - 12 days off
We have a LOT of flexibility in trading / dropping / swapping trips, so those 98hr 12 day off lines can become 80hr-15day off lines fairly easily. You can split trips and drop the pieces you don't want in most instances (leaving the 48hr OMA for a reserve). Those kind of overnights have been disappearing as we serve more of our cities 7 days a week.
We are still adjusting to 117, additional domiciles and red eye flying. There are still fatiguing trips built, but if you call in fatigued and it wasn't obviously your fault (you were partying all night in LAS) you'll be removed from flying and pay protected with no sick time loss.
One nice bit we have (that management WILL want to take away in the next contract) is the ability to make up sick days - duty period for duty period.
For example; You're scheduled on your last day to fly SLC-DEN-LAX-DEN, but your kid gets sick at home while you fly your SLC-DEN leg so you call in sick for 1/2 of a day - dropping the DEN-LAX-DEN 4:15hr turn, and are charged 1/2 of a sick day.
The next month the same thing happens and you bang out sick for another 1/2 of a day worth 4:15. You get paid for the time dropped, and your sick bank is reduced by 1 day ( 1/2day + 1/2day = 1day of sick. Sick time is calculated and used in whole or half days. We don't do sick or vacation by credit hours).
You can then pick up a DEN-SLC-DEN from open time within the next 2 full bid periods after the one in which you took the sick time (sick in August - you have until the end of October's bid period to make up the day), call CS and tell them you want to use the SLC turn's credit (which would have paid around 2:15) to replenish your sick time (1 full day), and your sick balance is replenished, but you don't get paid for the SLC turn. In the end you'll essentially get paid 8.5hrs for flying a SLC turn - with NO loss to your sick bank.
It's a good option if you don't want to pay for the optional STD (short term disability) insurance, and want to build your sick bank for emergencies.
There are a lot of things to fix in our next contract, but this isn't bad for an independent union's 10 year old second ever contract after bankruptcy. The concessionary pay needs help soon though!