[QUOTE=
This being said, everything posted about this industry is what has happened in the past. We just signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with the company that will allow for Hybrid Lines that is so new it hasn't gone into effect yet. Hybrid lines will take some of the people that would have been on reserve and give them a line for part of the month, for the remainder of the month you will be on reserve. Being a line holder is very much preferred to being on reserve. As a line holder you are Pay Protected (100% for trip cancellation), you can pick up and trade trips, and you're not on call. The LOA also allows reserve people to pick up open time and anyone can pick up trips during vacation if they want. All of things things are going into effect in the next few months, some of them as early as December.[/QUOTE]
That sounds great. A couple xjt pilots I spoke to a couple months ago alluded to this.
We use this system at DAL (FA) and it really is great. We do 6 days a month of reserve (usually in 2 3-day blocks) and you get hard trips for the rest of the month. The system is great and allows junior people to have more control of their lives and make more money while also having more days off. When you're on reserve and not flying, you're not getting per diem, which really adds up. I'm bidding at 80% in my base and my December bid award had 16 days off and approx. 84 hours of credit (depending on what I get for my reserve days). In November I had 13 days off with 95 hours credit. You almost always get something on reserve and can preference assignments in open time (including airport stby), which are awarded in seniority order the day before.
Overall, people like it a lot, especially those who came to us from other carriers and lived under the pure reserve system.
Oh, and as of Dec. 1 I'm making $28.89 at step 2. Plus $3.20 for working lead. Step 1 is $27.xx. The pay situation certainly needs to change at xjt.