BigTime

Mission Mode is a last minute, desperate attempt by the company to find pilots to fly a trip that would otherwise be cancelled. It should be paid at a guaranteed premium 2x or better and it should be written in a contract. Unfortunately it is only paid at 8hrs ABG. If the trip is already 7 hours long, you only get paid 1 additional hour above straight pay.

Mission Mode is also being used by management to understaff the reserves which is bad for all of us. If you ever need a day off, forget about it because they no longer have excess reserve pilots due to those who fly Mission Mode trips.

Let's not forget about the effect Mission Mode has on your average line value each month. Fewer pilots on reserve means more pilots get a line in each base every month. That means all the trips get divided up among more pilots. The result is fewer hours on each line every month for line holders.

Ever been TDY'd? You can blame the pilots who fly Mission Mode for your month-long forced vacation away from your family. That's because the company needs fewer pilots in each base if they can simply send out a mission mode to get a trip covered. During the slower months that means bigger bases will have excess TDY's.

SFB is a good example of this problem. Month after month they TDY more pilots out of that base than any other. It's no coincidence that SFB had traditionally been one of the worst bases in the system for pilots who will accept Mission Mode trips. Those guys are screwing themselves and the pilots junior to them and they don't even realize it (or they don't care).

Mission Mode is bad. The pilots who fly Mission Mode are screwing you out of a better schedule, more money, and more days off. It needs to go away and be replaced by a seniority based system that pays double time or better. It would still save the company a ton of money because they wouldn't have to cancel flights but the company has no incentive to do it if pilots keep flying Mission Modes.