I disagree slightly. Among the highest SL categories are the very senior. They have lots to burn--no reason not to use it, and in general, (Maybe like me,) just don't care that much any more. It's been beaten out of them. "If I don't get my days off I'll just call in sick."

I submit that if the company would monetize the SL at retirement, all those senior guys would see nothing but $$, and would stop calling in sick for a hang nail. Don't get me wrong, hangnails can be serious. But this is a very costly sick call. It would eliminate a lot of those last minute SL, and improve the reliability of the operation. Oscar, you listening?

I bet it's cheaper to pay it out at retirement rather than carry more pilots, to cover a higher SL usage than it would be to pay it when they retire. However, it's all pie in the sky. Without opening the contract, we aren't likely to get any improvements in SL either before the extension runs out. Couple more years.