Thanks CAL EWR. Very timely.

I was a reserve pilot as of yesterday (end of July) and a line pilot as of today (for those interested, I'm based in IAH - 4 months, 3 weeks, to hold a line). Sure enough, Crew Scheduling called this afternoon. I answered, probably foolishly, but I'm on probation and just finished my last reserve pairing this morning. I wasn't really sure if I wasn't still on call today. They were very nice and very polite. They wanted to know if I'd volunteer in trade for days off or premium pay. It was not forced on me. I declined. The company will only change it's pilot staffing levels if they feel enough pain. To do that you can't volunteer in situations like this. The best thing that can happen is for the scheduler to say to his manager who says to his director who says to the Ops VP who says to Larry, "no one's available. We're out of pilots. We had to cancel the flight."

Now that I realize I really do have line status, I'll be out Sunday to fly my scheduled line. Until then, I'll shut the damn phone off.