You're right, it's a charade, as was the presentation of this scheme during road shows and videos.

BREAKING NEWS: Accepted Fares is NOT "FIXED"!

The "Baseline Fare" and the "Established Fare" are both Fare QUOTES and have nothing to do with what The Company actually PAYS for a ticket.

The Baseline Fare is a quote obtained no earlier than 7 days before and no later than 2 days after the publication of the bid period package.

The Established Fare is a quote obtained after the publishing of the First Officer bid awards and no later than the 14 days prior to the scheduled departure of the commercial deadhead (except where less than 14 days remain).

Depending on when the deadhead occurs in the month, the Baseline Fare and Established Fare can be established long before the ticket is actually purchased, and the actual cost has no effect on either of the quotes, and no benefit to the pilot's deviation bank.

For example, look at a trip that has a commercial deadhead in late July. The Company could have determined the Baseline Fare as early as May 26th (up to 7 days prior to the publishing of the July bid period package, which occurred on June 2nd). The Company could have determined the Established Fare as early as June 8th (as soon as the First Officer bid awards were published on June 8th -- 14 days prior is the latest, not the earliest, or even the target).

Of course there is no deadline published regarding the actual purchase of the ticket. However, to address your specific example, The Company could then purchase a ticket on July 3 for a commercial deadhead occurring 2 weeks later, and the actual cost will likely be greater than the quotes received almost a month and six weeks prior. In the case of deadheads at the end of a bid month, the fare quotes could be as much as 8 and 10 weeks old.


Anybody who thought the "Accepted Fares" was fixed is bound to be disappointed.






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