good post higney85...
The first year with no or little reserve is definitely a plus in PNCL's cap. That is the only plus though. For those who read the above post, let me explain the unwritten word. Higney85 is due to time out this year, so that means he is flying close to 90 hours a month, therefore he cannot be extended or junior assigned. Probably many 30/7 or 100 in a month, if you know how to play the game they don't touch you. In my 6 years I have been JM'd once and extended twice, then again I play the game where they can't do anything with me.
The contractor deal, read up.. .you need to do that, you should be doing that anyway regardless.
As for the contract, when was the last time we were at the table? when is the next time? I would be surprised if we go to the table more than 2-3 days between now and January. The contract will be riding on some top grievances that will be heard between now and January. Depending on how they fall out, they may not come back to the table for a while. There is no chance of us being released for self help with the current administration. I was always a big believer of a contract by Xmas, but with the current state of things going on... there is no incentive of a contract anytime soon...
my final comment and one that I find funny that I hear by many FO's (no disrespect to Higney85) is the 1000 hours and getting out. Look at the CA's on the Seniority list, how many of those guys have 1000 hours and are still here. Not everyone is here by choice, not everyone is here because they are waiting for that ONE special company to hire them (purple). Some are here because they can't get hired anywhere else. Thinks of how many RJ drivers there are right now with 1000 PIC or better... thousands...
Right now PNCL is losing many of the newer CA's (1000 PIC types) to contract flying, Cathay, Emeriates, some LCC's, fractionals, and corporate. The lucky few that are getting a legacy carrier have some serious connections or fall within a specific group of pilots that are targeted by the legacy carriers.
Getting out is not guaranteed.. in some cases it is by pure luck.