Originally Posted by
CoefficientX
I have been bidding reserve, by choice, for the last seven winters. I live in base and am about twenty minutes from the airport. I choose to let the call go to voicemail 90% of the time. And 95% of the time they call it's for an assignment for the next day.
Never once has a scheduler asked me if the reason I didn't answer the phone was deliberate or because I was otherwise tied up. Prompt is prompt, it doesn't mean immediate.
Like I said on long call, no disagreement from me about letting it go to voicemail. If on short call however, I believe it's in each pilot's interest to answer a call from scheduling and report within a reasonable amount of time as needed, or sign on to Icrew and acknowledge assignment ASAP.
Waiting an undetermined amount of time after letting a call go from scheduling go to voicemail while on short call in some hopeful fantasy that scheduling will just give you a pass and move on without any repercussions is both foolish and wrong. If you miss a call, so be it, but deliberately going out of your way to be difficult is wrong no matter how one justifies it to themselves. (Again I'm only talking about be actively on short-call)