Originally Posted by
Proximity
Agreed on that point.
The second thing we lack most in compared to a legacy is reserve rules. Reserve basically sucks on many fronts. There is no long call, so you must be able to make checkin within 2 hours if they call you. There is no trip ownership, the company may assign you something, and then later assign you something different. At other airlines you have the protections of a line holder once you accept a reserve assignment. Also, there is no way to drop or trade reserve days, you're pretty much stuck with what you get awarded. Lastly, the company has been slowly increasing the percentage of reserve lines. The good news is that on reserve you generally make good money, due to the changes made in the last contract. However, you will work for it.
There is no push from SWAPA to improve reserve currently that I've seen.
Sounds like you got hired after the current contract was signed. The reserve was truly awful before then because you'd end up sitting for free. In other words, they'd use you up to your guarantee and then not use you the last few days keeping you essentially covering 2-3 days for literally 0-2 TFP total for days ergo "sitting for free." Now, your sitting unused means 6 TFP for that day; you fly LAS-BUR-LAS and you get 6.5 minimum for that day regardless where you sit for the month and regardless if you fly less than 6 TFP that day. You get more if you fly more.
Also, the reason there's no long call for reserve is because of the requirement that all open flying has to be run through open time before being assigned to a reserve allowing people to bid on it for straight or premium. It'll go straight before being assigned to a reserve and possibly premium as well. Though Long Call could possibly work for Daily Open Time for the next day, the bulk of the trips that end up needing coverage are in Hourly Open Time and those may need coverage in as little as 3-4 hours or so, but may go premium as well.
Also, trip ownership - you can select it if you choose to in CWA. You can also choose to put your reserve assigned trip in giveaway. I've managed to give away a few trips letting me stay at home and collect 6 TFP per day for bumming around the house instead of having to go to work.
Something else about our reserve rules that's unique and very much unlike the legacies: we are paid per day now and not a monthly guarantee per se and you are paid rigs as if you're a line holder. You can also get quite a bit of premium on reserve if they start messing with your trip just like a line holder.
For example, if as a reserve you're given a trip that ends in a DH to domicile the following day and you get reassigned later on for that next day, that day 2 pays premium if it brings you back later than originally assigned time. I've had 3 day reserve blocks paying as much as 35 TFP while only blocking around 10 hours over 3 days. That's the reroute and reassignment portion that flyguy81 is talking about. This is how a number of our reserves end up with 125+ TFP for the month only working their schedules. And for this reason, you don't see too many people offering to give away their reserve blocks in giveaway like before the current contract.
Personal opinion, but if they allowed us to trade reserve blocks with the company like they do line trips via ELITT, the reserve would likely go quite a bit more senior. That's the only reason I don't bid reserve. But I do pick up occasional reserve blocks or trade my line trip with a reserve for his reserve block which is also something you can't do at most airlines. Gotta take the good with the bad...