You do not have to check the box to get back to back 17 day trips. A guy I just flew with was dealing with this during our trip. He got clarification. All you have to do is mess up your bid. The minimum days off between the trips only applies to lines granted to you by the company. So if you bid 10 choices, and you didn’t get any of them, therefore the system assigns you a schedule, it must give you a minimum number of days in between. However, if you bid a line that starts on day 1 or a month, it will award it and you will not get those days off in between trips, box check doesn’t matter. You have, in a way, agreed to it. This may not be true but it’s what happens and I have been told it’s legal. Therefore, even though it’s the crew members fault, an accident perhaps, you aren’t protected.

It’s amazing how many holes are in this contract. It makes the old regional contract I worked for seem like a mainline contract. Many people here have been here so long they don’t realize what it’s like in the outside world.