Contract Interpretation and Administration

Short Notice Callouts on Short Call and FSB

There have been a number of recent incidents where a pilot on Short Call Reserve has been assigned a Basic Trip that is scheduled to depart in under 3.5 hours, or assigned a Global Trip that is scheduled to depart in under 4 hours. In some cases, the pilot has told the scheduler that he is unable to make that time and provided an estimated departure time, but the departure time has not been updated in the computer.
ALPA and the Company have discussed this, and agree that when this happens, if the pilot does not believe he has a reasonable chance of making the scheduled departure time, he should tell the scheduler what the estimated departure time is, and the scheduler will take steps to have the departure time updated to reflect this estimate. The pilot should check the website or the app to ensure the departure estimate has been updated correctly. Please note that the scheduler does not have the ability to change the departure time directly, so getting the departure delay posted will often take some time. Until the departure delay is officially posted, if the pilot is unsure the assigned duty period is legal, he should ask the FODM, FAR 117 Desk, or ALPA Contract Hotline to walk him through the calculation manually (based on his estimated departure time) to ensure he is not accepting an illegal assignment.

Field Standby:
Similarly, if a pilot on Field Standby is assigned to operate a Basic Trip that departs in less than 60 minutes, or a Global Trip that departs in less than 90 minutes, the pilot may notify the scheduler that he requires more time (up to the full 60/90 minutes), and in such case, the scheduler will take steps to have the departure time updated to reflect this estimate.
If the departure time is not updated to reflect the pilot’s estimated departure time, please contact a scheduling supervisor or the FODM for assistance.