Originally Posted by
AltoCumulus
For the benefit of those that aren't here yet or are new, under the Alaska contract you have 12 days off that start 4 hours after the end of your zone. You get a 5 day block a 3 day block and 2 - 2 day blocks on every reserve line. The company may not EVER encroach on your 5 or 3 day block and may encroach on one of your two day blocks.
You have hours off, not days off, and for those who commute it's going to suck fairly significantly.
JetBlue - I am taking the poster at his word that they bid for zones on a daily basis. Sorry, I am not willing to take that bullet.
I agree, I wouldn't want to know my reserve window for tomorrow by a phone call today from scheduling.
Perhaps we can negotiate to include some lines that start with a late zone and progress to an early zone that people can bid on
Yes, that's how reserve used to be at VX. LSEF, late state early finish rsv lines (pre 117). Day 1 was a PM day starting at 5pm and day 5 would finish as a AM day by 2pm.
Virgin America: You were off at midnight...as long as they didn't need you. You could still be made to fly, albeit at 150%.
Depends if the next day is a Virgin Day Off (VDO). We get 3 VDOs in non-flex months and 2 in flex months. Put a VDO after every stretch of reserve window (the first day off) to be left alone. With VDOs they can't force you to work into day off (very rare exceptions do exist), but for the most part would force someone else to work who forgot to put a VDO.
So at VX you start your zone at 1630 and you are off at midnight...if they didn't call you. But they could call you...so this is not a guaranteed start of a day off but an automatic-release. Not the same thing.
As a transcon commuter (for the couple months before getting the NY VB), I bid PM lines to be able to come in on day 1 and start the 4pm to midnight shift. The last day was also 4pm to midnight, and with a Virgin Day off after, as long as just the redeyes were left you could call to be released. I was released as early as 7-8pm to make redeyes home. Even a 10-11pm, redeye home. But with good success, I was always able to call them and switch myself to an AM or MID by the last day and be done earlier and take a flight that got me home the same night as the last day of reserve.
Shorten the zones -- VX had 8 hour zones, I think that is a good starting point.
Only the PM shift is 8 hrs from 4pm to midnight. AM and MID shifts are both 11 hrs, 3am-2pm and 9am-8pm respectively.
Bid for days offs and zones - "PBS" for reserve. You shouldn't have to sacrifice your days off for your zone, or your zone for your days off. You should be able to exercise your seniority and bid for both.
Stop the practice of extending reserves. Once you are on a trip, a reserve pilot should be operating under the same rules as everybody else. At the end of your trip you should get your 12 hours off and then be assigned per the "assignment of open-flying" section of the contract. You should not be reassignable at the whim of scheduling.
Agreed!
More days off on reserve - we should AT LEAST have 13 days off during a 31 day month. We shouldn't be working for free one day every-other month.
Agreed x2. VX gets 13 calendar days off regardless of 30 or 31 day month. I would have liked to have seen one more day off for reserves as part of the scheduling improvement MOU but obviously that didn't happen because the company didn't budge.
If I'm gonna move all the way across the country, I sure as well better be driving to work. Not everyone at VX can move though as everyone's situation is unique. I'm planning to move if the VB isn't extended.