Overage/Sub/OTP FCIF
In case anyone hasn't seen it yet, an FCIF from 1999 was re-issued today clarifying the three options available if your current trip is extended, creating a conflict with a subsequent trip. One can lose out on some serious dollars if they make the wrong choice depending on the situation. But I'm not trying to help with what you decide, I'm posting to talk about WHEN you make your choice.
In two different paragraphs, the FCIF encourages pilots who are choosing option 1 (drop the trip in conflict to receive the full overage on the extended trip) to make that election "as soon as possible". However, the FCIF clearly states the deadline for that decision is completion of the revised trip that was extended - i.e. 30 minutes after block in. I strongly suggest anyone considering option 1 wait until they have blocked in before making that choice.
The ALPA calendar used to make the same suggestion - choose ASAP and I followed it. I elected to drop the trip in conflict because the overage paid significantly more than the substitution pay for my next trip. After calling crew scheduling and choosing option 1, while I was still on the revised trip, it was revised again. The new revision basically returning it to its original version and footprint. Not only did I no longer have the overage from my revision, I no longer had my next trip and was ineligible for SUB as well since I had dropped it.
Of course the schedulers want you to make your choice between option 1 and 2 ASAP because that makes their job easier. I offer my cautionary tale as one reason to take your time and make the choice after your trip. I also suggest forwarding that FCIF to your personal email for future reference. In my opinion, it does a better job than the current ALPA calendar in clarifying your options and is certainly easier than flipping back and forth between sections 4 and 25 of the contract. Also, some of the details like the 30 minute after block-in deadline are not specifically delineated in the contract. The ALPA calendar is not completely clear on this situation either and appears to only offer the 30-minute post-block in deadline to a reserve pilot.