Originally Posted by
Herkflyr
While I rarely fly GS I hope you acknowledge that premium pay duty periods actually do go into the contractual staffing formula?
Also I honestly don't know what the ideal staffing approach is. I can tell you that in overmanned categories I've heard pilots complain "ain't nuttin' in open time!" Company cannot win with some guys. Staffing such that zero GS are passed out even in the busy summer months is never going to happen, nor should it.
On the other hand last summer was a bit extreme.
This all results from our flexibility to do marketing's bidding. We will always be incorrectly staffed when we are reacting to the markets short term changes. This is actually a good thing. More frequent AEs would go a long way toward getting it closer to right. The costs will be incurred either in GS/IA or in training. I prefer GSs but to rely as heavily on them as was done last summer is unsustainable.