Originally Posted by m3113n1a1

Aside from the very unlikely and rare scenario where the student needing OE or the LCA calls out sick (you could just use a reserve just like EVERY OTHER TIME someone calls out sick short notice) or the student doesn't complete their sim training on time, what is the need to have the other FO show up for the trip? Other airlines don't do it this way. And if the company got their way, they'd be able to withhold more trips specifically for OE anyway, so there wouldn't even be an original FO assigned to the trip. What if the LCA or student called out sick for one of these trips!!? *gasp* This shows that the company isn't concerned with sick calls/unable to commute scenarios at all.

Making the original FO show for these trips actually hurts the company. If the trip was actually dropped earlier and the FO didn't need to show it would be easier for him to pick up a WS on the PCS run the day prior which helps the company with coverage and saves them from expending a reserve or paying GS pay. Not to mention it just makes guys angry having to show up to the airport, jump through all the hoops calling scheduling and tying up some poor schedulers time, finally getting released, then going home.

I didn't believe this at first and thought it was just anti-company conspiracy babble, but I honestly think the company might be trying to make it a miserable process so that we give up on LCA trip buys on the next contract cycle and just let them withhold more trips for OE purposes. There literally is no other good reason.