Originally Posted by
FangsF15
You are conflating two totally different things. (For the record, or any NH reading this, you meant to reference 23.S.7.b). That paragraph is talking about one VERY specific circumstance, where you can call CS, and inform them you are "unavailable for contact during the first two hours of the short call." That is it, period, nothing more. The whole point is so you can be commuting in so as to be at the airport, and can report immediately upon the end of those first two hours. If you are not actively commuting to base in the first two hours of a SC, this provision is totally moot.
But that is totally independent of SC "report time", per se. In ANY other circumstance, "promptly available" is the controlling time frame, be it SC or a Reg GS report, and '2 hours' is nowhere in the conversation. There is intentionally NO written number for what "promptly available" means. If it was, the company would have to enforce it. While many people throw out 'about 2 hours is generally agreed upon', that is not - repeat NOT - in policy anywhere (which, in fairness, you do state). In LA or NY, 3 hours may well be reasonable due to traffic or co-terminal proximity. Having said that, you will not want to have to explain why it took you much longer than about that. As a general statement (and as you said), if you report 2+01 from contact, you will not be in trouble.
This issue is like whack-a-mole. It keeps coming up, again and again. SC and "2 hours" should never be used in the same sentence, ever - unless that sentence is, "SC is NOT 2 hours".
First off, thank you for the typo correction. 2...3....meh. Same stuff, right? And I think we are in agreement (except for the exception thing which I am actually not confusing with the other part). A drive in the NYC and/or LAX area (or ATL for that matter) may certainly take 3 or 4 hours depending on time of day and/or accidents/construction (roving pot hole repair)/weather which begs the question, what is the no-traffic time to report in that case? You posted "you will not want to have to explain why it took you much longer than about that [3 hours]." Three hours isn't written anywhere either so what would you need to be explaining?
As for the exception (and only the exception, Mrs. Riley), I will ask again - why did ALPA and the Company agree to a report no sooner than 2 hours rather than one hour or 3 hours? Short call starts at the beginning of the short call window, period. The language in the exception says "[t]he pilot must be able to report for a rotation with a report
as early as two hours after the start of the short call period." I love that language because I can, in good conscience, stand in the CPO office and say I made it within 2 hours despite scheduling wanting me there in 40 minutes. If it is good enough for the beginning of the window, it is good enough anywhere else in the window...because promptly report isn't written anywhere.
Carrying it further, what if I am NYC-based but live in BOS or DC and decide not to commute in (and therefore not become "unavailable" under the exception)? Is promptly reporting now less than 2 hours for me because I am not "unavailable" or is it more so I can just tell the scheduler that I am leaving now and will be there in 4 hours because "promptly report" has no time with it and 4 hours is a prompt report from my home?
Good stuff to discuss...