Originally Posted by
Herkflyr
How it
SHOULD work:
- When awarded a reserve GS, PB days are immediately placed on your schedule based on your awarded trip.
- After the trip is over, a nifty little software module/subroutine does a few if/then comparisons (just like it already does for "minutes under" and about every other rotation calculations), and automatically adjusts the PB/PR days as spelled out in the contract. These could change a little bit (one time I arrived an hour late and the start of my PB days had to be delayed by an hour) or a lot (originally awarded 4-day reserve GS ends up only being a 2-day trip after all is said and done; the pilot will then get PB days based only on the final trip as flown, not the original longer trip awarded).
How it
ACTUALLY works:
- When the trip is awarded, the scheduler may or may not place the PB days on your schedule.
- There is NO "software subroutine" that automatically adjusts your PB days to account for how your trip was actually flown. Scheduling has to do this manually. I actually talked to a supervisor about that. I was very surprised to find out that it is a a completely manual process. She sounded very flustered and told me "we have repeatedly asked for software improvements to do exactly that, and we are shot down every time."
Scheduling
frequently fails to update your PB days correctly. I've had to call them for updates both minor and major. I don't even get upset about it any more--it is just something you will likely have to do.
Would a software module that automated this process be hugely beneficial both to scheduling and the pilot group? Why, yes it would. And yet the company refuses to do so. That should tell you a lot.
As frustrating as it is, I like the system as it is. Yes, it requires a little effort, but sometimes it works in your favor. For example, if you have a GS that releases just after 1500, getting that PR on your schedule can protect you if you block in early. Thankfully, they don’t then go back and correct the PR to the day before. When rolling thunder, this equates to protecting an entire extra day off.