Originally Posted by
Bluedriver
JB 12+ years. Have NEVER worked a Christmas or Easter. I've sometimes CHOSE to work a thanksgiving because I choose, for my own reasons, with my own strategy. I've never worked a 4th of July, although I screwed up my bid (didn't realize it would hit me with a carry-out from June) once and was scheduled to work one, but it was with a check airmen, and was bought.
Your own example proves my point. If only 4 lines had the 25th off for this United pilot, only 4 pilots got it off (not counting reserves). If that were ever true at Spirit, the same proportion of guys would HAVE to work Christmas. The flights WILL be covered. The proportion of JB, NK and UAL pilots with Christmas off is the same, and directly proportional to the amount of flying the airline does that day.
You're missing a basic understanding of airline scheduling.
I get your point, but what I’m trying to say is that we, as a collective group, enjoy major holidays off more regularly at a lower seniority than our peers at JB, UA, and such. Whether it be by having those days awarded, adding, dropping, or swapping to get the holidays off.
I have yet to meet a NK pilot that would prioritize money over QOL. Luckily, our set up allows us to work as little or as much as we want.