Originally Posted by
Tornado875
At every airline on the planet they need a certain number of pilots to work on Christmas. Lets say 500. At every other airline there are going to be more people that want that day off than are able to get it off. At most other airlines the pilots who want that day off bid it and can either hold it off or cannot and go to work. And yet at Spirit because you are able to trade trips around better than others that somehow means no one who wants a holiday off has to work on a holiday? It literally doesn't matter if the way a pilot is forced to fly on a holiday is determined by bidding, reserves coverage, trip swapping, a lottery, a singing contest, or a gladiatorial fight to the death. The fact is those trips have to be covered, and there will always be more people who want those days off then can get them. How is that math so difficult? I like Spirits DTZ and grid rules, but some of you deny the math behind holiday coverage, and act like everyone else is crazy, and it drives me insane.
That's a Bingo.
If the airline has scheduled flights that require staffing of 500 out of every 1000 pilots to work that day, that's how many are working. Period. Most of that coverage will be determined during the line awards, by seniority. Then after the awards the grid may or may not be green for Christmas day, even at Spirit. If 5 guys pick up trips that touch Christmas, for whatever reason, that will allow 5 guys who are more junior to drop trips that touch Christmas. There is no other magic formula, or magic potion that allows more Spirit pilots to drop Christmas day.
Spirit is a younger group. Maybe they have more guys that don't have children. Maybe the airline runs less flights or less trips that require layovers over Christmas day. Maybe you're full of dung and just don't know it. I've already told you I've never worked a single Christmas, yet you claim without data or proof that Spirit pilots get Christmas off with less seniority than JB pilots. A claim you have zero data or ability to back up.
As for holiday pay, many major holidays at JB pay 200%, for the entire block/DH, or 4 hours minimum. It's good, but I expect improvement in both days included and a higher minimum hours per day. It's a win win for the pilots. If you wanna work a holiday, you get pay and someone who doesn't want to work it gets it off. If you get stuck working a holiday (I know, that never happens at NK), at least you get 200% pay.