Originally Posted by
ohaiyo
I'm new, but it seems like there is plenty in the contract that makes seniority less of a spike and more of a ramp at this company. GS counters are a thing. Most people say they want SS counters. People are advocating to make 23M7 either a counter or add some provision that prevents the same 1 person from collecting all the 23M7 pay, and so on. That suggests to me the pilot group as a whole likes having a career that is good at the beginning and gets better. Seems to me that helps everyone. I know that having a system like United where only the couple guys perched at the top get to collect ALL the premium flying would suck. In any case, I'm not married to the idea, and it wouldn't really last longer than the 20th PCS run anyway. It would just let some folks lower on the list get to drop a bit of their schedule, instead of letting the 1 or 2 at the top get to drop everything.
Yeah I see your point but there are other things that aren't subject to a counter, like PBS where the #1 pilot gets whatever he wants before #2, #2 before #3, etc. I think having a counter for drops could be really messy to implement. How do you account for APDs and IVDs? What about someone who is burning PB days who is "dropping" a trip multiple times?
I think there are other ways to implement a system that has the potential to allow greater dropping flexibility for more junior people. I think Spirit has/had language that made it much easier for people to drop. Maybe there's a way to structure forced blue days after bid awards come out.