Originally Posted by
tallpilot
I guess it's great to get 2-3 months off with pay each year. You are absolutely correct though, it does more harm than good to the majority of the pilot group. APA's rebuttal is that better schedules trickle down the seniority list when senior pilots are IMAXed. That isn't evenly distributed throughout the year though so in essence junior pilots get a couple better months in exchange for crappier schedules most of the year. I respectfully submit that isn't a good trade.
The final rebuttal is always, you could IMAX too. That is patently untrue for 35% of the pilot group (look at the obscene reserve levels for December) and exceedingly difficult for the bottom lineholders. Best case scenario, maybe 40% of the pilot group could do it but the lower echelons would be getting a month off, not 3.
Yes, there would be unintended consequences from slaying this sacred cow but the amount of sheer nonsense in the contract to support it is mind boggling.
If 40% of pilots IMAXed the company would be hobbled. They would never allow it. A scheduling com guy told me during the last S6 that somewhere near 7-10% of pilots IMAxed but he played word games with it....."Approximately 7-10% of pilots were IMAX limited at some point in the last year." That doesn't mean 7-10% of pilots were IMAxing to IMAX. Some pilots end up limited accidentally. He also wouldn't answer or "didn't have data" on a couple other questions I asked like is that 7-10% of all months, all pilots? Were some of the same pilots limited in different months but still included in that number separately?
This benefits a small amount of pilots and negatively affects most everyone else.