VAS is FDP so yes, you'd need 10 hours prior to starting the VAS. But then you are legal for any trip like a SC pilot. I'm pretty sure anyway. Been a bit since I've had to look at reserve rest rules.

The problem is tracking just dumps trips in OT without regard on if they will actually be covered or not. When we used VAS last year, most I saw were assigned trips illegally well ahead of the start of the VAS period. VAS was awarded then shortly after, they just received a regular OT assignment. This resulted in much IA pay to the VAS pilot. Also, maybe m7 pay but not sure on that part. This pay all happened after the fact after ALPA got involved.

I feel like that's the real reason the company doesn't use them. They can't figure out how to program the computer/train schedulers to look for a VAS pilot before building a 0*** rot. And not whatever reason they said at the Velvet that people didn't want them. They went senior when they were published. In a perfect world, a delay would spit out a flight that would go straight to the VAS and save the 0*** rotation from being published, or a pilot being rerouted. Reroutes are also legal to happen outside of the 23O ladder if a trip isn't put in OT (23L5, indirectly). If the trip doesn't go to OT though, and there is a VAS, it has to go to the VAS (23L2c). Currently, tracking builds that 0*** trip, scheduling doesn't do anything for an hour, maybe runs the TC for WS, then m7s or reroutes. 3 hours of VAS pay plus single pay per day seems way cheaper than an M7 AND an IA, but what do I know. And M7 + reroute just kicks the can to a new M7 and IA. Rinse and repeat.