Originally Posted by
Hawaii50
From an operational perspective the blended category (international/domestic) is attractive but it requires fewer reserves system wide which means fewer pilots on the list. The company would like one huge category where we're all qualified to fly everything. It's a huge concession and we need to see that for what it is. We currently use the 757 international and Hawaii but it's flown by the 767ER categories. The domestic 767 categories fly both the 757 and 767 through North and Central America and the Carribbean.
Also, are you guys checked out on VNAV and RNAV (GPS) approaches in the 757?
I agree that it's a huge concession to the company- they gain efficiency, while we gain the opportunity to hang ourselves when going to an unfamiliar locale. I've gone around on this point with several CVG guys.
Understandably, they want to capture the international flying out of CVG as a way to preserve their base, but I can't help but think about what would happen if a guy who flies nothing but domestic (due to his seniority) suddenly gets a reroute or reserve call-out to go to London, or Tel Aviv. The procedures are different enough that the opportunity for a mistake is significant.
The company won't hang if you have a gross navigational error, or are launched on by air defense; the pilots will hang.
(FWIW, I commute from CVG to fly the ER in NYC, and have no desire to return to CVG, even if the ER category is put here. I'd rather commute than be locked into the five European destinations they fly to from here.)