Wonder why the company is taking their time working the excess? 4a2b. The arbitration has just started. The possible forced lifting of 4a2b will be in 2010 at the soonest. Has to do with the work left to be done on the schedule of the arbitrator.

It's cheaper just to let folks sit at reduced averages as more than a handful of DC10 crewmembers are still sitting at home and the uncertainties of retirements and economic recovery play out. Lots of folks unable to drop R days due to insufficient reserves. Scheduling is so happy about their efficiency right now.

It also lets the company put folks thru recurrent and training at reduced pay. This has got to be saving the company a ton of $ to run the 757 schoolhouse. 777 training is starting up soon to. This 4a2b is a magical thing when it comes to cutting costs. Even if the company has to pay for using it I bet the settlement will only be a fraction of what they gained from it.