Doesn't look like they are having to draft as much as we might think. They are are up over 220 extra pairings already this month in the 72. That includes the standbys at Mem. It seems each week the company is dropping about 120-150 credit hours (for each seat) into the system as airport standbys in SMF, ATL and CVG. Guys are scarfing them up within hours.

That flying should be built into the lines so that everybody can share the wealth (including reserves) instead of just the guys who have hours and hours of makeup to use. The company is getting plenty of extra flying now from us at straight time just by dumping these X pairings into the system.

Eventually we'll run out of makeup hours, they will have to draft more folks to cover the flying, and then maybe the company will start to build the lines to reflect the actual level of flying that is required. That would take years. Meanwhile, however, the company will have made it through peak while screwing the crew force and we will have let them.

Genius on their part, not so much on ours. I don't begrudge guys using their makeup, it is in the contract. I just hope that we clean up the language in 4A2b during the upcoming negotiations, just to protect us from ourselves.