Here's some gouge someone gave me:
Congratulations! You just received your new aircraft bid award and you will be going to training next month. Now you would like to know some of the rules for bidding in the month you are scheduled to attend training. There are some rules that can have an impact on your schedule and pay when bidding conflicts with the start of your training class. You will be paid the RLG/BLG of the line you were awarded, but trips or R-days on that line will be affected if they conflict with the start of your training.
If you bid a trip that will conflict with the start of ITU training, you will be eligible for a custom line. This is covered in Section 25.I of the contract. Basically, any trips untouched by the start of your training will remain on your custom line. Any trips that fall within the scheduled training period will be dropped with pay. There is a 12-hour buffer prior to the start of any training that may cause a conflict. A trip that conflicts with the start of training will be dropped and eligible for the custom line formula:
[(Trip’s CHs) – (4:30 x trip days in conflict with training) – (12 CH training buffer)] = CHs available to be built back onto your line.
A custom line can be built of trips and/or R-days. If required to build a custom line, there will be a 48-hour buffer prior to the scheduled start of your training. There is no requirement that the custom trip(s) fits into the footprint of the lost pairing, i.e. it could fall anywhere in the month there is room. You may input your request to CRS in the 36-hour bid adjustment window if you have certain restrictions you would like considered. If your training is delayed or cancelled, the company may rebuild your line and add more trips, but no more than was lost for the anticipated training.
When bidding your line for the month in which you start ITU training, it is important you bid carefully depending on your desires. If you want to fly right up to the start of training, you may do so up to the 12-hour buffer. If you wish maximum time off in order to study for your new position, you may want to bid as much of your flying in the training period as possible to maximize the conflict. If the carryover from the previous month conflicts with the start of your training in this month, the carryover trip will be dropped and you will only keep the carryover pay for this if you would be eligible to work those days. [An example is if your training starts on the 5th and you have carryover through the 6th, you should keep this carryover pay since you are eligible to work on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. There would be a 48-hour buffer that you could not be scheduled]. The portion of the carryover trip that began in the previous month will be paid in that month.
While in training you must be careful of your pay-only bidding also. If you bid a carryover into the next bid month, the carryover portion will be lost. If you just bid for a highest paying line, the computer will look for the total pay for that line, including carryover. This may result in a lower than expected paycheck, since the carryover pay portion is to be dropped and the base line pay may be low. Your best bid might be max pay with no carryover, if your wish is to maximize your income while in training. Remember that a pay-only line can only be assigned once to a pay-only candidate.
Nearing the completion of your IOE (within 72 hours of your expected finish), you should contact CRS and advise them you will be released to the line. At that time you can input your request for a custom line. When considering the construction of this custom line, CRS will factor in the number of days off you had on your awarded pay-only line. They will then deduct the number of days off you had while in training and IOE, and provide the required remainder on your custom line. (Hint: it may be a good idea to bid a maximum-days-off line for the month you expect to complete IOE.) They then compute the eligible CHs using the formula:
[(Pay-Only CH) – (4:30 x training days worked) – (greater of SCH or ACH of IOE hours flown)] = available CHs to be assigned in
the remaining available days.
The custom line may not exceed the number of credit hours of your pay-only line. Be aware that while in training, your IOE flights plus days worked may exceed your pay-only BLG/RLG, and you will not be eligible for any extra pay. Also, while operating IOE trips, you are to be scheduled under all normal contract limitations, but are not eligible for any disruptions as you are flying as PDO. Carryover days of a pay-only line awarded if you are coming out of training should be kept, and custom hours can be assigned onto those days.