Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Slow,
I don't know what software they use to assign trips. Their default position when you question an assignment is that "it's legal." After agreeing with them that's it's legal and you're doing the best you can, the follow up question is "why did you assign a 05:00 short call to a 6:30 departure instead of one of the 03:00 people?" They answer to that is, "we don't do it, the computer does it. The computer looks for availability two hours prior to departure time."
Departure time is door closing, not wheels up. The historical definition of availability
under normal circumstances is being at the aircraft (not airport or door closed) 2 hours after initial contact attempt. From "When Scheduling Calls":
A pilot on short call is required to be within the general area of his base and promptly available for trip coverage. Since each base has its own particular traffic problems, the term “promptly available” has never been defined in terms of time or distance, and is based upon normal circumstances that can be expected throughout the day or night. Actual realistic response time may vary from base to base and with weather and time of day. It is not possible for a pilot to anticipate and account for abnormal conditions beyond his control, which may extend response time beyond that normally required. Therefore, an NYC pilot encountering a snowstorm or an LAX pilot caught in rush-hour traffic might each require in excess of three hours to sign in and be well within the definition of “promptly available."
Note: For NYC-based pilots, short-call availability may be measured from the pilot’s closest co-terminal (EWR, LGA, JFK), without regard to the actual co-terminal to which he is required to report. For LAX-based pilots, short-call availability is measured from LAX.
If a pilot anticipates an unusual response time, he should inform Crew Scheduling for their planning purposes. Any discussion of “reasonable” should occur only between the pilot, the Chief Pilot, and, possibly, an ALPA representative.