Woah fellas. How did we get going down this road again? For the record:
-- I will never be able to tell slowplay and sailingfun apart. One of those guys has to change their name.
-- I too am on track to make less under the this the new PWA. Why?
It's hard to put a finger on. But, I think:
1.) Having to sit reserve some months out of the year really hurts. 70's hours is low. Paying for hotels suck. Less per diem adds up. Not knowing how many lines the company is going to give out month over month is pretty bad, too. I sat reserve one month because I had vacation during the wrong week even though I was almost 60% up the list.
2.) While my pay rate has increased, it seems to be way harder to get trips to fill my schedule out. I'm sure I suck at monthly bidding, but several months, when I did hold a line, I only got 67 hours or so. Apparently, these were the slow, pre-summer months, when open time was scarce and the trips that were out there didn't match my schedule.
3.) While I admit that there are ways to make up for previously lost flying, it's not always guaranteed. Green slips, yellow slips, white slips, and rolling thunder sounds good, but I have found that unless you are very senior in your position and/or live in base, it is not something you can count on. I have tried that rolling thunder thing and can tell you that my thunder doesn't roll. I've called scheduling and asked if they thought it would roll. Flown into DTW to sit all day to wait for it to roll. Then flown back home when it didn't roll. Personally, I think my thunder has square wheels.
Don't get me wrong. There are many good and even great parts of the contract. But, from where I sit, I think if you talk to a fNWA guys who says he isn't making as much money, it might be because of where he sits in his/her category list, if he lives in base, or if his category is short on pilots.
From talking to folks around campus, I think so far this year, 330 A & B's, 7er B's, 320 A & B's, DC-9 B's, and some 744 B's can make a killing. They must be short in those category's. Green slips, white slips, rolling thunder or whatever they want, if they want, all day long. Even more so, if they live in base. But, for those of us that commute to work, who are around the 60-70% mark of our category, it's kind of tough to figure out. Or, at least it is for me. Some months I might have to sit reserve because I have vacation. Some months there will be slim pickings for open time. Hopefully, some months I will have a great schedule.
I'm sure I will figure it out, though. But, don't be so surprised when you hear fNWA say we aren't doing quite as well as you think we are. It's true. But, I always open to suggestions on how to improve my paycheck and quality of life. Fire away and thanks in advance.
New K Now