A brilliant concept and most definitely in-touch with the reality around junior pilots. With just a few hundred retirements per year until the later part of this decade, there will be many guys forced into a reserve life-style in those categories. The realities are, a SLC or LAX type may very well be a reserve on the junior most eqiupment from 2008 until 2016 or even later, depending on the negotiations concerning scope with Alaska and 70+ seat flying conducted by Skywest. (It's obvious in our network where the Trojan Horse was cut loose, the furthest most direction away from mecca.).

Now that I have complained, a possible solution.

If said pilot is living within 180 miles of a Delta pilot base in the junior most category:

Artificially beef up the staffing formulas on the bottom of said categories.

Alternate said pilots between a month of reserve and a month of holding a schedule. No one is punished as the staffing is artificially high to begin with.

or

If a currently commuting pilot maintains a bid prefence under his AE and/or VD indicating ONLY a preference to be based within 180 miles of his home of record AND maintains that top preference until he is awarded a base within 180 miles of his home of record:

a. Positive space to work for shortcall assignments

b. Positive space for the assignment of a trip

c. Paid hotel rooms and perdiem a. and b.

d. An alternating monthly schedule of reserve and block

e. Seat locks will be removed as required to enable the pilot to bid into a base within 180 miles of his home of record, in seniority order

and

For all reserve pilots:

a. 15 days of availability for 75 hour guarantee, based upon average daily credit of 5 hours per day. This can be shifted as low as 13 days for 65 hours of pay enabling the pilots to maintain a line of work outside of flying as a hedge and preparation against future economic downturns and furlough. Such pilots will be permitted to conduct outside flying under part 91, flight instructing, EMS, police, fire, etc. Such pilots must ensure that this time doesn't conflict with FARs.

b. The ability to bid short call RAP periods and/or longcall in seniority order, a maximum of six short calls per month.

c. The option of bidding all shortcalls for the entire month and being awarded the higher of 80 hours, the ALV or the actual hours or days flown based upon all the duty rigs associated with a regular line pilot and five hours per day guarantee.

d. Scheduling will maintain a ratio of long call and shortcall, with a minimum staffing for shortcall.

e. Trips in open time awarded in seniority order. If a pilot has not put a yellow slip request in, then trips for the following day must be offered by scheduling in seniority order, unless the senior pilots has indicated a preference via yellow slip.

f. Eliminate the requirement to check your schedule on a day off. However, a pilot can expect an assignment or RAP as early as 12:00 the first day and a commuting reserve pilot must anticipate a positive space flight to his base of coverage on the first mainline, codeshare or DCI flight available from his home of record.


These concepts would reward those attempting to bid into a base in which they already live within 180 miles of and rectify the pay discrepancies between those stuck each month at 70 hours and those that can hold regular line positions. In effect, everyone would have about the same pay and 15 days per month of obligation. Of course greenslips and working over the ALV with swaps and open time would still be an option.