Ptarmigan,

Please let me know what that motivation may be. The company doesn't give away money. Inform me, I'd really like to know.

For the vast majority of us, the FDAs are a give back. I suggest you browse the MD-11, Airbus, and 757 bidpacks. How many of the double deadhead pairings will remain? If the company bases MD-10s in Asia, who's going to fly intra Asia? Many of the longer trips (single commuter lines) fly intra Asia.

No matter what you fly, you'll probably see less of it if you stay based in the US. And that is the vast majority of us. When the company needs a replacement pilot in Asia, they DH crews from the states. I've done some of these. In one quick trip, you could more than make up your 3% raise. They won't be DH'ing US based crews to NRT if they need pilots. The company usually reassigns other pilots, and this usually makes them more money. One or two guys sick in the field often causes a domino effect where several pilots make extra money.

While we give many of our best pairings, we get Time Value of Money on a 3% raise. What does this actually amount to?

What if we vote it down? I'm not concerned with the company getting mad at us, it's just business. 4.A.2.b. was business. I don't think we are going to get that money back, but there are various low cost items that could be included that don't include Hours of Service. Giving up some of the best parts of the bidpack are worth more than Time Value of a 3% raise. I'm not sure why you think this is the best that we can do.

We don't need an extension, we just need to negotiate in good faith. The NPRM should be published this year. Peak season will come afterwards. We will be undermanned. Let's negotiate a full contract and complete this process for a few years.

We can disagree about the FDA leverage. Do yourself a favor and review the bidpack. See how much it costs the company to fly the normal schedule. Check DH costs, credit hours paid to deadhead, and lack of productivity. And what happens if things go wrong? A weather event, sick in the field, added flights, etc. It is worth a lot of money. It also provides some of the very best flying we do at this company. It's worth more than a few pennies in our pockets now when we will get it later anyway..... Try looking at the big picture...