Reserve Rules at Alaska
 

Can someone shed some light on the reserve rules around here. I start soon and have heard little.
11 hour long call.
2 hour short call.
18 days a month.

How many of the 18 days are short v long call?
How many hours are you on the hook when on short call?
No short call from the airport (standby style) right?
Standard to get four day blocks?
Can you pickup an extra reserve day for extra pay?

Help me fill in the blanks....

Thank you in advance.

Welcome to the airline...

You either bid a “long call” line or a “short call” line. You cannot be forced into a long call line unless you bid it.

Long call lines pay 75 hours/Short call pays 79 hours... plus anything over the guarantee.

Long call is from midnight to midnight. You have 11 hours once they call you. Essentially they are putting you into rest when they call you. Long call lines are generally the first to be used. You can self assign if you’d like, ie if there is a 3-day you’d like to do, you can put it on your line the day ahead of time. You can be converted to short call at any point, the catch is they have to pay you two hours the first time they do it and one hour each time thereafter.

Short call lines have a 2 hour call out to report time, 3 hours to push time.

You are correct that there is no “airport standby.”

On either style line you’ll get one 5-day block off, one 3 day block off, and 2 two day blocks off...

I forget what else you wanted to know, but hopefully that will get you started. Welcome to the airline, keep your eyes open and you’ll learn lots!

Just to add to the previous post which had a lot of good info:

The days off are not "days off", they're blocks of hours off. I say this because sometimes they don't line up with calendar days depending on your RAP period.

Also long call being converted to short call can only happen 4 times a month unless you give them permission to do it more.

Trips can be picked up on "days off" and paid above guarantee but can only be picked up from open time, not pilot to pilot.

If you call in sick on reserve is uses less sick time than I originally thought.. I can't remember how many hours one reserve day is off the top of my head but I suggest looking it up.

For short call you have your RAP (Reserve Availability Period).. 14 hours long.

Weekend reserves will get used much more than weekday reserves.

reserve info
 

All reserve lines get 12 days off.
All pilots accrue 5:30 of sick leave per month.
A sick day while on reserve costs 2:50 per day.
Hypothetically, if a guy were to call in sick for two days in a month, he has used :10 out of his sick bank.
In other words, all reserve lines can be 14 days off for the rock bottom price of :10 out of your sick leave bank... just sayin...

Also, don't forget to bid so as to create a day 7 conflict during the month to month transition. That can pay nice dividends from time to time as well. Sometimes they forget to properly notify you and if played correctly can produce 2 more days off for the month!

You have to answer the phone for the full 14 hours of your RAP.
You can be worked (and will be) for up to 16 hours.

They can call you at the start of your RAP, wake you up in the early AM, and tell you that they are putting you into rest, so you can work late into that night. This is legal but it is stupid. Let me get this straight... You wake me up at 0500, after I've had a good nights rest of 7-8 hours. Now you want me to simply go back to sleep and bang out some more rest so you can fly me until about midnight tonight. Just stupid, but it happens. So, if you are fit that evening, then fly. If you are not, then just call in fatigued. Fortunately, this doesn't happen to often.

The best little reserve nugget in our contract is that any RAP that starts prior to 1000 can not be placed into rest (scenario above) and flown into WOCL (0200-0400) on your first duty period. They can, as described above, place you into rest and work you till 11 pm or midnight or even 1 AM, but they can't work you into WOCL. This is a good thing for those of us who refuse to do WOCL flying in general. Simply bid a RAP that starts before 1000 and you will never do a first duty period WOCL flight.

Generally speaking, QOL for reserves in ANC, LAX and PDX is good. Pulling reserve in SEA is bad. Always has been, always will be. It's a function of the base's size (more things can go wrong) and the fact that line holders can never trade so they just call in sick to get the days off they need.

You can't drop reserve days but you can trade them around if there is sufficient coverage. Typically, on the FO side, SEA is the only base with sufficient coverage.

Also, once you hit guarantee on reserve a sick day doesn't' cost anything from you sick bank.

Lots of room for improvement in the reserve rules.....

Awesome info guys. Thanks for posting.
What would you guess the average number of days used on reserve as a new guy is in Seattle? 12 days in a non peak month and maybe 15 during summer? Does junior manning happen much? Is there a volunteer to fly or bypass option on reserve?

I don't know the answer to the first or second question you asked. In crew access the day before your reserve day (I think it is before 1pm) you can select a reserve preference of want an assignment or do not want an assignment or no preference. And you do for each day you're on reserve... or don't do it at all like many people :) When you pull up the reserve list for a particular day and see that Y or N on some people, that is what that means.

There is no junior manning at Alaska. What is sometimes called Junior Manning...is voluntary so is thus...not junior manning.

Anyone want to take a stab at how many days per month you actually get utilized on reserve in Seattle?

If I remember right, there were usually 1-3 days per month I didn't get used.

LAX averaged around 50% when I was there.

based on latest chief pilot email, you'll get to know these rules inside and out because you will likely be on reserve for the next 1.5-2 years at the least

A growing company that halts hiring. What a complete joke

Huh, I guess acquiring a few Airbus planes and new fellow pilots wasn’t growing..............

No, that was surviving what would have been a death sentence handed down from jet blue. A move that in the end will prove to be unsuccessful because every move angle lake makes indicate they paid 2.6 billion to kill off virgin. They continue to alienate our passengers that they paid an insane premium to acquire. Hilariously, they make claims that in one years time they have already surpassed the brand recognition that Virgin had in California.

I would estimate that 2 out of every 3 legs from passengers deplaning say something of the form, "I've loved virgin but this is, or soon will be, my last time flying with you. Alaska has ruined what was my favorite airline." Guess where they are going...JetBlue! Honestly, who could blame them?

All of the competitors that could put Alaska out of business effortlessly are rapidly growing all over our turf, Southwest legitimately sent out company emails (per my friend who is a captain there) scoffing and laughing at what a ridiculous claim we made by saying we are the most west coast.
What does our management do in response? Not an aggressive attack to evolve and become a formidable opponent, but instead puts into place a plan to slow growth and let the competitor win. Cutting routes, shrinking, and having a single daily departure to may of our cities sounds like anything but "Most West Coast."

I am embarrassed to work here. I have met some great pilots and people on the Alaska side and my comments aren't to knock anyone but the decision makers sitting in corner offices.

Not on the Airbus side though, which is weird considering they are getting all 10 321NEOs.

I bet those 321NEOs are gonna be around a while. A few former VX pilots I talked with seemed to really like them. Then again what do I know I’m just a Boeing guy.LOL

I would guess part of the hiring slowdown is that the company is waiting to see what the SLI decision will be before filling the SIMS with new hires.

Is their any foresight or educated guesses on when the SLI process will be complete?

New hire waiting for training date here

Fall 2018..Arbitrated list will be published then. As the chief pilot stated a couple days ago, hiring will begin again in 2019. At Alaska they dont really consider you hired until you showup to class. You will get frequent, conflicting information from Alaska until they hand you a badge with your picture on it. Good luck

When Alaska says they will continue growth they mean they will continue to grow their network and capacity through regional feed. It's why scope is so important for us.

Right...because how well pilots “like” an airplane is a factor in determining if AS keeps them or it.

If you could change one thing about Alaska's reserve rules what would it be?

AS reserve rules are now bottom of the industry when compared to the big 6 carriers. jetBlue's new TA is pretty good for reserves. AS reserve is equivalent to regionals, but that's an insult because some regionals have better reserve rules. What mainline carrier today still has 12 days off and 18 or 19 reserve days per month every month? AS does. :rolleyes:

What does Alaska’s reserve system offer that’s better than even the regionals with poor reserve rules? No airport reserve, about all I can think of.
But in reality Alaska is a regional airline, it does offer better pay and retirement for sure, and the planes are bigger, but beyond that that’s pretty much what it is. That isn’t meant to bash it, it just simply seems to be the case, and management seems to be perfectly happy with it being what it is.

15 days off
self assignment day before
LC needs to count toward day being available for “trade with self”

But right now it’s hard to tell what rules might help, CS doesn’t follow them anyway.

I'd like to see something a little different. I don't like that Seniority has no effect on who gets called or not. Right now it's the low credit guy that gets the call....which is fair....but this is not a "fair" system given that Seniority is king. I'd like a 10 hour buffer rule which would be this:

If two or more pilots are up for a call out.....and All pilots involved have selected "Don't Schedule Me", I think the call should go to the more Junior pilot. With the exception if the Senior pilot has 10 (maybe 20?) less credit than the next Junior guy in line at the time of the call out.....the Senior guy should get it. That way the Junior guy still is used more ....and the Senior guy doesn't get to not fly for a month.

Right now the "Don't Schedule Me" option has little or no effect if they call you or not. They still call the low time guy with very little exception from what I have seen.

American. 12 days off per month on a 30-day month, 13 off on a 31. Reserve work rules (and what the company tries to get away with) are pretty terrible, too.

Doesn’t Alaska go with 24hrs free from duty? If they do that means you really don’t have any days off.
I believe virgin has 13 days off already. And they are real days.

We definitely need calendar days off; right now it’s 24 hour periods. The VX reserve rules are great and VX long call was too good to be true. VX had 14 hour callout with 10hours rest after any assignment. That guaranteed you wouldn’t have a trip for 24hours after you finish an assignment.

Not true....If you are gonna post work rule info make sure it is correct.
IF they contact you within :15 minutes of your block in time CSS can give you an assignment that day if you have time remaining..or for a trip more than 10 hours out to comply with your required rest.
AFTER :15 min you are uncontactable and will be off for 10 hours and then a 14 hour callout.

A thousand pardons for my complete lack of understanding of the rule book. I’ll refrain from posting any more lies hence forth...

Agree. If you live in base it’s not AS bad. If you don’t, it’s brutal. Case in point. I commute. Got my 24 hrs off between last block of reserve in June and first block in July. Not enough time to go home. So twelve days in Seattle is the result. Not complaining. Just reality. For now.

You don't have to act butthurt.
Know your contract and work rules.
And fly by them:)
Its your contract and you should know how it pertains to you.
Or in your case...work rules..for a couple more months.

That would still be an improvement. Those are real days off and you get 12/13. So you owe 18 reserve days per month regardless of 30/31 days. At AS, days off on reserve aren't calendar days, they are hour offs. So 2 days off are written as 48 hrs off. 3 days as 72 hrs off.

For those watching from the sidelines....
 

The contract requires 12 24hr periods off per month on reserve. That means if you get done at 10am from a trip and the next day your reserve available period starts at 16:45, Congrats you just got a day off. I do, per the contract, have 12 24hr periods off in July. I have a total off 8 days clear of duty in July.

I’m just telling anyone this that’s thinking of coming here, that’s the deal so you’ll know beforehand.

I was just reciprocating your over the top response to my minor omission. :) Who says I work for vx? I just took the time to browse through their work rules. Next time I'll quote line and verse for you...

Please do that next time.
Chapter and paragraph😄

You don't get pre-determined days off??

Yes you do get predetermined days off. But, there are a few different versions of what a “day” off is.

Version 1. A day a from 12 midnight till 12 midnight. What most people refer to as a day free off duty. 24 hrs.

Version 2. A predetermined 24 hr period following or preceding duty. As an example, if your duty from assignment or reserve ended at 11am, and you had to be on duty at 11am the next day.... congrats.... you just got a day off.

Version 3. A 24hr period or more free of duty, while on a layover. So, fly a red eye to Atlanta land at 6am and leave the next morning at 6am. You’ll get paid for the flight there and the flight back only. This type of pay doesn’t count toward your min 12 days off, but, for pay purposes, it’s a day off because you aren’t compensated.

Holy C**P, that is awful. Please tell me there is some required time off in base....
Even at NK it is (wayyyyy) better:
12 calendar days off in domicile, 4 calendar days off between blocks of work.