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-   -   Different Base pros and cons (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/alaska/118829-different-base-pros-cons.html)

AltoCumulus 01-01-2019 04:40 AM


Originally Posted by lowflying (Post 2733875)
It looks like they can bid for short call RAP each day but they can't be assigned the late RAP (D) on their last day which would be great for commuters.

Here's their RAPs:

So hold-up...at JetBlue you have to bid for your RAP on a daily basis?

SCREW THAT. Our system is better than that.

If you bid a morning zone you can be auto-released on your last day as early as 1215 depending on what you bid. More than half of the reserve lines in SEA auto-release by 1715. You can usually call before that and get
released.

I Try to bid a zone that starts at around 1000. That keeps me flying during reasonable hours. Knowing that I will be pretty much assured of flying during reasonable hours is more important to me then being released early on my last day. I am also assured of being able to have a little bit of time on day 1 to run some last minute errands, take the kids to school, etc. My family does not get woken up at 0400 with my phone ringing. I have not seen a sunrise from inside an airplane in quite some time. I have a buddy that always bids the 1700-0700 zone because those guys hardly fly and that is important to him.

If someone can put forward a reserve system that the company would agree to without blowing-up everybody else’s world then I will support it. But if all you got is Jet Blue - bid for zones daily....forget it.

I have a difference of opinion on what an ideal reserve system would look like. This has nothing to do with drinking the kool-aid in SEA. If we can’t tell the difference between the two then we are truly screwed for 2020.

lowflying 01-01-2019 07:16 AM


Originally Posted by AltoCumulus (Post 2734664)
So hold-up...at JetBlue you have to bid for your RAP on a daily basis?

SCREW THAT. Our system is better than that.

If you bid a morning zone you can be auto-released on your last day as early as 1215 depending on what you bid. More than half of the reserve lines in SEA auto-release by 1715. You can usually call before that and get
released.


.

Nobody said anything about using JetBlues exact language it was offered as an example. By the way, being released 10 hours into your shortcall rap twice a month is not nearly as good as being released 6 hours into your rap and no later than 1715 before every block of days off. Long call is even worse with our language and is a joke.

DangleDunlops 01-01-2019 10:57 AM


Originally Posted by lowflying (Post 2734725)
Long call is even worse with our language and is a joke.

For those on reserve:
Did you know Long call can not be assigned?

As low flying pointed out, LCR is horrible and should be avoided.

rickair7777 01-01-2019 01:49 PM


Originally Posted by DangleDunlops (Post 2734847)
For those on reserve:
Did you know Long call can not be assigned?

As low flying pointed out, LCR is horrible and should be avoided.

So it would be better to pay for a crash pad and sit around on SCR, rather than bid LCR? Typically on LCR you're either at home, flying, or in a company hotel on an overnight. On per diem if you're working.

What's wrong with that if you're a commuter? If you live in base, SCR will normally be better at most airlines (called less often).

DangleDunlops 01-01-2019 02:31 PM


Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 2734927)
So it would be better to pay for a crash pad and sit around on SCR, rather than bid LCR? Typically on LCR you're either at home, flying, or in a company hotel on an overnight. On per diem if you're working.

What's wrong with that if you're a commuter? If you live in base, SCR will normally be better at most airlines (called less often).

I’m not a commuter now, but I did commute to reserve for 6 months as a new hire.

2nd year pay is $125/hr and SCR pays 4 hours more per month. So $500 for a crash pad would pencil financially. If your goal is sitting at home, neither are good options. LCR will get you out flying more. SCR will have you warming the lazyboy in the crash pad. The new MOU on LCR might turn the tide a bit toward LC pilots being able to cherrypick good flying. Still only 75/month for 200% contactable hours of a SCR pilot.

To each their own. But it’s important to understand that LCR is OPTIONAL. Even for the plug, don’t bid it if you don’t want it.

av8or 01-01-2019 04:02 PM


Originally Posted by DangleDunlops (Post 2734945)
I’m not a commuter now, but I did commute to reserve for 6 months as a new hire.

2nd year pay is $125/hr and SCR pays 4 hours more per month. So $500 for a crash pad would pencil financially. If your goal is sitting at home, neither are good options. LCR will get you out flying more. SCR will have you warming the lazyboy in the crash pad. The new MOU on LCR might turn the tide a bit toward LC pilots being able to cherrypick good flying. Still only 75/month for 200% contactable hours of a SCR pilot.

To each their own. But it’s important to understand that LCR is OPTIONAL. Even for the plug, don’t bid it if you don’t want it.

LCR is not necessarily optional even for the plug. Was on reserve all Summer and Fall in SEA in 2018. Couldnt hold LCR but one month. And I wasn’t close to being the plug.

Klsytakesit 01-01-2019 06:55 PM

20% of the reserve lines have to be LCR and no fewer than 2 LCR lines per base. No one has to bid them and no one can be assigned them. Anyone who is on LCR asked to be on LCR. LCR goes mid seniority/ commuters

rickair7777 01-02-2019 06:22 AM


Originally Posted by av8or (Post 2734981)
LCR is not necessarily optional even for the plug. Was on reserve all Summer and Fall in SEA in 2018. Couldnt hold LCR but one month. And I wasn’t close to being the plug.

I think what he meant was that you can't be JA a LCR line (since it pays less). If you get one and don't like it, sounds like they have to convert it to SCR.

NewGuy01 01-02-2019 11:38 AM

Ive been trying out an LCR line for a bit now and it’s been disappointing. I don’t see how it would be good for a commuter since you generally get less than 24hrs at home between trips.

You also can’t pick up anything unless the trip is 4 days long or matches the footprint of your reserve schedule perfectly.


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ShyGuy 01-03-2019 12:25 PM


Originally Posted by AltoCumulus (Post 2734664)

I Try to bid a zone that starts at around 1000. That keeps me flying during reasonable hours. Knowing that I will be pretty much assured of flying during reasonable hours is more important to me then being released early on my last day.

The main difference between a live-in-base and a commuter.


I am also assured of being able to have a little bit of time on day 1 to run some last minute errands, take the kids to school, etc. My family does not get woken up at 0400 with my phone ringing. I have not seen a sunrise from inside an airplane in quite some time. I have a buddy that always bids the 1700-0700 zone because those guys hardly fly and that is important to him.

If someone can put forward a reserve system that the company would agree to without blowing-up everybody else’s world then I will support it. But if all you got is Jet Blue - bid for zones daily....forget it.

I have a difference of opinion on what an ideal reserve system would look like. This has nothing to do with drinking the kool-aid in SEA. If we can’t tell the difference between the two then we are truly screwed for 2020.
Define "blowing up everybody else's world" ??


"I don't want a call at 4 am because it would wake up the rest of the family. Please don't call at 8am because that's when I drop the kids to school, nor at 9am because I have to get the milk n eggs. 10am sounds great!"

#livinginbaseproblems




If there's one thing obvious by now is that there is some sort of disagreement about the living in base mindset and the commuter mindset. I don't see how a commuter line mindset would hurt those living in base. Most commuters want productive trips and late start/early finishes. If you're living in base, that's not bad either. That allows you to take the kids to school, pick up the milk/eggs, and end early enough to spend that last day with family.



Originally Posted by AltoCumulus (Post 2733332)
As far as days off go, your day off starts at a specific time which is 4 hours after the end of your contactability perIod on your last day. Know that you can and will be used until that time. Alaska has contactability periods starting as early as 2am and as late as 6pm. Those on here proposing calendar days off probably come from airlines operating in one time zone or with operations that shut down after 11pm.

What are you talking about? Almost every airline out there has calendar days off for reserves. Multiple time zones and flights that are redeyes with 11pm or later departures. Virgin did too.



If you start your zone at 6pm is it realistic to expect to be off at midnight? What about the day you come back?
Um, yes, why not? What's the last departure of the day out of LAX? The redeyes are gone by midnight or maybe 1am latest. There's nothing wrong with a reserve window ending at midnight. That means with a 2 hr callout they can still call you at 1159pm for a 159am go.


Should you start your zone at midnight, or do you expect to be able to be off most of your first day at work?
Depends on when the reserve window starts. If it's the PM shift which is say from 4pm to midnight, then yeah day 1 is "off" from work until 4pm, which commuters like because it allows them to come in that day of.


So you start at 1700 on day 1 Andrew end at midnight on day 5 which effectively means that if you aren’t used by day 4 you can just go home. That sounds like about 3 full days of reserve.
It's not 3 full days of reserve. It's 5 full days of reserve. Stop with the silliness. You can easily be used day 1 even after 5pm for a turn flight or a redeye. As for the last day 5, you can't do a redeye but again even after 5pm you can still be called out for a turn flight. I've been tagged on the last day of reserve for a LAX-SEA turn which left LA at 550pm and returned at 1230am. So no it's not 3 full days of reserve, it's 5 full days.


Sure, we could negotiate that, but that would come with a high negotiating cost
I must admit, I heard for a long time about 'secret sauce' and never figured out what it was. Now I know. Hopefully your type is the minority going forward.


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