The return of airport reserve?
 

Received this today …

Hi Guys, XX XX here, hope all is well. I’m writing to you today to discuss some potential issues developing in negotiations with the APA. It’s no secret that Parker wants Ready-Reserves on Airport Standby and hard call-out times, and it’s also no secret that line-holders don’t like the current Reassignment rules of their awarded trips.

The talk from the line-holders is; Give Parker his standbys & times, and take away our involuntary reassignments.

The problem is that the APA has never really viewed Reserve as something worth improving, their focus has always been on line holders. Their thinking is that junior pilots pass through reserve briefly and once senior enough, having paid their dues, move on to line holding nirvana.

As former Envoy pilots, we know all too well, how L-O-N-G “briefly passing through reserve “ can be (for reasons outside of our control) and how ready-reserve can be abused by scheduling. We all remember that horror story and who wants to repeat it?

Whether you’re currently a line-holder or not is of little importance to the state of reserve; a good reserve system benefits ALL of us. You may live in-base, like I do now, and actually choose to bid reserve for personal reasons. And certainly, You may find yourself back on reserve to get specific days off, or during a vacation month and assuredly when you upgrade. Either way, sacrificing one group for the benefit of another should not be part of the negotiations. Improving reserve might actually result in more senior folks bidding it, opening up more line-flying to junior/commuter pilots who want it.

I encourage ALL of you to let the APA leadership know that Ready-Reserve is a non-starter and that true reserve improvement is the goal. Use the “Sound Off” function in the APA mobile app. It delivers your message to ALL the APA leadership. It can be found under MobileLinks / Sound Off

...pass it on

Who wrote that? The MIA vice chair started a thread on C&R #2 stating that rumor is not true.

About the only thing that I would agree to would be VOLUNTARY airport reserve, paid full hourly rate for every hour you sit and it pays OG. I’ll bet you’d get a lot of takers.

I agree, I heard it was someone trying to stir the pot.

The company doesn't need airport reserve. They always have the option to designate a trip as premium and they can shop the PM/PR list for someone who can be there quickly. They'll have to pay whoever puts in the claim for being bypassed, but it's an option. I've watched them cancel flights at midnight for not having an FO, and I could be there in less than 30 mins.

That is a pretty big deal, to cancel a flight because they don't have a way of staffing. Seems like there should be a win win here somewhere. I don't agree with paying anyone PM just because they are on the list. If you are located 2 hours away and they need something right now, that should go to someone who lives within an XX min radius. Seems like a simple program where they punch in the desired dept time and a list of names pops up, and whomever calls first gets it. FLICA used to have text message updates and when a trip popped into open time, the first one to call back got it.

This is mostly the APA doings, they have this hard on for calling dozens of people when the vast majority decline them or don't answer. There should be incentive to move local in nature to base, for both the pilot and company.

Maybe sign a MX contract first and see what that does to the reliability. If the company says they have nothing to do with it. Then they can drop the lawsuit against the mechanics.
I understand that the company needs to staff the airline. But they can already use reserves to 16 hours a day. 18 days a month. I’m afraid that management is too incompetent to schedule airplanes to fly no matter how many hours and days we are available. Giving them hot reserve is just another tool they will screw up. Abuse. And misuse.

As a Envoy flow hopefull, the idea of ready reserve at American makes me question my life choices.

It’s BS fear mongering. Someone trying to stir the pot/spread FUD.

AA cannot sign a contract with the mechanics. The mechanics are in two separate unions that also represent the fleet service who hold the majority membership vote. They can't even decide on which union represents their collective voice let alone decide on what type of contract they want.

This post is typical class warfare fear mongering. Whoever started it, do you not know that there are 787/777 CA and FO’s on reserve also. Why do you think it’s only jr folks on reserve?

Reserve affects every seniority level.

Total BS.

This is negotiating in public. Please do not negotiate in public. Let the NC do their job.

They already have airport ready reserve. Look how they’ve increased all the 3 hour sits in hubs. They can do whatever they want with you, which they often do, while you’re sitting there, and there’s zero repercussion. Seniority means nothing here anymore on the narrow body fleet. The scheduling abuses here need to stop.

Not required to have a cellphone or to be contactable. Smart pilots don’t answer their phones on sits.

It doesn’t matter. They either hit you with an acars inbound or like a recent flight...... They hit you after a 3 hr sit to wait another 2 hours for your new outbound flight. Sorry, we would have gotten you a hotel room, but you didn’t answer your phone.

How about you get me a hotel room. I’m fatigued and I’ll be ready to fly again in 10 hours. Thanks.

This.

Couple weeks ago an RA came across the ACARS on leg 1/day1 of a 3 day.
I informed them I was not accepting the RA.
So I landed and spent a 46hr layover downtown... and flew one leg back to base on day 3. Paid full value of the trip.

Bottom line, if you’re not rested for the RA don’t accept it.

Too many forward learners out there...

Quote from a APA Rep I trust, "Most of the time, Crew Tracking will directly RA a LUS Airbus crew instead of a LAA Airbus crew if both are QLA because many times the LAA crews will refuse it, they won't waste the effort".

I rode JS with 3 other Airbus LUS pilots. All 3 had no problem with a special RA game Tracking was playing (trips should be going to open time instead of RA). It was a contract bust, they wanted the $$$.

So what you’re saying is that we have AA pilots that accept RA’s?

I'm assuming this Rep was LAA. LUS folks seem to assume that it's the LAA folks that are the pushovers and that's how we ended up with this gem of a contract.

Remember, LUS didn't have reassignments (that's what reserves were for) so of course they blame the natives.

We need to stop with this divisive BS.

LAA rep blames LUS or visa versa isn't news, it's not even post-worthy, it's almost assumed at this point. Neither assumption is the truth.

I thought you were supposed to be rested for a full FDP when you show up?

You are supposed to be rested for 12+ hours duty every time you show up for work regardless of what your schedule says?

I think not.

I’ve read on BTL that when guys refused RAs/ROs in certain circumstances that’s what they were told by chiefs.

And honestly, why wouldn’t you show up rested for a full FDP? You could have mechanicals, diversions, weather, etc that turn your 3 hour duty day into something much longer.

It's not viable for EVERY FDP.

Maybe you were up with a sick kid, maybe your side business work got backed up, maybe you were just living your life and stayed up a little late. In some cases you are fine to work what you are SCHEDULED to fly but not much more.

What would the call sound like when you are banging in to CS? "I know I'm only scheduled for a quick DFW-PHX then RON but I'm gonna have to preemptively fatigue JUST INCASE I get a RA to continue to LAX and then SEA."

If I'm good to do 3 legs with 7+ hours flying when I was only planning 1 with 2.5, fine, I'll do it. To have a policy where you are required to always, every single time, be ready for a possible 14 hour day is not reasonable. Why even have a schedule at all?

So, for a 4-day trip, you’re supposed to show up rested for 4 straight 14 hour duty periods? Yeah, okay. Even with perfect rest, I need about 1 for 1 rest to duty hours to be rested. Just because the company throws in a sentence in the FOM that says we’re supposed to be rested for any legal assignment, the body says it’s not possible.

Just relaying what I’ve read calm down.

Ultimately the answer should be more OG and premium, that will solve most issues. When you look at other industries, that is how they solve short term staffing issues.

I've even worked with guys who, when we had a long sit, they'd call up and volunteer for a RA.

Constantly turning down RA's...I'll be honest I wasn't even aware we could unless we went fatigued. Aren't RA's allowed per the contract?

At my previous regional it sometimes went senior to guys in base. They'd be on call 4-noon and would have 16 hours totally free/off every day. Some lived so close to the airport they sat at home.

Even in DFW there are guys less than 10 mins from the terminal doors.

I'm not sure how the union expects the company to operate though. They are ****ed about RAs but don't want a set callout time for short call...they need to be honest with themselves and realize one is directly related to another. Not only that, but they also insist on the company making dozens of calls and leaving messages to hit someone that would accept the trip.

It's quite possible that in most instances setting a fixed time or having a few airport reserves would fix 99.9999% of the cascading RAs. Or going to first come first serve (gasssssp! Seniority!) for short callout trips.

And through all of this, you know the airlines are salivating about uncrewed aircraft.

Agreed. We can’t forget that ultimately we are running a business. A very lucrative one for pilots at that. That’s not saying don’t fly the contract but when i watch guys act like children when they get legally notified of a legal RA/RO it’s embarrassing.

And yea, all the scheduling games are just another reason the airlines would love to get rid of pilots.

This industry will be without pilots before you know it and it will be a moot point. This is a job not a career for young guys.

Show me one software that doesn't freeze or crash or whatever you want to call it.

(let's not even start with hacking issues)

???

I was rested to work until my original schedule had me dutying off, around 10pm Central. (My original FDP.)

The RA they tried to stick me with had me working until 2am.

No thanks.

I’m always rested (or attempt to be rested) for what my original schedule has me working, accounting for some delays...as long as those delays don’t take me too far down the road. If the dElays or RA have me done close to my footprint, then yes, maybe I’ll accept...but it depends on a lot of factors.

You accept an RA that takes you way past what you’re rested for, and you ding the airplane or go off the end... have fun with the the FAA and NTSB.

There is no “mission”, ever.

Yea i agree.

However, the company expects you to be rested for a full fdp when you show. Obviously if you’re fatigued then don’t fly.

Just relaying what I’ve been told.

I expect to fly the sequence I bid, not someone else's that gets randomly tacked onto mine.

I'm a reasonable person and I understand that sometimes the airline will need to reassign us to keep the gears turning smoothly.

In exchange, it would seem fair to pay me for both my original trip and the reassigned flying. At minimum this would be an extra 5:15 per day that isn't my original trip.

The return of airport reserve?
 

I 100% agree.

Sometimes we forget that the point of our job is to move airplanes which in turn pays our salary. Our cool layovers or easy trips are secondary to moving people.

If i get legally reassigned to keep the operation going so be it. However, i want to be compensated appropriately for it and I want to finish at the same time or earlier on the last day.

I also think RA should be a last resort after reserves/makeup/og/premium.

Have you applied to United?


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My regional had this. I'd imagine most other contracts stipulate a better 'order of fulfillment' than we have now (companies discretion basically).

PR (200% or more) had to be offered before anyone out of base could cover a trip. Before CS could split the trip up. Before anyone could be reassigned or taken into an off day or....

Sounds like you need to go somewhere else then. I heard ENY got some nice raises. Why don’t you stay there?

If that’s what they expect of us then they should put it in writing in the FOM.


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It is in the FOM. You’re supposed to rested for any legal assignment. It’s not realistic.