I was just wondering what a reasonable amount of time by driving distance is for AA reserves. Response from someone who is actually on reserve would be nice.

 

There is no number. Company wants to define one. Hasn't happened. The language has survived for decades.

Three hour drive for 15+ yrs. To include reserve. Some guys live farther away.

 

I'm on reserve. I've been asked "how soon can you get there?" I usually banter a little but without arguing. I know of 2 times in MIA my friends said 4 hours. They got tagged with missed trip or missed assignment. They had to go into the office. One walked in with a holiday tie on. OMG big mistake. The 2 chiefs hammered him on the 3 occasions that you can wear a holiday tie.

That is the kind of crud that goes on here. Really bad Boy Scout leaders.

But technically reasonably available by surface transportation is what the bid package says if bidding reserve. Most of the time it is for next day flying. Not short call.

I was called last Monday on my day off. I answered the phone just for grins as I was on Golden days off. She realized after I said Hello whats up? She siad you're on a day off. I said Yes. She said I gotta go cover a trip bye.

She didn;t even ask me. Kind of weird and funny. There is no way I would have gone in.

Beginning Jan 1, 2013 reserves can fly on there day off for pay above guarantee of 73 hrs. To my knowledge NO-ONE in MIA has been offered this.

If it ever happens you'd have to be really senior reserve to get it.

Hope this info helps. On reserve you never know what they will ask you. Never commit to a time. I do not know what traffic is, I'll get there as soon as possible, is the trip on my schedule? Can I have up front parking voucher?

 

Do you have to have it offered, or can you go into the OT list and pick it up?

 

The way I understand it, for AA reserves to pick up a trip on a day off, it must be offered by crew sched.

And as far as I know it has not happened so far since Jan 1 2013.

There is quite a bit of dhd'ing in reserves form other bases to cover trips when we are out of reserves.

Another little tidbit is AA likes to use TDY. If you TDY to a base 3 months in a row, then Crew mannning must create a vacancy.

We have a vacancy run for equip/seat/bases every month. I like that.

But they do move flying around conveniently using TDY instead of filling vacancy

AA reserves 24 off in 7 can be in a foreign city or domestic city not your base. So this gives AA productivity.
Other airlines give reserves a day off in 7 IN DOMICILE. That's a big difference.

Every other month i'm onreserve for up to 19 days in row. THis month i'm on reserve form 22 June until 6 July. They will send me on trips where I will get 24 off or use one of my moveable days later in July to fix a 7 day problem.

I'm in EZE right now. I had 36 off here. So i'm good for more when I get back.

I really hate the AA reserve.

 

Is this the new contract AA reserve?!

 

Most of the new AA reserve has not been implemented yet.

Feb 2014 will start PBS. Which in theory will make reserve lines a little better.

Example: My July reserve sched looks like this:

2-6 on
7-10 off
11-15 on
16 moveable day off
16-20 off
21-28 on
29-31 golden day off

If I do not get a trip during 2-6 and because i've been on reserve non-stop since 22 June-6 July they will/could move my Moveable to give me a 7 day off.

They can fly you into any of your days off.

The Golden days off they must have you back before noon.

For example: UAL or Delta (if I have this correct) with PBS and with their 24 in 7 must be in Domicile looks like this:

6 on
2,3,4 off
6 on
2,3,4 off
6 on
2,3,4,5,6 off


At AA you are supposed to get credit for planned absences (Oops sorry we can't implement that yet)
So if you have vacation on the 3rd or 4th week of monthly bid you don't get credit. I know this sounds knit picky, but it's a bit of a deal.
We are now almost 6 full months past contract implementation.

There are 2 great things about reserve at AA. If you have people avail below you in seniority you can pass to them and wait for a better trip or if several trips are avail you can pick which one you want.
I just got home this morning at 4am. There are 2 people avail tomorrow night one guy is good for a 3 day and one for a 4 day trip. There is a 3 day deep south trip open. So I will have one person tomorrow that has to fly. I almost garantee there will be 2 sick calls today and tomorrow. So I will fly tomorrow the 26th thru the 29ths. I will then probably not fly the 30th or 1st. The July bid starts on 2nd. I will have to fly on the 2nd or 3rd.
So most likely my moveable won't get moved from the 16th of July as I will have had 24 off in EZE (Buenos Aires, GRU Sao Paulo Brazil and or LHR London). And that is how being on reserve from 22 June-6 July rolls.

Feel free to ask anything. As much as the AA experience can suck and I may sound whiny or complaining, I like being on reserve I hate being on reserve LOL. You figure it out!

What I'm really saying is I would prefer 6 on 2,3,4 off 6 on 2,3,4 off.

 

What is a movable day? Can they just call you anytime they please and say... we're changing that to a different day?

 

They have to have notified you by noon home base time the day before your moveable.
Most of the time i've been assigned trips that fly into my moveable.

Once your moveable has been moved, say to fix a 7 day problem, it cannot be moved again.

On a 31 day month, you will have 2 moveables.

 

For those just joining this AA reserve discussion, the way the bids come together you can be on reserve for easily 20+ days in a row. But you only get 2,3,4 days off after. You never get lots of time off.

My understanding UAL DAL if the bids come together and you are on for more than 6 days in a row, they fix it.


If we had a type of reserve line that got it all done at once, i'd go for it. Say, 19 days in a row, you cannot pass, then 12 days off. Then say bid first six days of next month off and you got 18 days off. I'd do that, but we don't have that and never will.

In MIA the best you can get is 1st 6 days off or last 6 days off of the month. And only the senior reserves get that.

But in New York base reserves can get the 1st 7 days off and or the last 7 days off. When I asked the base planners why our MIA and other bases don't get the 1st 7 days off the response was "LGA is a commuter base"

Well, ok then. I'm sorry I asked. Welcome to AA