viperdriver

What is the best way to bid for May if you are finishing training at the very end of April? What about protecting min days off and such.

I am finishing training at the end of April and bidding as if in my old seat for May.

I am asking about the coming up monthly bid, not the custom line I will get when done.

Thanks for the bidding wisdom, don't worry I am sure I am junior to you!
V

FDXer

Max days off! I would rank order the lines according to pay but max days off!

RedeyeAV8r

If you aren't relased to the line before the next month BID closes, you will still be bidding in a Pay only status. So if you want $$ bid highest paying line without carrier over.

As far as getting the days off you want.........I'd buy your custom line person some Roses. ...............(careful, he might take it the wrong way)

Deuce130

I don't think I even put in a bid my first month. My choices were reserve or reserve. And more reserve. The next month I painstakingly combed the bid pack for every double d/h and non memphis lines I could. And got reserve again. After that, I just bid the reserve lines I wanted, I usually got one of my top three. As soon as a new class activates behind you, you may have more options. But, of course, if you don't put down what you want, then you'll never get it. Never hurts to ask. Good luck.

TonyC

I assume you have read the pertinent secitons of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, aka The Contract, right? (Section 25. SCHEDULING Paragraph I. Custom Lines)


The situation that applies to you is:So, in your case, you'll be getting a custom line for May, and the line you're awarded will influence its construction. How?

Well, first, if the Custom Line has trips or trips and R-days, the provisions of D.1.b. and/or D.1.e. will be observed. In other words, they'll have the same TAFB and work day limits as Regular lines, and they'll fall within the Hi/Low spread in terms of CH. If the Custom Line has only R-days, the provisions of D.3. will be observed. In other words, with May being a 4-week bid month, you should expect 15 R-days.

Second, . . . well, there really is no second. That's it. Well, unless you consider the Custom Line Preferences worksheet that you should accomplish at least 72 hours before the anticipated eligibility for the Custom Line Assignment (Section 25.I.4). For you, that will be completion of IOE. You'll need to accomplish a worksheet for April (the remainder of the month when you complete IOE) and May (the month for which you have a Pay-only line). (Your first assignment can be after a legal rest period following your last IOE event, so don't wait until IOE is over to submit the request.

25.I.4.a.

Notice the "shall.")

Given the above, I would bid for the MAX CH for the May bid month. It's up to you to decide if you want to include lines with carryover, or to exclude them. Your Custom line will likely have as much carryover as your awarded Pay Only line.


A more interesting question is how should you have bid for April, when you will have to finish the month (after completion of IOE) with a Custom Line. In this case, the above provisions apply, and there's another "protection" that you might consider. For this "Prorated" situation (Sect 25.I.3), the "number of days off on such pilot’s pay only line shall be preserved when constructing his custom line." (25.I.3.b.i.) Considering that, you might have bid lines based on a Max Days Off strategy.

Of course, if you don't care about Max Days off, if all you want to do is work your little tail off and bring home money, then disregard that strategy.





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Busboy

I believe that the number of days off on your May "pay only" line also has to be protected on your May "custom line". Not the actual days off. But, the number of days. It doesn't matter if you have actually have any training days in the month or not. The key is that you're being built a "custom line" for May and you have bid a "pay only" line for May.

SEC 25. I. 3. b. i.

A pilot returning from training shall be credited an R-day value for each day he receives or shows for scheduled training other than IOE, and the higher of SCH or ACH for IOE trips. The number of days off on such pilot’s pay only line shall be preserved when constructing his custom line. A day off during his training footprint shall be considered a day off when constructing his custom line.

I'd go for max days off. Less reserve, unless you live on the planet, there.

TonyC

The phrase "pilot returning from training" at the beginning of that paragraph suggests to me that it doesn't apply to viperdriver in May. Of course it applies in April, because that's the month when he's returning from training. (And of course, I could be wrong.)


I don't see how he could be awarded a Bid-Only line for May that would result in him getting anything other than (specifically less than) 15 days of Reserve in May. (I'm including a bit of realism here, considering that his Custom Line will be built well after the Secondary Lines have been built, and there will be few trips in Open Time from which to build a Custom Line of trips.) If he's awarded a Pay Only line with a high BLG, and sits 15 days of Reserve in the new airplane, what could he have done better?




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Purple F/O

Unless it has changed with the new contract, you will still have days off honored on your custom line. It's the best way to bid to maximize your $/work. It takes some work sorting through the bid back, but finding a line with 20 or 19 days off is worth it in my opinion. I did it last year and it worked like a champ.

Note: Please do not bid max days of on months you're going to still be in training, you're only screwing those guys finishing(plus, they are usually the low CH lines anyway)

FDXer

It applies to guys getting activated into a new position. Since he bid pay only for May, do not bid just high CHs. You'll work more. You bid a 76 hour line with 13 days off or you can bid a 72 hour line with 16 days off. For 4 hours of pay, you get 3 more days off. You can then pick up trips on your days off thereby making more money.

When you get activated, they have to honor your min days off for May!

Busboy

I'm thinking a standard 72 hr line with 16 days off, would be better. Then, he's only got to sit 12 days of reserve.

Of course, that's assuming he can hold(pay only) a decent paying line that will give him 16 days off. If he can't hold a 15 or 16 day off line. Then, he may be better off bidding highest paying line, and doing the 15 days of reserve.


Personally, I'd bid the max days off lines, regardless.