WhiteMorpheus

Commit covered most of this.

We bid early in the month for contract "lines" and can also bid for our 9 "hard" days off. If you are awarded a contract "line" your days off are set by the awarded line. If you are not awarded a contract line then you awarded "hard" days off (mostly based on seniority) and the company adds the additional 3 (or more) days off of their choosing.

Both processes are done every 28-day bid period.

It's not really any less commutable than working for Envoy or AA (or now Spirit) out of MIA. If your bid works out, you could be off and at home for 12+ days in a row.

The "yuck factor" is that most of the MIA flying is late night and/or early morning and they can also mix in MIA reserve days without much regard to seniority.

The non-commutable part is that you're not getting the benefit of having a paid hotel for 3 nights per 4-day trip like you'd have with most PAX carriers. You'll be out the cash for hotels or a crash pad 16-19 days a bid period depending on how those additional days off are placed by the company. Doing the MIA stuff as a commuter is pretty similar to being on short call reserve.

botbot

Any good hotel recommendations for training?

WhiteMorpheus

The one the company pays for.

SEPfield

Amerijet now Scheduling “Days Off” on layovers.

JetsAndHarleys

Am I reading that right? A layover while out on the road for a trip is counted against the number of hard days off a pilot receives per month?

Can you elaborate on that?

SEPfield

Amerijet runs a 28 day bid period. In that 28 days you have 12 days off. 9 days are "Rostered Days Off" and must be in domicile (MIA), those would be considered hard days off. The other 3 days are "additional" days off, those days can be rostered on a layover out of domicile. I have 2 "additional" days off out of domicile in August.

That means that you can only really count on being in domicile 9 days and if you commute that means even fewer days at home.

nitefr8dog

Even more surprising is someone actually agreed to that language......unbelievable.

SEPfield

That's just the tip of the unbelievable iceberg.

other interesting CBA tidbits

Crew call, scheduling calls you 2.5 hours prior to your report time when you're in Miami. You "Must" return this phone call in 15 minutes, but somehow that doesn't count as duty.

Calling sick takes 3 hours out of your sick bank, unless you wait until you receive the crew call. If you wait too long they will take 6 hours from you.
So imagine you have a 6 am report, Scheduling calls you at 330 ,interrupting your rest, and you discover you are unfit to fly. You now have to decide if you are willing to lose 6 hours of pay or if you want to fly unfit.

Trip rig is 1 hour for every 4 hours away from base, 6 hours per day. Except the previous union signed a Letter of Agreement allowing for the creation of "Temp Bases" so now you're not technically away from base the entire trip. So a 16 day "Temp Base" that should pay 96 hours instead pays 60.

Yes the union is in contract negotiations now, however many of the pilots on property have been here less than a year so when it comes time to the vote, the pilots who get to vote will be the same group that rolled over on the temp bases and all the terrible language in the previous contract.

Commit Aviation

Pump the brakes just a second. Is the old Teamsters contract we are under now great? Nope. But for you to surmise senior pilots will simply roll over and take it is incorrect. If you’re not happy then there’s the door. Plenty of airlines are hiring. Otherwise instead of griping anonymously here why not volunteer to roll up your sleeves and make a difference. One of our biggest plagues this past year has been a rash of pilots - whether furloughed or expat - who have brought nothing but **** poor attitudes here. Enough is enough. Not happy? Make an effort to help out or vote with your feet. Either way stow the attitude. You haven’t earned the right to say anything. It’s insulting to those who have, and who are, actually trying to improve this place.

Swakid8

Sounds like what some union leaders had said when I was at my old shop. Shut up or volunteer right? Folks are entitled to air their grievances. Sucks hearing them, but this good information. Obviously the truth is somewhere between sunshine/rainbows and depths of despair. Fingers cross that you guys can get something good out of contract negotiations.