BonesF15

The solution is trade it, drop it, or call in sick.
Why can't you drop a 78 hr trip? Make it up later.
There shouldn't be too many excuses for living paycheck to paycheck as a fdx widebody fo.

R1200RT

Well, not everyone can withstand Zero pay for a month. He lives in MEM and commutes to ANC. So, he can't really wake up in the morning to see if there is a trip for that afternoon. If a trip comes up he will trade but there isn't much in OT in ANC.
After two furloughs (NWA) and having been here for 18 months it aint that easy. First year pay is the same for everyone even the nuggets in the right seat of a widebody. Call in sick? Well, maybe if you have years of sick leave built up, but if you are new it's not the same. I'm not sure if he even has 78 hours in his sick bank. Not sure how may hours you get in 18 months.
Trust me the trip sucks, if he can he will trade it.

Ranger

There is apparently no room for error or mistakes when it comes to d.p.'s. Even if you have a pretty good record when it comes to union support. You'd think that some idiots would at least wait until the trip is close to launching before they start questioning another pilots intent and character. Of course, some idiots should be careful when they bid, too.

Here's my suggestion. Go ahead and question the bid. Personally, I'm all for that. Be a grown-up and pick up your phone. Call the person. If the trip is later in the month, give the situation time to develope. Dropping a single departure pairing is a total hit for the month. Maybe, with patience, another big trip will drop into open time and the evil pilot who obviously bid the d.p. intentionally will trade into it. It's the ultimate act that counts. Does he/she actually block out on the trip in question?

It's an emotional issue. But we sure as hell don't need to be stupid about it and start shooting each other down.

FDXLAG

There is room for error. No neck tie party that I know of, just a lot of public ridicule. I will assume that the public pressure will help him to remember this lesson and prevent future mistakes. Perhaps someone else will be able to learn the lesson from watching what happens.

Which is why a list of names would be effective. Anybody doubt the DP flyer pool would shrink if the union said (as part of their education campaign) commencing with the June bid month a list of all DP flyers will be posted on the MEC website.

fedupbusdriver

F em, feed em fish heads.....

v1 uh-oh

The simple solution, and I know its been discussed on these boards, is to list a pairing as a DP in open time. It was done before. The bidding software can do it. I know the company can do it, if forced to do it by our 'staches. This would eliminate 90% of the excuses for accidently picking one up. Then we would find out who the idiots are vs plain a$$es. But, it would take some leadership, which we have been severely lacking lately.


7/32

fedupbusdriver

We have no leverage to get the company to flag them at this time. So much for Alpa lawyer's expertise.

Tuck

Look guys I suspect there are 50+ xpairings a month in ANC - many which are nice, long, intl trips. Yeah you've got to hawk OT but that's the price you pay. Don't tell me you can't make it up - I've seen it and you can but it takes some work. It's not a hard fix.

steel

Ummmmm...that's a great suggestion if you condone the actions of one who affects many. And yes it's a tough pill to swallow for the fellow brother/sister who happens to have made the mistake, especially with the public ridicule. It doesn't mean they are a bad person; it simply means they are on the hot seat for others to see, and that is the deterrent at present.

My problem is when one of us is assigned a former DP and screws something up due to fatigue, we might pay the price in the way of our livelihoods. So yes, we are going to be emotional when one asks for and flies a DP, even if it was a mistake.

Here's my suggestion to combat DPs, all of which have been stated time and time again. First, flagging them in open time is a great idea. Second, maybe Captains could step up to the plate by calling in fatigued if the need arises. Dollar signs seem to get the attention of everyone around this place. Third, we need to be more careful when bidding. Utilize software and triple check everything. I think it's fair to state the SIG does more than their share by providing all of the information in a multitude of ways. Let's do our part.

The system is broken. How else could there be so many different individuals making the same mistake every month?

PiperPower

I'm not flying in the airlines yet, and I was wondering what a disputed pairing is. Sorry if it's something obvious.