That is not true, there are mechanisms in the CBA to allow for reserve pilots to maintain currency if the Company is not utilizing them. If lack of flying is a safety issue it should show up in recurrent, maybe it has. Line and reserve pilots get the same checks and evaluations on a biannual basis and are required to maintain 3 in 3. Safety issue, I don't think so. The Company does not want to pay guys to not fly, period.

This problem has many ways to be fixed; wait it out, retirement incentives (not interested apparently), new flying or reduce staff. Spreading the wealth would be fine by me only if it is done system wide, on an equal basis. There can't be have's and have not's when or if we go below 68/85. That is the reason the Company has not done it yet, they know there will be a $hit storm if they elect to apply BLG reductions on an "as needed" basis which is all they want to do in order to cover the problems they did nothing to avoid.

 

You may be right. All I know for sure is those who bid reserve all the time are flying more with the buyup.

 

They don't give a rat's rear end if it's a safety issue or not (which it's not), it's an efficiency problem. You know, $$ issues. $$ issues are the ones that they care about.

 

If it's money that drives this issue, we wouldn't buy up lines. We would, instead, just increase the number of reserve lines. It costs less to have a bubba on reserve than give him/her 61 hrs of flying on a 68 hr paid line. Plus--You would have a ton of folks available to fly with 1.5 hrs of notice. We would see even less draft than what is paid right now.

 

anybody look at the bidpack...nice BLG for the home crowd

 

It's final. 2 more lucky HKG pilots.....

 

Economic conditions are increasing the likelihood of another excess bid.