kronan

CRS could have just as easily waited until it was within 4 hours of the show to create the X-pairing you used as an example-why the company felt it needed a monday afternoon stby for the 72 is a different question.

And, the definition of Open Time includes base standbys. And base standbys are addressed in several other sections of the contract. Clearly, base standbys are supposed to be available to every pilot, not just for assignment to reserve pilots to lower the cost to the company. The ONLY assignment that is available ONLY to reserve pilots is a base hotel standby and that is only supposed to be assigned to R-24 pilots during a shortage of other reserve pilots (25.M.3.a.v)---sure wish we defined what "shortage" means re max open parameters.

FDXer

Since the number of standbys has been reduced, how about we get some of the sleep rooms released to pilots that are hub turning. No reason to have have the sleep facility in Memphis reserved for standby pilots.

FreightDawgyDog

You mean like they did on Christmas Eve? No hub turners and all rooms except those on STBY were open. Most had no way out of MEM until a commercial the next day. All were told they could not use the rooms unless they were hub turning or they would face discipline. We even said we would clean the room when we were done. Thanks for being away from your families on Christmas Eve but we have no room at the sleep room inn even though almost every room was open. The only thing missing was a stable full of animals to bunk with. Actually, I guess the LazyBoy room was pretty close to that!

jagplt

I was also told the rooms were unavailable Christmas evening. Has anyone gotten an answer from MEM Mgt on why in was purposefully made more troublesome for those away from their families on Christmas eve? Is that the message they are wanting to send to the crew force?

fdx727pilot

I assume this is directed at me and my example.

1. Company did not wait till daily open time assignment (9am) to publish pairing. It was placed in open time and was gone shortly thereafter, I assume to a Makeup request. Is this not what you desire?

2. Pairing was posted in wee hours of Sunday morning for an afternoon show. Don't know the orifice from which you pulled Monday afternoon.

3. I totally agree that the CBA says Arpt Stbys must be put in open time. Apparently, at least in this instance, the company agrees.

4. Nowhere in the CBA does it say that scheduling must publish Base Arpt Standbys in predefined numbers and times, as they have in the past. I have yet to find the section saying the Boeing must have an S111 & S112 every weekday afternoon except Monday, or the normal S221 and S222 every morning, all established before the bid month begins. Sounds like they are just posting Standbys when they really think they will need them.

5. If you really want the company to realize we are not as fat on pilots as they think, you don't want Standbys sitting in open time for all those 100 hr per month Hour-wh##es to pick up, while hundreds of Reserve pilots sit around doing nothing. My last month on Reserve, I worked 3 days out of 15, in part because most afternoon and evening Standbys were picked up by guys padding their paychecks. I thought that the goal was for "everyone to share the pain, so no one gets furloughed." Lack of standbys helps us with that goal. Unless, of course, you want everyone else to share the pain, except the guys feeding at the open time trough.

kronan

I just didn't know that you were using new math, since you commented on it a little past noon, figured you were talking about a Stby that popped into view around 9AM....and 0900 Sunday +16 hours or so til show makes it a Monday afternoon for me.

Not quite sure how reserve guys being assigned arpt stbys is sharing the pain. In fact, having guys work on their days off only increases a pilots productivity. How can higher productivity be bad for the company? And it saves the reserve guys for any upcoming operational emergency.
In the bus, the only trips that were consistently open were the AM arpt stbys so pretty sure the majority of those trips were filled by folks on reserve.

There is no contractual requirement for any specific pairings. And I can accept the mindset that the company wants to eliminate or minimize unproductive trips.
What I don't like is the company selectively publishing planned trips into open time. If withholding arpt stbys until a reserve pilot can be assigned that trip is acceptable, how long until the company holds pairings that are actually flying because it is better to assign it to a reserve pilot who effectively flys it for free versus paying a different pilot to accomplish it.


And I don't like the mindset that changes the World on Time to the World on Time unless it's too expensive

fdx727pilot

Just regular math. This was posted at 12:14 CST on Sunday. Note the phrase "very early this morning for an afternoon show."


In this case, I'm more worried about the resolve we show the company. Having those standby trips flown by reserve pilots, as opposed to some Hourwh%$e padding his paycheck, is better. The guys picking up makeup are not sharing the pain. What happened to no M/U, DFT, or VLT?

Do you have any evidence that withholding of Standbys for reserve assignment is occurring. The only standby I have seen this weekend was the one I referenced, which was placed in open time well before the Reserve assignment window, and was apparently sucked up by somebody padding their paycheck. Seems like you are complaining about something that is not known for sure to exist.

kronan

Morning is the time between dawn and noon, so an Airport Stby that you saw posted Sunday morning couldn't have a show time 16 or so hours later and still be the same day. 16 hours prior to a Sunday afternoon show means it had to appear sometime Saturday night-say 7 PM to about 1 AM Sunday.

Why would you even consider M/U as something to be banned? Once an individual drops a trip it is gone forever until a reserve pilot flys it? How is it sharing the pain if I drop a 6 hour trip in January, yet am unable to make it up should something become available. What about the guys who use mil leave to drop a trip, can they make those hours up should something become available?
And DFT, DFT is moving the freight. Why is it better to cancel a flight and eliminate/delay the associated revenue with that flight versus an individual accepting a Draft assignment.

VLT, not protecting min days off, cancelling vacations, those are all about sharing the pain.

I am concerned with the company abiding by the contract.

I have no evidence that the company is withholding trips pending the reserve assignment window opening. Nothing more than the conjecture/comment of an earlier poster that the company is going to create these trips only as GOC sees fit and that they don't want to pay a pilot to sit around.
The only way they can avoid that, is to wait until only a reserve pilot can fill that trip.

fedupbusdriver

https://pilot.fedex.com/vips-bin/vip...MEM?30?06JAN09

This standby in the bus for this afternoon was in open time all morning and just assigned.

fdx727pilot

Whatever. I guess we don't have morning out-n-backs. And I have never been woken up at 3 in the morning, cause there's no such thing.
Obviously, some people can't or won't admit they may have made a small mistake. With that attitude, you should be in Flt Management.