CAVU

I could use some help understanding the nuances of trading with open time. I have a large positive balance in my make up bank. I submitted a trade for a higher paying trip thinking the difference in credit hours would be deducted from my make up bank. Instead, I now have the difference in credit hours reflected in my trip trade bank. I can’t find a reference to a trip trade bank in the CBA. What happens to the negative hours in that bank?

Thanks,

CAVU

Busdrivr

This activity, Sir, is NOT acceptable. You must NOT build your BLG through trip- trades.
Seriously, I think you should have put in for a general make-up request rather than a trip-trade.

FXDX

You can trip trade up to increase your BLG 12 hours each month. At the end of the month that negative balance will go to zero. If you want to use make up you would need to drop the original trip and then pick up the other trip as a general (or other) makeup trip. Then those hours would come out of your makeup bank.

Section 25.L.7 Trading with Open Time:

# Trading With Open Time
A pilot shall have the ability to submit to trade his trip(s) for another trip(s) in open time. The net effect of any trade(s) in a bid period may not increase his BLG, as published, by more than 12 CH.

FDXLAG

I think they track trip trading by the month so they can make sure you stay in the monthly limit. Once the month is over the delta for the month should be reflected in your make up bank.

CAVU

Thanks guys. I’ll check balances next Monday. If the delta in credit hours is reflected in my make up bank, the original intent of the trade will have been met.

TheBaron

Not quite. You can go over hours on a trip trade (ie. trade a 24 cr trip for a 30cr trip) and it doesn't come out of your make-up bank. The trip trade bank gets reset to zero at the end of each bid month.

Overnitefr8

as a side note, you can't trade a trip on your line and a make up trip for another trip. i.e. You have trip 1 on Tuesday which was part of your line. You have trip 2 on Wednesday that you picked up as a m/u. Now trip 3 comes up in open time and it is a two day trip. You can't trade trip 1 and 2 for number 3 because it would be using two different banks.

kwri10s

I think everyone has hit on the point but I'd like to be a little more specific. You have established every month a "Trip Swap Bank". No you will not find a reference to this any where in the contract but the "intent" is in there. (I forget where but I could find it with some searching) The bottom line when SWAPPING with open time is you will be using this "swap bank". As mentioned previously, you can go up to -12 CH in that bank every month, and the bank is reset every month. If you drop and pick up via make-up, it has no effect on your swap bank.

For example, you have a 60 CH month. You drop a 35 CH CDG trip. Your make-up bank is now increased by 35 CH. Later you see a sweet 40 CH trip that is all DHs and you want to swap your 6 CH O&B for that. You cannot. You are swapping a 6 for a 40... which will exceed the 12 max swap overage you are allowed. Even though the NET effect to your BLG is a -1 CH from BLG as awarded, that is not how the computer is programmed. In order to pick up the 40 CH trip you will have to drop the 6 CH trip and M/U the 40 CH trip.

When dealing with trip swaps you must remember it is a separate bank and cannot be mixed with other banks.

Overnitefr8

Assuming the 6 CH trip is in the footprint of the 40 CH trip. If not, you could just do a make up for 40CH. You can go -6 CH in the make up bank each month. So if you have zero make up bank, you can do a 6CH m/u trip every month.

Cooter

The obvious problem with dropping a trip to pick up another on makeup during the same footprint is that you could end up with neither. And the way open time is scarfed up, don't expect to see your dropped trip in open time and get it back. You'll be "earlier time stamped" just like you probably were on the makeup trip request by one of many BOT users or someone who happened to get lucky.