Custom Line Question
 

Just finished IOE for 727 SO and am trying to figure out the custom line rules. I do not have any time left for Nov, but will get a custom line for Dec since the bid has closed. My pay only line was reserve, but I am approximately 50% in my new seat. The contract states "Such pilot shall have the ability to enter a line construction preference worksheet for his custom line at that time. The Company shall accommodate his preferences in accordance with seniority to the greatest extent practicable."

Just spoke with CRS and they told me I can't get any trips that are currently in the window until all secondary lines are built, even though my seniority is high enough that I could have held the 5th Secondary line. In fact, I was led to believe I can expect RA. There is no way RA is in accordance with my seniority. R24/RB would be reserve in accordance with seniority, trips would be in accordance with seniority. Above 80-85%, I can promise I will never bid RA! I've read the contract and must be missing something. Any help would be appreciated.

It sorta depends on how they define "in accordance with seniority". Seniority within the company? Seniority within the seat? Seniority within those getting custom lines built? Obviously you want the second, but I'm guessing schrew schedules is doing the third. Why? "Because they can." (i.e. it isn't defined otherwise)

Just another giant hole in our contract that the company can drive a truck through and will.


They will give you RA because they can. If you want to help change this procedure, file a grievance immediately following the awarding of your RA line. More than likely you will not be successful and the union probably will not even want to help you, but you have a right to file.

I personally think the answer to this hole in the contract is to let a person in training bid the next month if their schedule is to finish training before the next bid month. Not, if they are scheduled to finish after the bid closes. Because this only happens to most pilots a few times in their career, it is not a big issue for contract changes. However, as you can see it is a big deal. Use your union survey to demand the change and encourage all of your friends to do the same. Thanks for bringing this up as most of us do not think about it until we are faced with the same. I will put this into my survey.

Seniority probably won't come into play with your custom line. You'll get trips left over after secondaries completed and/or RA days based on days off on your line bid for Dec and BLG. They don't give RB or R24 on customs.

That is exactly what happened to me in this month. I finished 727 S/O IOE in October, one day after the November bid closed. I was bidding about 65-70% in my seat. I put in my custom line preferences and Reserve was not one of them. But RA is what I got. I left messages with CRS asking them why I hadn't yet received my custom line for November and it was the night before open time was released. I finally heard back from CRS two days AFTER open time had been released. By then there was nothing left to create a custom line. I was told exactly what you were told... that my November custom line would be built only after all the secondaries had been built. If all the open time trips had been used to build secondaries then what I received was NOT a custom line at all. It was the wretched refuse that remained after the secondaries had been built which amounted to nothing. I swear schedules had simply forgotten to build my custom line and just gave me RA. I'm holding a line in December so clearly my seniority should have warranted trips or worst case scenario RB for November.

Custom lines get done after secondary lines, this is why.

For the longest of time I had heard the exact opposite. Maybe it's a 4a2b thing. :mad:

Can you cite chapter and verse from that silly little thing called a contract? I know it is crazy but I use it to keep track of the rules I work under.

I can't find it, I had always assumed it. Maybe I'm just completely wrong! :o

I'm trying to think back to when I last came out of training 3.5 yrs ago, but I guess the secondary lines were already done.

Hmmm, maybe I was wrong about being wrong! :rolleyes:

I know its a crazy thing, but entering "custom line" as search terms into a SEARCH in the .pdf version of that little thing called a contract yielded this as a result!:cool:

Teach a man to fish......


Sec 25.G. Open Time Assignments
1. Following resolution of phase-in conflicts, open time may be
used in the following order: training assignments, phase-in
make-up (including MUV, as provided in Section 7.G.5.a.), and
then substitution/reassignment. Remaining open time shall be
used for construction of secondary and conversion lines. After
construction of secondary and conversion lines, open time may
be used at any time prior to or during a bid period for PMU,
substitution/reassignment, custom line construction, advance
reserve assignment, advance volunteer assignment, make-up,training assignment and Association Fly Back (AFB). However, during the first 12 hours after the publication of open time, only
pilots shall have access to open time trips starting in the new
bid period. The Company may also use open time before the
assignment window in order to assign a trip to an R-24 pilot.

Thanks MD11Fr8t. Like I said, I was looking but could not find it. I was expecting to find the rules governing Custom Lines under section 25.I. Custom Lines. I should have known to use a search function to check the whole contract. I wasn't trying to be rude but guess it may have come across as such with the "crazy" comment. I was simply looking for a reference to the contract, not just an answer. Thanks again for your help. I still feel the RA versus RB/R24 issue is not "in accordance with seniority", but that is not addressed so it certainly leaves it to management interpretation. I put my blue book down, downloaded the Acrobat version and ran a search to make sure. :)

The same problems exist with Secondary (VTO) lines. The first time I bid VTO, I got some trips and RA. I was senior enough to hold an RB line. I checked with the SIG guys and was told that CRS never puts anything but RA on secondary or custom lines. As you mentioned, it's not addressed in the CBA, so that is the company interpretation.

Perhaps it should be addressed in our next CBA.

Verbiage such as once all trips are exhausted during the construction of VTO lines, the company shall comply with all requests to build VTO reserve lines in a like proportion to the published bidpack.
e.g. 10% R24-60% RA- 30% RB

I spoke with crs about the RA issue before. What I was told that when they build a line, they are only allowed to build extra RA lines. Now for every 10 RA lines they build, they are required to build one R24 line. If you are lucky number 10, you may get R24, but I would count on the RA.

Good luck with the moves and drops...

HJ

I had this exact conversation with our former NC chair BC, and was told that there were "bigger issues". We allow the company to sidestep the contract once again. All they have to do is create more secondary lines, and the ones that don't get trips, get RA. I believed then and still believe now that any reserve lines built whether they are bid pack, secondary or custom lines should be built to the percentages stated in the contract. But BC didn't care and I guess DW was probably busy researching to HKG LOA...:eek:

No worries Coast! Just glad we found an answer! ;)

For what it's worth, the custom line system is an improvement over what it used to be. Of course it still needs to be better.

You used to get only R days based on CHs owed. Now you can do yourself a favor by bidding a line with max days off when coming out of training. Regardless of CHs owed, they can't give you trips/Rdays that exceed bid days off. Request trips that block in after 0100L; that will count as another day worked (as long as you don't hubturn from it).