Seems that scheduling is on a utilization/efficiency push. Anyone experienced increased use of the following lately:

1. calls to voluntarily move r-days to cover trips
2. increase in trip revisions, especially to replace front or back end DH with live legs
3. good deal open time trip revised to real trip shortly after pickup with trip trade
4. reserve trip assignment call out of order
5. calls to voluntarily waive international duty free buffer for trip assignment



I suspect the "can they do that to me?" calls have increased quite a bit lately.

 

Seems to me that the company is trying to do the same or more with less crews and workforce. The company is buying back vacations and offering AVA for captain's on almost every airplane...ie. short captain's. I've personally been trying to drop a one day FO trip on Tues and been getting the dreaded "Disapproved - Insufficient Reserves".

Call it what you want...scheduling efficiencies or optimization, crew shortage, etc...but it is clear that we are currently NOT properly staffed to meet our demand and I think the company is behind the curve.

Maybe we haven't hired enough, maybe we have too many pilots in training, maybe the company is possiblily preparing for another global economic slowdown but our flexibility in scheduling is virtually gone. Should make for an interesting peak season that is only a couple months away. I'm just glad I'm not on reserve.

 

We are overstaffed, 700 or so fat...

 

I have dropped the 18 credit filler trip on my line the last three months in a row. Approved on the first try, 777 F/O.

 

Dropping a 777 filler trip? So, that brings your BLG down to...what? About, 86hrs?

 

BB, he didn't build the line. Credit should be towards the company, not the pilot.

 

Close, 85.9 hours.

In reality I have been living on a self imposed 4a2b. I learned to like the time off. I have been in the 60s for credit hours for a most of the summer.

 

If you say that loud enough, UPS will start furloughing again.

 

Sceds puts an ANC hotel standby (bait) in MEM 11 F/0 open time and magically produces a trip matching the footprint after you bite. I bit fast and they are not senior trips. Trend was noticed by a more than one guy.