Agreed. But it could still possible come back to bite you. Most people who do that have blanket GS in, including things they couldn't possibly report for, like out of base, or even in base for those "non commuters" with 2-5 hour drives etc when they can't instantly find a local hotel.

In any case that was the exception. In general, GS has nothing to do with SC rules.

 

Is that codified anywhere? And consistently applied? What if they're calling people and you say sure I can be there in 2 hours (or even 3-5 hours, which can 100% be normal in NYC/LA rush hour depending on airport) and someone else calls them back from a voicemail 2 minutes ago saying "I can be there in 20 minutes" then what?

 

It's in the contract, they can cover it with the 20 minute guy, and you'll get paid for it. 23q11c. There's no specific time obviously, and I don't know the general practice of the grievances, but I wouldn't self eliminate by saying "I can't get there in time" unless you don't want the trip.

 

Of course. I'd always say I can be there in whatever time, and if out of base or I'm somewhere else, say I can do it but I'm in ABC city so you'll have to get me to XYZ city.

 

The 2-hour was probably not disregarded. They run the slip through HAL once before they start calling people. It looks at who is legal and has slips in at that exact moment. So, if you had a 2 hour restriction, when the trip was run, it was probably 2+ hours out. Then they grabbed a cup of coffee and took a leak before settling in to call and wake up people for the next 30 minutes. After the coffee break and calling a few people ahead of you, the 2+ hours turned into 1+40. Their list doesn't tell them your qualifiers. It just spits out your name when it runs. In theory, you would have an argument for turning down the GS.

 

Not exactly. The TC does show them your qualifiers for "do not call between" and min commute time. They still have to call you regardless of what you list there. Why? Because the one time they don't you'll have been at Spondivits having dinner with the family and you now have a claim to being missed and paid to crack crab legs. You have no claim to "turning down" a GS unless it involves child care, alcohol consumption or being WAY out of position. If they want to accept an hour delay to accommodate your commute? They can do that. Your commute time is not automatically exclusionary, it's a guide and they can hang the trip on you if you answer the phone. Simple fix, don't want to fly the trip? Let it go to VM and let the 10 mins go by.

 

Which is why its such an asinine policy.

I bet for every sucker they "gotcha!" with this, they spend literally thousands of man hours calling every 10 minutes. It would benefit them and us far more if you could answer any GS call without penalty or jeopardy. Even if someone flat out says I'm 5 minutes away in uniform bags packed but I don't want to do it" its easier to move on than to leave a string of VM's sometimes for HOURS looping back around to the same trip(s) after they've been chopped up.

Its a lame concept that seeks to "cover" something even at times by not actually covering it...merely seeking someone to blame it on above all else. And the kicker is, even if they "get" someone that way, had that person simply not answered, it would have been chalked up to no crews anyway.

Stupid antiquated policy that fools no one and results in no additional coverage and only creates way more work for everyone involved.

 

Preaching to the convinced my friend. However, but. 23.Q.11 says that's what they have to do....

 

If you could decline a green slip at any time for any reason, why wouldn't every single pilot put in a blanket green slip request? You might snag a golden trip! If the trip was a stinker, CS might have to call the whole seniority list, in order, before finally assigning it to the most junior person. (Interestingly, that's the way reserve did work long ago, when categories were very small.)

 

And schedulers could be bought for the price of a fine bottle of booze!