The company might not view that as a simple change.

 

I think the "simplest" change has already been mentioned - some sort of pay above guarantee for every SC assigned. That way if someone lives in base and wants extra money, they can YS for a bunch of SC's, saving commuters from having to deal with them. And even if a commuter does end up with a SC, at least there's a little financial bonus for it.

 

I'm junior in category, a close-in (1 hour flight, 5 hour drive) commuter and often find myself on reserve to get the days off I want, especially in the winter months. I don't have any particular problem with the system in its current form except...Very rarely have I been able to string more than 2 SCs together in a block. I dont mind commuting in for SC. Its not my favorite for sure, but its part of the gig. I get it. So if you give me SC on day one of a reserve block, let me minimize the pain and YS to keep that ball rolling and knock out a few SCs in one commute.

For the record, this one hour credit "towards" guarantee is utter non-sense. I whole heartedly support the idea of an hour of pay OVER guarantee for each SC. Its a disincentive for the company to over assign SCs (which they definitely HAVE been doing since those boneheads screwed it up for the rest of us) and financially recognizes the sacrifice of sitting SC, whether you're a commuter or an in-base bubba. If someone in base wants to save me the trouble of commuting to sit in a hotel and bid for SCs knowing they might have to leave in the middle of their kid's soccer game or dance recital, then have at it. If I have to commute in and sit SC at least some of that cost is acknowledged and compensated by the company.

 

I think the 1 hour above guarantee is a great idea to force the company to be more efficient. I think we should also push for YS (request for SC or to fly) should be honored before any assignment is made regardless of days available, group or raw score. This will help guys like freezingflyboy that want more SCs in a row and it will help commuters have a predictable schedule. Just these two small fixes would improve reserve tremendously.

 

Wouldn't this let junior folks pick up a single SC to avoid the 5-day trip that now goes to the senior guy didn't want to fly?

 

It allows all kinds of manipulations of schedules. It’s a great tool for pilots. The company won’t like it much.

 

Why wouldn't the senior guy just YS a SC in that instance? Now were back at square one and the junior guy is going out on the heinous 5-day the senior guy was trying to avoid (which may ACTUALLY be desirable to that junior guy vs sitting in a crashpad on his own dime with no real compensation).

 

Totally agree!
YS trumps buckets. Seniority is honored and those that want to fly...probably commuters, can YS to fly

 

The junior guy should get the heinous 5 day. But the senior guy shouldn't have to put himself out for a short call just to hedge against getting the 5-day. Remember, short call assignments are not as straightforward as seeing what exists in open time. Personally, I like the fact that short calls are (more) seniority-based, and not dependent on Raw score. I wish we would have had the transition count stay at 3 instead of going to two. I think there is a built-in default of better quality of life for senior Reserve Pilots without them having to constantly schedule-manipulate. Why anyone wants to normalize a 99% Reserve Pilot's experience with a 5% Reserve pilot is beyond me... especially because in the next three years pretty much any pilot can be at any seniority level they choose if they are flexible on category. Sitting in an unpaid hotel room commuting to reserve will for most pilots be something they have chosen to accept. Remember, the better reserve is, the more senior guys who bid it, the more line holding can be done for junior people in the category.

 

Think those prior to their first year are also on reserve by choice. You didn't have to leave the seniority of your last job. 😁