23K/Recovery Questions Thread
#571
#572
Roll’n Thunder
Joined APC: Oct 2009
Position: Pilot
Posts: 3,540
#573
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,262
It has however been established over tIme and through the grievance process that you need to be within 2 hours via surface transportation under normal conditions. You don’t have to get there in two hours if traffic, parking or other issues come up. This came up years ago with pilots sitting short call in San Diego and Vegas for LAX. The Vegas guys claimed they could fly in with flights every 30 minutes. The SD guys said they could drive it with no traffic in two. Neither worked out.
#574
It has however been established over tIme and through the grievance process that you need to be within 2 hours via surface transportation under normal conditions. You don’t have to get there in two hours if traffic, parking or other issues come up. This came up years ago with pilots sitting short call in San Diego and Vegas for LAX. The Vegas guys claimed they could fly in with flights every 30 minutes. The SD guys said they could drive it with no traffic in two. Neither worked out.
If that was any kind of limit, you can bet it’d be plastered all over the FOM and other company documents. The fact is it isn’t, and it’s not.
#576
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2012
Posts: 1,418
ALPA doesn’t like anyone to say 2 hours. It’s like “the number that shall not be spoken”. But everyone should know generally what is
acceptable.
#577
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,262
When the company decides your definition of promptly available is not acceptable to them the system board will end up deciding. They will use past practice and rulings. The reason we don’t define it to the minute is to prevent the company from having someone they might like to see gone showing up 2:01 after getting a short call out and firing them. The reality of the whole thing is the company has been extremely lenient on short call and it only becomes a issue if a flight is significantly delayed. Crew scheds calls pilot A and if he says he can’t get there they move on to pilot B. Pilot B picks up the slack because pilot A could not be bothered to be in position for shortcall. More than likely the scheduler does not even note that pilot A was unavailable. There is plenty of past practice and history to define shortcall as approximately 2 hours and that it has to be surface transportation. If your definition of promptly available is 3 or 4 hours and it causes a operational issue I can tell you from what happened to a friend you will not like the result.
#578
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Position: Left seat of a little plane
Posts: 2,396
Thanks Sailingfun. I read all that and figured most of it out. What I’m not really sure about is what does “immediately” mean? Do I have to be suited up and on airport standby....at the airport? I live 25 minutes from airport and can be there within 2 hours easy. Because of COVID I currently can park for free in the airport parking garage. That saves another 15 minutes.
Denny
Denny
Again, this only applies if the trip cancels AFTER you report. This doesn't usually happen with "normal" trips, but of course it can. And yes if you are subject to immediately available obligations, then you need to be a "Widgeteer" in uniform, at the airport.... because the contract says so. But then again you probably already are, since you have already signed in. Now you just get to hang out for a few hours for possible reassignment.
This is not the same as "promptly available" which come with the equivalence of short call obligations. If you live local you can sit SC at the house. But in this case (the whole point of this entire thread due to all the Covid cancelations) you would know about the trip removal and 23K obligations in advance.
#579
If I have a recovery obligation tomorrow starting at 1500, for a 4 day trip, if I put in a GS, can I get one and get paid for it? Or do I have to finish my 6 hours of availability first, and then try to get one?
#580
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2016
Position: Looking left
Posts: 3,249
You can put the GS in, but I believe you aren't eligible until you are released from the 23k obligation.
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