Has nothing to do with conscience, as they like to say, it's business. Just like it's business when they furlough, when they reinterpret the PWA in their favor, when they file for bankruptcy shortly before a law change that would hinder their ability to shed a pension, or when they choose to NOT use VAS to save money. This isn't "getting back" on them, it just shapes decisions. We're all just a number.

 

This is correct and that’s why I use it. You can check your schedule at any time. Micrew works great because it’s not official notification. If there’s nothing on it at the start of SC you can call and let them know you are available for the normal call out. If there's something on there you automatically have your 2 hours. If I can report in 30 minutes, then I check it at SC +1:30. You get 2 hours minimum either way. If I look at it at SC +1 or anytime after and there's nothing then I let scheduling know I'm now contactable.

 

You also revert to standard SC by checking your schedule in icrew/VRU (SRH bottom of page 80 to top of 81). So if you do this right at the beginning of your SC window then get cannot later place a report 2:05 minutes into your SC period and expect you to be there immediately.


So the play is you tell them you’ll be non-contactable, which in theory should prevent them from giving you a report during the first two hours. Then right at the start of SC you check your schedule and no longer have the immediate report expectation for 2 hours into your SC and revert at that point to “promptly available.”

 

That's a great tidbit I hadn't seen. Thanks

 

Negative. There is no carve-out as it pertains to NYC. But the unwritten but generally accepted "2 hours" is measured from the nearest of JFK/LGA/EWR. You could be 2 hours from EWR, but 4 hours from JFK depending on traffic.

 

This is exactly what a lot of us use. There's a ton of "local-ish" non air commuters that sit SC at home using EWR as an anchor point. (Northeast PA, all of NJ, northern DE/MD, Catskill/Husdon Valley in NY) and I'm sure others in CT, Western MA, Hudson Valley use LGA as theirs.

I don't know which one of the 3 I'm going to get called to, and I can be sitting in the pilot lounge at one and still be over 2 hours from another during rush hour. Heck, at most of the airports, it's 1/2 hour from the gate to your car on a good day and you just catch the bus.

 

In theory yes, but Ive known them in the past to put something on there 45 minutes into it after a guy I know called and said he was going to be non-contactable (commuting in). It went out late…..

 

Ok I am going to put my ignnorance on public display for everyone to see-----> Can someone explain the option of being non-contactable during the first two hours? I've read it, but whats the function of it? It's allowing you this soft two hours to get yourself to the airport?

 

Mostly useful to commuters. Your back up flight can be in those two hours. You basically have to be at the airport when the time ends

 

Correct. And if you are coming off a non-fly day on your first day of LC and they give you a SC that starts between 10 and 18 hours after the start of LC then you don't need a backup flight and your primary flight can come in during that window.

Basically, the non-contactable clause assumes that you are not contactable because you are in an airplane headed to your base during the first two hours. So say you've got 1200 SC, and scheduling wants to call you at 1200 to notify you of a 1415 report. But you are non-contactable because your flight is in the air arriving at 1345. In that instance, when you land, you check your schedule and see the 1415 report, then you are exptect to make that report time because you are basically waiving your SC callout time in lieu of commuting in during part of it. What you can't do is be non-contactable, land at 1345, check your schedule and see the assignment, then say it will take you 2+ hours from that point to report. If, however, you land at 1345 and check your schedule and nothing is on there, then at 1346 scheduling calls to add a 1415 report, you are back on the "promptly available" leash and are not expected to immediately make that report time. In that situation, it is up to each pilot to determine when they will be able to report even though they are at the airport. Maybe it was an early morning flight and they want a nap before starting duty, or need to grab a meal or something. Or if they're ready to roll they can just report on time well less than 2 hours from scheduling notification.

Now there is nothing in the PWA or SRH that prohibits a pilot who lives in base from utilizing the non-contactable clause either even though the intent is for commuters. As I posted above in-base pilots can use it to try to avoid being assigned rotations that report within the first 2 hours of their SC window.