Reserve for Dummies
07-08-2025 | 08:33 AM
#3461
Line Holder
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,331
Likes: 385
Forgive me for being dense; this is an honest question. So, let's say my SC begins at 1000. If they call me at 1001, I am reasonably expected to be at the airport at 1201, but with all of the "what if" elbow room in place. Alternatively....
I start SC at 1000 and I go NC until 1200, I am reasonably expected to be available for a 1201 report with none of the same "what if" elbow room. Since that NC time doesn't mean they can't assign something to me, if just means I have less notice to respond to it.
It seems to me that I'm better off staying quiet since I am supposed to be using that NC time to be getting closer to the airport, and I am not going to do that since I am natively less than two hours from the airport and I can just spend that time doing whatever I want. If they assign me a trip at 1030, I can get to it by 1230 and not raise anyone's dander. I 'gained' 30 minutes of hangar time.
If I am on NC time and they do the same, but I check my schedule at 1045 and have that same trip at 1230, I've only lost 15 minutes of my SC leash. Which would be made even worse if my phone rang at 1201 and I now had 29 minutes to report.
Is the idea that if I start SC at 1000, they could assign me a trip reporting at 1030 sometime in the middle of the night and I'd lose that two hour's of NC 'home time'? That would be the only protection that I can noodle out, but I don't think that's how SC works here. I start at 1000, I really can't be expected to be anywhere before about noon, anyhow.
What am I missing?
I start SC at 1000 and I go NC until 1200, I am reasonably expected to be available for a 1201 report with none of the same "what if" elbow room. Since that NC time doesn't mean they can't assign something to me, if just means I have less notice to respond to it.
It seems to me that I'm better off staying quiet since I am supposed to be using that NC time to be getting closer to the airport, and I am not going to do that since I am natively less than two hours from the airport and I can just spend that time doing whatever I want. If they assign me a trip at 1030, I can get to it by 1230 and not raise anyone's dander. I 'gained' 30 minutes of hangar time.
If I am on NC time and they do the same, but I check my schedule at 1045 and have that same trip at 1230, I've only lost 15 minutes of my SC leash. Which would be made even worse if my phone rang at 1201 and I now had 29 minutes to report.
Is the idea that if I start SC at 1000, they could assign me a trip reporting at 1030 sometime in the middle of the night and I'd lose that two hour's of NC 'home time'? That would be the only protection that I can noodle out, but I don't think that's how SC works here. I start at 1000, I really can't be expected to be anywhere before about noon, anyhow.
What am I missing?
Without invoking NC, they could legally assign you that 1030 report, and as a business decision it will probably go out late because the time isn't reasonable. But it would be legal.
07-08-2025 | 08:34 AM
#3462
Line Holder
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 710
Likes: 248
Forgive me for being dense; this is an honest question. So, let's say my SC begins at 1000. If they call me at 1001, I am reasonably expected to be at the airport at 1201, but with all of the "what if" elbow room in place. Alternatively....
I start SC at 1000 and I go NC until 1200, I am reasonably expected to be available for a 1201 report with none of the same "what if" elbow room. Since that NC time doesn't mean they can't assign something to me, if just means I have less notice to respond to it.
It seems to me that I'm better off staying quiet since I am supposed to be using that NC time to be getting closer to the airport, and I am not going to do that since I am natively less than two hours from the airport and I can just spend that time doing whatever I want. If they assign me a trip at 1030, I can get to it by 1230 and not raise anyone's dander. I 'gained' 30 minutes of hangar time.
If I am on NC time and they do the same, but I check my schedule at 1045 and have that same trip at 1230, I've only lost 15 minutes of my SC leash. Which would be made even worse if my phone rang at 1201 and I now had 29 minutes to report.
Is the idea that if I start SC at 1000, they could assign me a trip reporting at 1030 sometime in the middle of the night and I'd lose that two hour's of NC 'home time'? That would be the only protection that I can noodle out, but I don't think that's how SC works here. I start at 1000, I really can't be expected to be anywhere before about noon, anyhow.
What am I missing?
I start SC at 1000 and I go NC until 1200, I am reasonably expected to be available for a 1201 report with none of the same "what if" elbow room. Since that NC time doesn't mean they can't assign something to me, if just means I have less notice to respond to it.
It seems to me that I'm better off staying quiet since I am supposed to be using that NC time to be getting closer to the airport, and I am not going to do that since I am natively less than two hours from the airport and I can just spend that time doing whatever I want. If they assign me a trip at 1030, I can get to it by 1230 and not raise anyone's dander. I 'gained' 30 minutes of hangar time.
If I am on NC time and they do the same, but I check my schedule at 1045 and have that same trip at 1230, I've only lost 15 minutes of my SC leash. Which would be made even worse if my phone rang at 1201 and I now had 29 minutes to report.
Is the idea that if I start SC at 1000, they could assign me a trip reporting at 1030 sometime in the middle of the night and I'd lose that two hour's of NC 'home time'? That would be the only protection that I can noodle out, but I don't think that's how SC works here. I start at 1000, I really can't be expected to be anywhere before about noon, anyhow.
What am I missing?
Check and screenshot your icrew schedule exactly 1 minute after your SC starts at 10:01. If you have a rotation on your a schedule at 10:01 it will be no later than 12:00 and you report at 12:00 with 1 hour and 59 minutes to get there.
With that official schedule check you return to normal availability (promptly, 2-ish hours). So if they call you at 10:02 you have till 12:02-ish to get there.
You have prevented the company from putting a report on your schedule any time in the first 2 hours of your SC making you 1/3 less usable. In theory.
There was a DALPA email on this last year but I can’t find it.
07-08-2025 | 08:34 AM
#3463
Moderator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 7,505
Likes: 501
The problem arises when they give that trip to a senior pilot just because the junior pilot invoked the NC clause and the senior did not. Seniority shouldn't be abrogated just because a pilot is a commuter. Thus everyone invokes it to cover their bases and ensure seniority is honored.
07-08-2025 | 08:40 AM
#3464
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 12,547
Likes: 1,155
The problem arises when they give that trip to a senior pilot just because the junior pilot invoked the NC clause and the senior did not. Seniority shouldn't be abrogated just because a pilot is a commuter. Thus everyone invokes it to cover their bases and ensure seniority is honored.
07-08-2025 | 08:44 AM
#3465
Line Holder
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 207
Likes: 103
Example. SC starts 10:00. You have told scheduling NC for first 2 hours.
Check and screenshot your icrew schedule exactly 1 minute after your SC starts at 10:01. If you have a rotation on your a schedule at 10:01 it will be no later than 12:00 and you report at 12:00 with 1 hour and 59 minutes to get there.
With that official schedule check you return to normal availability (promptly, 2-ish hours). So if they call you at 10:02 you have till 12:02-ish to get there.
You have prevented the company from putting a report on your schedule any time in the first 2 hours of your SC making you 1/3 less usable. In theory.
There was a DALPA email on this last year but I can’t find it.
Check and screenshot your icrew schedule exactly 1 minute after your SC starts at 10:01. If you have a rotation on your a schedule at 10:01 it will be no later than 12:00 and you report at 12:00 with 1 hour and 59 minutes to get there.
With that official schedule check you return to normal availability (promptly, 2-ish hours). So if they call you at 10:02 you have till 12:02-ish to get there.
You have prevented the company from putting a report on your schedule any time in the first 2 hours of your SC making you 1/3 less usable. In theory.
There was a DALPA email on this last year but I can’t find it.
The idea for the NC protection here is that there is a narrow set of circumstances where they may skip you in the RUO if they know you're going to be as much as two hours late for anything they assign from 1000-1200. Or they'll just send it out as a GS. For someone who drives to work, I think I'd rather have the full two hours of elbow room at any given point in the shift. Every short call assignment i have had in recent memory has been a report time in 1.5 hours or less, sometimes way less. So having the extra time on my side is a better strategy as far as I can tell.
07-08-2025 | 08:50 AM
#3466
Line Holder
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,331
Likes: 385
I appreciate all the replies. So, basically, they can schedule someone for anything after SC start time, but you've got your 'reasonable' leash to get to the airport. The report time is immaterial. In short, effectively you can't be expected to be at the airport before about noon in this scenario no matter what, because I am on call starting at 1000 and have basically two hours to get to work from that point. "Non contactable" does not mean "not usable".
The idea for the NC protection here is that there is a narrow set of circumstances where they may skip you in the RUO if they know you're going to be as much as two hours late for anything they assign from 1000-1200. Or they'll just send it out as a GS. For someone who drives to work, I think I'd rather have the full two hours of elbow room at any given point in the shift. Every short call assignment i have had in recent memory has been a report time in 1.5 hours or less, sometimes way less. So having the extra time on my side is a better strategy as far as I can tell.
The idea for the NC protection here is that there is a narrow set of circumstances where they may skip you in the RUO if they know you're going to be as much as two hours late for anything they assign from 1000-1200. Or they'll just send it out as a GS. For someone who drives to work, I think I'd rather have the full two hours of elbow room at any given point in the shift. Every short call assignment i have had in recent memory has been a report time in 1.5 hours or less, sometimes way less. So having the extra time on my side is a better strategy as far as I can tell.
There really is no downside to invoking NC, then schedule check 1 minute into it. There is upside. The biggest threat is forgetting to schedule check and being on the hook for a 12:01 report you didn't realize was there.
07-08-2025 | 08:59 AM
#3469
Line Holder
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,331
Likes: 385
This happens all the time (assignment of rotations with less than 2-ish hours to report.) It's not about the expectation of how soon you can get there, the company can make the business decision to assign a trip with 1 minute to report and take the delay. Unless it's during the NC window, in which case it would be an illegal assignment.
07-08-2025 | 09:02 AM
#3470
Line Holder
Joined: Oct 2024
Posts: 295
Likes: 142
Now if you say "I can't make it there until 2pm", then you have a problem because you're not within the nebulous agreed upon proximity to the airport (2 hours-ish).
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