Simple answer - Sit pay. AAL has it, 1 for 2 over 2 hours. Sit for 3 hours get 30 minutes, sit for 4 hours you get an hour. This still allows the company the flexibility to schedule sits if they really need them but it will no longer be basically a freebie for the company. By putting a cost to sits the bean counters would most likely try to minimize them.

Write your reps and tell them you want this - its already being done at other airlines. Could be a big QOL gain.

Scoop

Widebodies are obviously effected far more than narrow bodies. I was referring to domestic trips. I looked through quite a few bid packages and I was very surprised by the value of the trips. We had a thread on this. Most of that is I concede due to work rule changes we wanted and negotiated. The 5:15 average day probably being the main one. If you negotiate work rule to force the company build more productive rotations your going to work more on a daily basis. If we can get a 6 hour daily min we will be flying even more. Personally I like trips like that. I want to work hard at work and have more days off. Others might care more about the nature of the trips.

SWA doesn’t flip morning and evening duty twice in 4 days. Their duty days may be 12 hours but it’s all productive time not sitting for 3+ hours mid day. You are way off with the SWA comparison.

Is the daily value comparison that you presented as fact solely based upon your perusal of a few bid packs or do you have actual numbers to base that on?

Improve duty rig ratio. Doesn’t hurt efficiency on good days, at least improves pay on the long days.

Being short staffed is a fact of life for the next few years.

Banging the fatigue drum is all well and good but that means you are so tired you are no longer safe. I hate that a Fortune 500 corporation is relying on this level of safety threat as the limits of staffing.

Its personal experience as well as bid packages. I was on the 7ER when most of the changes were made. I went from bidding only international to probably 60% domestic trips with the jump in values. Chances of me bidding a 18 hour 4 day would be zero. A 26 hour 4 day on the other hand got my attention!

One of the best books ever written!

Scoop

Yeah, 26 hours of pay is all well and good if the trip is constructed in an appropriate manner.

Spoiler: Most of ours aren’t, and that’s why the vast majority of pilots have issues with the rotations.

So what? If they don't want to come work here, they can go elsewhere. I don't say that to minimize the plight of the narrowbody crowd, quite the opposite... I think what the company is doing in terms of these trips plain sucks, and ALPA's non-response to it is reprehensible. But I don't GAF whether someone that isn't on the property decides to come here based on any of that. If they want to come here.. great. If they don't... good for them I hope they have a great life.

I will never forget the question in my interview from the retired guy. "Why should Delta get down on their knees and beg you to come work here?" My answer was that I had no idea.. but that I would work hard yada yada yada...

Summer is going to be interesting without a doubt.

I'm gonna leave you with one other thought. I know there are some that want something like a 6 hour duty day. Be careful what you ask for. Delta will get their pound of flesh if that were to come to fruition. Delta abhors credit time in rotations. The more they have to pay per day, the harder they are going to work at eliminating credit. Those schedules will go from being SWA-like to regional-like.