Why stop there? Just go ahead and ask if I'm racist too. Or homophobic....and all the other distractations that you love.

Standard for your ilk.

It doesn't diminish the logic of valid arguments.

Contractual is contractual....optics are optics.

I have told you what I have done. Something tells me I'm not the only one.

Which is what this whooha is about....legal vs optics.

 

Optics only matter at a lousy part 91/135 flying job where an employer can fire you on a whim if they don’t like the “look” of your use of leave (USERRA issues notwithstanding).

We have a contract and a union. Stay within the limits of that contract, and nothing else matters here. I don’t need to care whether the CPO is impressed by my monthly productivity or not.

 

I see SS as a net positive overall for the Pilot group. Pilots can bid a trip for 2X days or weeks out instead of the usual short notice GS. I often commute to reserve mainly to accumulate PB days in the bank which is a great deal. I have seen many Pilots lament that SS are going to kill PB days. I have not seen this at all - plenty of GS still going out (330B). I am sure SS will somewhat reduce PB accumulation but IMHO the main driver of this was and always will be staffing. Minimal chance for PB day accumulation in a properly staffed category.

What I have noticed about SS is that in the 330 category they are mainly, if not exclusively, listed for 6 or greater trips. This does have the somewhat negative affect of reducing the long trips that get split up. For example is a 6 day SS goes out it is a PBS trip - 6 days at 2x Pay. Pre SS this trip might have been broken up into 2 four days with a DH only day on each trip paying 8 days at 2X pay. Not a guarantee though since many Pilots would WS the broken up trips for straight pay.

On balance however I like the SS. It allows Pilots to earn more with a predictable schedule and changes the game for commuters. Yes reserve Pilots can not bid SS but very few Pilots are "forced" into reserve. Many senior Pilots bid reserve ( me included) cause it is beneficial. I would argue that our reserve system is so good that some senior Pilots are commuting to reserve - which would be unheard of at most airlines. Since the vast majority of Pilots are line holders I would say SS are a win.

Finally, I will end with any Pilot who finds a niche due to short staffing that enables a windfall should exploit and enjoy it as long as it lasts, but to plan on it lasting indefinitely would be foolish just as not making long term improvements to the PWA to extend a most likely transitory good deal is also foolish. Smart Pilots will adapt their strategies to adjust to the current conditions which will most likely be evolving over a full career.

Just my 2 cents. Curious as to what is going on in other categories regarding SS's.


Scoop

 

Absolutely raining SS in ATL320B yesterday. I count 78 that went out in the noon PCS run, followed by a trickle (2-3) each run since, with a handful remaining and/or soaking in OT.

 

The benefit is concentrated pretty heavily towards really senior, commuting, line-holding pilots. If you don't commute to a line, and you're not in the top (let's say) 20% of the category, it's a loss. Fewer PB days. Trips not being broken up into multiple overlapping greenslips, no effective leveling mechanism. And it contributes to the greeslip limit so someone flying SS all month can still be first in line for double pay when a GS call comes. The end result is very senior pilots are flying a whole month of double pay (SSs and GSs) while simultaneously reducing the chance of a greeslip for everyone below them and reducing PB days for all reserves (senior or not).

My guess is that, as a whole, the company is spending less money to add coverage than they would without silver slips. In isolation, I would call that a concession. The real question: did we get enough in return for the concession. The answer, of course, is subjective.

 

You bring up some fair points but your argument is based on a never ending GS palooza. There have been years with few GS going out in certain categories and only to the top Pilots in category before, and many of the recent hires have never experienced this. Like I said exploit it while it lasts, but do not plan on any category being woefully short staffed forever.

Scoop

 

I like SS. Picked a 4 day last week. With my days off being below 15 right now, I’m not picking a GS.

I don’t know how people can really be at work more than 16 days of the month. I’m around 60% in base and was able to secure my first choice of SS.

Remeber people, if you see a good trip in SB by a senior pilot, he/she might want to drop it for a SS. Go to icrew and check for SS.

 

That's a fair thought expirement.

Let's imagine three scenarios. One scenario where no one is flying any premium flying. One where there is a little premium flying. And one where there is a lot of premium flying.

1. If there is no premum flying at all, the company simply won't use GS or SS. Perhaps to your point, nothing is lost by having SS because they're not being used.
2. If there is a just a little premium flying, I think it's likely that he company will lean heavily on SSs to solve the coverage problem in advance, allowing the rest to be covered by long call and short call reserve (eliminating payback days and delays from the auto-accept debacle). If that's the case, it's reasonable to expect the premium flying to be even more concentrated, with just a few senior pilots picking up anything premium. Theoretically, the #1 guy is still able to fly a whole month of premium before the #2 guys gets a chance at any, provided #1 can drop his trips (not a challenge when coverage is good, TLVs are low, and everyone is picking up straight pay trips).
3. If there is a lot of premium flying, it's as described in my first post.

In any case where there are silver slips, the middle/low seniority pilots are flying less/no premium (even if the top of the list has had multiple premium trips).

In any case where there are silver slips, it's a big win for ultra senior, line-holding, commuting pilots as they now get 200% on (potentially multiple) trips they couldn't have flown on a short-notice greenslip.

All that said...

I'm not a commuter, but I'm happy to see them get more of a chance at the premium flying. My bigger issue is with the lack of a decent leveling mechanism. Seniority should have it's benefits, but the ability for the very top of the list to fly an entire month of premium before someone else gets a bite at it seems a little absurd. And if you ask me, we don't need any more reason for people to camp out as ultra-senior FOs. Just a personal opinion, but there needs to be more incentive to upgrade, not less, to solve this issue of near-new-hires upgrading.

And playing devil's advocate against my own position. Some of the effect of the silver slip concession is probably gained back by having premium flying that contains credit, thus reducing the amount of straight-time flying people pick up to reach the greenslip trigger. I'm not sure how heavily to weight that effect, but it is certainly worth taking into the equation.

 

The problem I have with SS is ther is no counter. At a bare minimum, there needs to be a limit to one SS per pilot per PCS run. But I submit there needs to be a SS#1, exactly like GS. One pilot (with a cleared schedule) gobbling up 4 SS in one PCS run is ridiculous.

 

This…definitely needs to addressed.