Base Swaps
08-14-2025 | 03:20 PM
#41
Line Holder
Joined: Oct 2021
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There could be a scenario where the senior pilot could have lost something. Let's say a hypothetical AE has 1 vacancy. The person that wants to leave the base bids out, leaving 2 open spots. The top 2 senior pilots would then be awarded those positions. On the other hand, had the pilot that left been able to swap with another pilot previously, his position would not have been available to backfill. So only the 1 most senior pilot would have gotten the awards in the same hypothetical AE.
08-14-2025 | 04:36 PM
#42
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Joined: Jun 2015
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08-14-2025 | 05:02 PM
#43
Roll’n Thunder
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 5,050
Likes: 443
From: Pilot
This whole thing feels like a solution in search of a problem. I read lots of theoretical examples but I've not heard one person say they would actually put in for a swap. The biggest issue is getting stuck where you don't want to be. Yeah it sounds great to bid to MSP or DTW for the summer and ATL for the winter. Problem is you need to have someone willing to do the opposite swap both ways, and goodness who wants to spend summer in GA and winter in MN? By and large people end up where they want to be through the AE process. The theory of sport bidding sounds good but I think the risk of getting stuck out of your preferred domicile for some period of time are too high for most people to bother with. Generally pilots flow out of junior/crappy bases to more desireable ones and don't really care to ever swap back. And again that's the issue - for every swap there needs to be a pilot wanting to go the opposite direction, and I just don't see that demand there.
08-14-2025 | 06:13 PM
#44
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Joined: Oct 2021
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Topic of this thread notwithstanding, your statement is a VERY defeatist attitude to which I do not approve. Base swaps are certainly not a hill I would die on, and to Tennis' point I'm not even personally interested in. But I'll be damned if I'd be walking on eggshells to make an ask of the company just because of the potential that they might screw it up. That's just being Chicken Little.
08-15-2025 | 04:47 AM
#45
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,864
Likes: 132
From: MD88
I guess I’m not sure why swaps don’t just happen as part of the AE process. Other than D’s IT shortcomings that is. If I see an ATL320B that wants NYC, and an NYC320B that wants ATL, just award it. Be pretty easy to start at top of each list and work my way down, and if I can do it manually, some 18yo HS grad can certainately program it.
08-15-2025 | 10:32 AM
#46
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 5,467
Likes: 144
From: UNA
completely agree. How many open grievances do we have now? With several of those being grieving a grievance. There are plenty of win/wins out there but I don’t want to change a thing until we get them to abide by the settlements they already agreed to.
08-15-2025 | 10:34 AM
#47
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 5,467
Likes: 144
From: UNA
Topic of this thread notwithstanding, your statement is a VERY defeatist attitude to which I do not approve. Base swaps are certainly not a hill I would die on, and to Tennis' point I'm not even personally interested in. But I'll be damned if I'd be walking on eggshells to make an ask of the company just because of the potential that they might screw it up. That's just being Chicken Little.
08-23-2025 | 12:14 AM
#48
On Reserve
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 143
Likes: 63
In my previous airline. Alpa run the inter base transfers at the beginning of the month. You would think people will transfer constantly, there were months were nobody swapped positions. Once you’re in the base you want to be, you won’t want to move. So inter base transfers occurred mostly by very very Jr people (NH mostly) and they were less than 6 people most of the time.
If you have an AE that you need training, it doesn’t matter because if there’s no open positions, the category still the same size. Now, you could bid same equipment in another base and then try to get a base transfer, if someone wants to transfer.
But if you catch my drift, usually base transfer occurs within very JR people, because once you’re in the base you want to be, you won’t move.
If you have an AE that you need training, it doesn’t matter because if there’s no open positions, the category still the same size. Now, you could bid same equipment in another base and then try to get a base transfer, if someone wants to transfer.
But if you catch my drift, usually base transfer occurs within very JR people, because once you’re in the base you want to be, you won’t move.
When I was a new hire I was given ATL while I lived in NYC. There were many pilots in classes immediately before and after mine who lived in ATL but got NYC.
It took over 6 months until the was an AE. It was so frustrating we couldn't just trade places.
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