Same. And I just started to have enough seniority to exercise this strategy (that I’ve been looking forward to) right before this debacle started. Very frustrating.

 

I’m not saying he is wrong but it is an IA. Look up the definition of an IA. They are suppose to go junior
to him. It has been this way since the #1 pilot at Delta walked on property.

 

No it hasn’t. The definition of IA has not matched the application of IA well over a decade.

The definition of IA used to align with the application: a gate agent or landline phone call telling you that you were working Christmas. Double pay eased the pain.

The definition of IA hasn’t changed but the application has changed to mean a voluntary call back for FCFS. Been this “new” way for a long time. Hence, pilots of *all* seniorities are getting IAs.

So the fact that the definition says inverse seniority order has been rendered meaningless for a longtime, and we’re now in a Wild Wests, seniorityless premium pay system.

 

I respectfully disagree. The pilots are not the root cause. Absolutely no-one should blame pilots for adapting to real-time conditions on the ground. The root cause of this lies 100% on the company, it's mismanagement, and penny-pinching (which is ironic, since it's actually causing them tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions in total).

Again, we did not have this problem when we had batch sizes.

This right here. The process the company is using as a work around is the Inverse Assignment step, but in NO SENSE are any IA's even resembling an assignment. Junior is never supposed to be an advantage. Ever. It is 100% being misused. Heck, the company isn't even honoring the counter, and assigning 7 IA's to one pilot. Riddle me that.

 

Referencing 23.R.1, if they're truly IAs, how are some pilots getting IA#2, while others haven't even gotten a call for IA#1. ...not on golden days and well below ALV.

 

No kidding. IMO we should have a grievance in for this, and make the co go back and properly pay everyone for the IA’s they should have been rewarded due to their ignoring of 23.R.1.a.

Not an IA? Well, that’s how they are coding it. I want my cheese!

 

With "almost two decades" you have the seniority to fix it. Bid where the premium pay is flowing at your seniority. Did your AE reflect an attempt at chasing premium pay? Mid seniority NBA is a choice. You could have been a junior WBA getting the IA call, a senior NBB M7 farmer or a WBB banking PB days.

Just a thought, but a WBA would never be shamed for skipping the walk around. You may even have a second A in the cockpit to assist with Captainly preflight duties.

It's great that you have pointed out the flaws in the system. You have an excellent understanding of the problem and the character to refuse deal making. Use your seniority to change what you can rather than accepting a failed situation you can't control.

 

Tell him to change everything for a 2-year seat lock on a problem that only really started 3/4 months ago? As soon as he’s trained and locked, new contract or MOU changes everything. Shouldn’t we be skating to where the puck is going, not where it’s at? Gretzky or something.

 

Exactly. No one should buy a seat lock chasing something that’s a recent phenomenon and will hopefully get fixed(-ish) in sec 6. That’s a really short sighted take.

 

That logic holds true for M7 farming. Plug WBA would be a step up financially from mid NBA without any premium pay. Staying NBA hoping premium pay returns is also a gamble. Banking PB days as WBB has been a thing since before C2019. WBA pay isn't a moving puck and WBB PB days are a s l o w moving puck. He's already gambled on premium pay and lost. WBA isn't a gamble it's a huge raise on every minute of pay and doesn't require any premium. WBB banked PB are the most reliable source of premium pay at his seniority. I know because I've done it for 3+ years at his seniority.

Is the new Airbus NBA to WBA short course a two year freeze or just one?

I think the majority of the group is frustrated by the coverage failures, but we're also frustrated by me me me type of complaints. I'm offering three solution to the me me me complaint. Two of them are less risk than hoping coverage improves, one requires the current situation to fester a bit longer for it to pay out.