Well, again, the problem is the fact that it can’t get to GS because of farmers. Not bemoaning people using their PWA privileges, but the reason it isn’t getting to GS isn’t because of QS.

Edit: nene had a better explanation .

 

This is just for your verification: have you been out for at least 6-months of "Unpaid Status" (actual STD/LTD)

The reason I bring this up is that, if you've been out for a total of 6-9 months, the first several months are considered "Paid Status" while you burned through your Sick time/Vacation.

If you haven't been out for 6 months of actual STD/LTD, you return to the BES from which you left. No choice. Then you are at the whim of the AE system for your next move.

 

You are only going a single step into this analysis. It's because the company chooses to run "a little hot" setting up the circumstances for 23M7. The root cause has nothing to do with pilots. The company exploited 23M7 and then negotiated it's expanded use. They chose to design schedule coverage around their newfound win and... consequences. Add in their batch size choices and PB day consent choice and you no longer have people readily available or willing to come in on off days. Commuters can be farmers too and probably had more OBWS experience than the masses.

 

My first thought after reading your “wants” was 320B.
Since you flew 330, it will be like riding a bike. It’s sooo nice being in the top 10% seniority. Especially as a commuter.

 

as already pointed out, this is not true. All it did was replace IA free for all with a seniority based system that has accountability and a paper trail.

 

Respectfully, (not defending some of the companies moves), but this feels like a pilots/company created phenomenon. The fact that many categories never even get to GS stage of trip coverage often tells me a combo of CS inexperience, and OOBWS/WS shenanigans is F'ing up the system that had prevailed for a generation.

I don't have the data (and don't care that much about it since I can't control it) but we've been run VERY hot before. Long before ALPA put in the reroute restrictions (IDK but circa 2018 or so) there was a time where we were so short that the company just rerouted you almost every rotation to cover broken trips. Only thing that stayed mostly constant was start/stop day. Newer contracts have put serious $$$ penalties to that behavior and even tho we may be short, there has to be oodles of pilots who would come in for GS pay, just never given the opportunity, meanwhile the company pays daily triple time on multiple trips.

IMO, we can all go "yeah, we have the company by the shorthairs" as they prioritize completion over costs at the moment, but this cost will come from the hides/wallets of the hordes of other pilots who won't sit around and farm for 23M7.

That provision for years was to cover immediate happen chances, like "hey, pilot here on scene wants to fly, but someone was due a chance for that trip", so to make everyone whole and cover the trip. For most of my time here, it was seldom used, now it's used on most of the premium trips in my category, effectively making them all pay triple time. That is not sustainable to the company, and not equitable to the pilot group as a whole.

 

Haven't heard RES pilots mentioned in these last couple pages so here's a hot take.

Both GS and QS are lower in the coverage ladder than RES. If there are RES available, they're used first. Or at least they should be. 23M7 or not.

There aren't enough RES pilots (and/or their availability is being throttled), hence GS/QS.

 

My vote DTW320B. Being top page on MSP220B sounds great, but as you said, it's not been fleshed out, less trip diversity, and slightly fewer bases for potential OOB flying (read front/back end DH) opportunities. Of course the OOB stuff will get better when we finally put this m7 madness behind us, if we don't move OOBWS that is. Even if you're not on the the top page, top 10% is an amazing place to be. I thought life was good when I hit 30%, but being at 8-15% was insanely better. Pick your trips, pick your days off, pick your vacations, trip buys, first shot at GS/SS/QS/etc, first shot at dropping trips. Wife wants to know if you can attend an event 6 months from now? No problem, at that seniority, you know you have it off. If you're not going to go WB, I vote to go where you're the highest seniority in the 320.

 

You are correct and the change was when the COMPANY started using 23M7 at will. The pilots didn't have anything to do with that choice. The resultant fiasco culminated in the new 23M7 use with the 8 hour restriction. The sustainability is entirely up to the company. 23M7 is meant as a deterrent to undermanning and the COMPANY has chosen to pay the penalty over staffing more pilots and schedulers (ie little/lot hot). Per DJs letter yesterday they have now changed course and are correcting the staffing problem. The system worked and continues to work.

 

Even when they do have SC available who are legal, they're completely missing them and going to QS. So they're paying M7 and QS, when they could just pay M7 and use a reserve. Their lack of automation is costing them bigly!