Yep.. When swap with the pot was created, we were still under a cap, bow wave etc. This allowed some flexibility in swapping with the pot and any time over would go into the bow wave.

After the cap system went away, it has been a way for pilots to get around the WS pickup limit, of course the swap board has made it even easier to do that.

We certainly don't complain about the guy flying 99 hours when he picks up our trip off the swap board on BCS game day, or if you are the guy who wants to drop down to 30 hours a month, but there is no doubt most of us pick up somewhere else in the month to fill up, which make us all more productive. (Nice run on sentence eh?)

I would guess based on how much voluntary flying this pilot group does, that there is probably not a strong majority that wants to go back to a cap system.

 

I want a cap system.

Swap board? How do you get trips you call in sick for to go to the swap board and not open time?

 

Oh, ok, only 87 hours. Yeah, I was WAYYY off...

My point was, why is there no ALV+15 limit with swaps?

And, can you get more time using swap with the pot, or pick up trips off the pilot to pilot board if you are at the quarterly block hour limit? If the quarterly block hour limit will prevent it, that's a good thing and over time it should even out.

With our new 62hr. trips, most of which are in open time after the PBS run, there are a lot of guys swapping to get 124hr. lines now. Will they hit the quarterly block hour limit if they do that two months in a row? (248hrs.)

What type of a line can PBS build them if they are at 248 going into the third month of the quarter? Or can they just bid reserve and they take the month off?

 

Is there a lot of credit in these trips? How are they getting around the 100 hours in 672 limit? Another thing they might not see coming until the FEB bid is processed is you can't load up the end of one month without limiting yourself (albeit to 100 hours in 672) in the beginning of the next month. Basically guys will get stuck in a rut of being "heavy" in the same part of subsequent months, or having to fly less to stay under that rolling limit. It's no longer 100/calendar month like it used to be.

That plus the BHL should keep this new "gold mine" from getting too wildly out of control - I hope.

 

I just went and looked at the trip, the block is only 38 hours, with 24 hours of credit due to two dead heads, ATL-MSP-ATL and two 48 hour layovers in NRT. On paper it's a 10 day trip, but it starts and ends with a DH to/from MSP, so you'd need a big hole in your schedule to stuff one in there, but there were 25 of them in the pot after the PBS runs, and as of yesterday there were zero, all of them have been picked up.

8 days of work, 4 of which you will be sitting in the Narita Radisson getting your FAR 117 required rest.

A 16 day month for 124 hours.

Take THAT SWA!

Gonna be some big paychecks come Feb 15! (not that there's anything wrong with that) and the Reserves will all be flying to Joburg, that seems to be the prevalent trip in open time now that they've all been swapped for the 62hr. Singapore trip.

So the quarterly Block Hour Limit only applies to BLOCK time, not credit too?

OK, I guess it's Game On!

 

Not to be outdone by BA... Plane slides off taxiway at Detroit Metro airport | Local News - Home

 

Real men taxi where ever the hell they want!

And what is it with the 737's always going off the taxiway/runways?

I was going to bid it as my retirement jet but I just don't like off-roading all that much!

 

One of the new -900's.

Kinda makes you wonder if the 757-200 has twice the number of brakes, wheels and tires for a reason ...

Have to say, as much as I thought I would like the -900 ... not a fan.

Forget about saving whales, tatas, the environment ... SAVE THE 757s!

 

Hmmmm...crossbleed start on a slippery taxiway?

 

We work for lawyers and accountants, not aviation pioneers. Our grandfathers flew higher and faster... in more ways than one.