On top of that, can you imagine that number compounded by increasing retirements in the next few years! Cant wait :D

That my friends is what we call leverage!

Just to play devil's advocate here for a second, will the new proposed FAA rest rules/requirements possibly hurt the pilot during upcoming negotiations?

I think my questions in the quote might have gotten lost in all the talk of the new council 44 reps etc. I was hoping to get an answer before the December bids close.

Also, when bidding reserve in PBS, do you bid all 12 or 13 days off or just a few crucial ones or layer your bid with all then down to crucial? One last question. When you bid in the "start reserve" group, do you do it with the "prefer off" option?

Just want to make sure I dont scr#w myself!!:D

Thanks,

Denny

I've heard that number also. On the surface that seems like it would be great for us, but what does that mean for our productivity? I really don't want PBS to build me a schedule worth 65 hours of credit and 12 days off.

Also, I doubt this would factor into staffing for next summer because IF they do get this passed in one form or another, I doubt they will make carriers comply immediatley. I'd bet they would give carriers a couple of years to implement programming changes into scheduling systems and get the staffing numbers where they need to be to comply. Hopefully they need more guys for growth in 2010, a thousand more for the rule changes in 2011, and then alot more from 2012 on when age 65 retirements start happening.

It should help because they will need to attract pilots and thus we can use that to our benefit. Supply and demand as well as the fact that we wont have to fight as hard to improve rest and schedule improvements during negotiations because the government just took care of some of that for us.

I think it might hurt Denny Crane's alter ego with Priceline negotiations.

If you think it would hurt the pilots due to the dilution of dollars effect, you should re-adjust your glasses. I am not saying that it would not be part of managements reasoning in an opener. To me that would be just noise.

Denny,

I usually start my reserve block (like I'm getting anything else) with prefer off. Since PBS has started I generally get what I want and then just move days around when PCS starts. But put in your hard core days you want and they'll build around it.

Good Luck. BTW I flew with 2 CAs last XMAS who bid reserve to get Chrstmas off, they got that day and flew every other around it (pre-PBS) both claimed they would never do it again. I didn't know if you were bidding reserve because of that or because you got bumped off a line.

Denny;
I'm not a reserve guru, but it sounds like you are senior enough to bid a reserve line with specific days off. The way the computer sorts is more based on your category's trip lengths. Typically, in an int'l category, you will have one long block of on call days - it sounds like you want this in the middle of the month. I don't think you will hurt yourself by bidding the patterns you want. Keep your bid simple and you are more likely to have your requests honored.

This is exactly what I worry about. More pilots and the same amount of flying. Its the worst of both worlds....Pilots get paid less and company has to pay more for the same flying. I don't have a good feeling about this...