Ah the old carrot and jackass trick!

 

So my gamble to bid max credit during a shadow bid might have worked...5 day shadow bid for Feb (following a sim requal) and I was awarded a 21 credit hour trip during the 5 days (on the initial bid). I called OE planner today and asked what to expect for OE, and the reply was "Oh, just a two leg OE". Ok perfect, so 2 legs and it pays 21 hours. So it sounds like my options are 1) Either enjoy the time off getting paid 21 hours for the 2 leg OE, or 2) Pick up a GS or WS a trip during the remaining days? Does that affect the 21 hour credit awarded for the 5 day shadow bid? Would the additional WS or GS trip be additive to the 21 hour credit during the 5 days? Thanks....

 

LCA scheduling question...

I'm very junior so don't have the ability to do the LCA bidding out of the gate and work that angle. But I did pick up a white slip with an LCA later this month. Didn't even realize an LCA was on it until I had it on my schedule.

Any idea how often they actually kick the FO off for OE or something else? I'm guessing it depends on fleet (717, 88...more than the 737 or 320...?) and base (NYC...more than SLC or CVG).

Obviously I'm planning on flying the thing, but I'm just curious if there's a real chance of being bought off the trip. Or...is it more in the Dumb and Dumber, one in a million chance of being bought off the trip.

"So you're saying there's a chance....."

 

All depends on the base, fleet, and how many they are training. A year ago SLC 320 guys could get bought off every trip they had with a LCA. Now, you won't get any bought off you.

 

Key question is, when during that 5-day shadow is your OE--and, is it even during that period? (Probably is, but, from the info given, can't be sure.) I'm assuming a "two leg OE" means a 1-day turn....

Think of the trip that got dropped as a "training buy" a la an LCA drop (it's not, but it works the same way from a credit point of view). You're getting paid the greater of the dropped trip(s) or your OE trip (easily the dropped trip, in your case). That's done. Once you get the "OK" on your schedule, you're free to pick up flying via WS/GS/SWP/PSB, subject to all the ordinary rules for doing so--the fact that any particular day(s) in question started out as "shadow" is irrelevant. The shadow is only relevant to the bid award process--you were never "awarded" that 21-hour trip; rather, PCS "would have" awarded it to you, absent the shadow, but instead immediately put the credit on the line it was building for you but returned the actual rotation back to the pot for all bidders junior to you.

[It doesn't help you now, but the "max" award you could've gotten would've been a 5-day with an early release on day 5 plus a 5-day with a late report on day 5 (with at least one 30-hour in there to keep it legal), for 26:15 x 2 = 52:30 minimum shadow award; next-best & more realistically, a 4-day on days 1-4 followed by a 5-day starting on day 5 (again, w/ a 30-hour somewhere) would've been good for 47:15 minimum. In general, you want a high-credit trip starting on the last day of your shadow, plus as much credit as you can cram into the rest of the shadow.]

So, if your 1-day OE trip is day 5 of 5, it's a moot point. If it's on day 6 or later (i.e., after the shadow period), you'll actually get paid for the OE trip in addition to the done-deal 21-hour shadow trip (or the greater of the OE trip and any additional trip that had to be dropped to accommodate it).

For your question to apply, you have to finish your OE before the end of your shadow, AND get your LCA's "OK" on your schedule. Once the "OK" is there, do whatever you like (and what PCS will allow) to your schedule, and get paid accordingly. Whether or not you "should" do that depends entirely on you--which do you want/need more, the time or the money?--and, of course, on what's available in your category's OT....

Good luck!

 

Jughead...great reply as usual! Thanks for the explanation. I guess I didnt really max it out, but its better than being awarded a 2 day. Hopefully the OE trip is on the front half of the shadow bid so I have options...

 

Remember when DALPA was preaching IOE trip buys only effect senior pilots..Well, you are a prime example that was a lie..A lot of LCA swap trips and end up with junior pilots. IOE trip buys has slowed on the 88, but their were times when all available LCA trips were bought for IOE. Cross your fingers and hope you get lucky.

 

3 green, not that it matters now, there were no limitations on WS pickups with LCA and LCA could swap/drop with no limitations. Not sure how ALPA lied to you. But again, all water under the bridge now.

 

Clearly the original post was referring to a JR FO swapping into a trip that was already crewed with a LCA. It has nothing to do with whether or not a LCA can WS or swap. The point being that DALPA said that the OE trip drop changes in the last TA would only Impact Sr FO's in a given category. Clearly that is complete BS on every level. It would have impacted all FO's whether they can hold LCA trips or not. The scenario above is one example but the glaring issue was the withholding of large numbers of trips in RVR bid packet by training scheduling. The water fall effect for FO bidding was going to be massive.

 

Reserve trip assignment rules and the Yellow slip process at Delta suck balls. That's all I have to say about that.