Called alpa. They had same response

 

I YS for being first on short call. Got a 4 day trip instead. Is there a way to find out if someone senior to me YS for SC ahead of me? I like to trust but verify. Or do I just have stick with the trust part?

 

They cover trips before assigning SC so if you were the first in line for the 4-day you get it regardless of what you requested as far as SC goes.

 

Okay, thanks. Didn't know that. Kind of pointless to have the option to YS for SC...

 

The entire system is pretty bad.

 

Hello Section 6 negotiations.

Reserve rules are generally not a high priority when pay and other QOL issues are well below industry standard, or below what the pilot group considers important.

With almost half of our seniority list retiring in the next decade, and those of us not retiring having unbelievable opportunities to move seat/equipment, we all may have the joy(sarcasm dripping) of experiencing reserve.

If you foresee moving to another seat/AC/domicile and having a potential stint of reserve, communicate to your reps not only what you see wrong with our current system, but what you'd like to see changed. The old 'junior stuff' (like reserve rules) may affect more and more of us as we all get the opportunity to upgrade and/or change equipment. Our reps aren't psychic; if you have an idea how to fix our current system, let them know.

These reserve rules may be the reason people aren't upgrading or moving domiciles until they can hold a line.

 

There is much to be desired with our Reserve rules. However, if you talk to anyone who has been here longer than you and I, the rules used to be significantly worse. I don't know a whole lot about other airlines, but general impression is that we are better than many/most.

Would still like to see improvements.

 

As would I.

I have seen much worse reserve rules at previous carriers. I've been fortunate (compared to most) to not have to work under them long.

Our rules are pretty good for my situation. I live in domicile so the only difference between SC and LC for me is whether or not I can have a beer/glass of wine with dinner. I have very little to complain about, however I have heard many complaints about the 'bucket system', RAW scores and the 'RUO within the DOA bucket'.

I see how our current system benefits CS as it gives them a great deal of latitude when it comes to trip assignments.

I'm just saying that more and more pilots are going to be affected by the reserve rules and it may need to be looked at during contract negotiations if we're trying to improve our QOL.

 

Very wise post. Our reserve rules are pretty good - so good many senior pilots who have the option bid reserve by choice. Some go back and forth between reserve and a line on a month by month basis. This kind of flexibility is awesome.

On the other hand just because our reserve rules are good does not mean we shouldn't try to improve them. I can think of a few potential improvements but we have already come a long way considering that we used to stand two SC windows every day, once in the morning and again night. Every single day you had reserve you would have two SC windows. Additionally it was almost 100% seniority based. Junior guys would fly until they maxed out before a senior guy might have flown 1 hour. Remember less credit as a reserve flying the exact same trip as a line-holder? That one lasted until fairly recently.

I have two issues with our current reserve but I don't think either is as bad as some guys make it out to be. Flying a guy to ALV+15 in a NB category seems a little excessive to me. How about if you fly over the ALV you are done that day? This way they can fly guys over ALV if needed, but not 3 days over.

SC assignments also could be tweaked. I Personally think 7 is too much and they are way too random in how they are assigned and how many guys the company puts on SC. I have seen them consistently put everyone on SC early in the month to the point where later in the month they don't have enough SC guys left. I personally think this is related to the Pilots who were not in position for SC for years, but what do I know?

I have recently gone from routinely the most senior pilot on reserve as an FO to close to the plug on reserve as a Captain and I think the bucket system is very, very good.

Scoop

 

I know that Delta will let you off for jury duty, but I'm wondering what they do if you are subpoenaed.

If I get subpoenaed on a day that I've got a 4 day trip, would I get paid for the trip or would I have to drop it without pay?