What's short call and I've never used an airside kit. Sox had a major win.

Reserve is a choice!..... er is that commuting is a choice!

I don't think anyone has used an airside kit in the last 3 years. Giant bags of uselessness that take up most of the free space in the tiny 717 flight deck.

I think I've strained my back once or twice trying to move/unwedge the stupid thing when it gets stuck behind my seat. I also think the bag has inadvertently popped a circuit breaker or two as a result of said jostling :). I welcome both changes.

#1 not a win at all
#2 absolutely a win

Would it be better if we extended short calls to say 14 hours or do you feel 12 is the perfect sweet spot?

The only speculative scenario that I can come up hinges on the following question: Under the previous 12 hour SC provision, would the company ever assign a shortened short call to a reserve pilot on his last day of availability that is followed by a golden X-day? The golden x-day requires a release at 12pm on that last day. For example, did the company ever assign a pilot in this situation to a less than 12 hour long SC on their last day prior to a golden x-day?

If not, they can now do so as a 9-hour SC window equates perfectly with a 3am-12pm SC in that scenario.

Spoken like somebody who doesn't sit short call or understand FAR 117.
The company has just told us we're not very useful after 9 hours. Under existing FAR 117 rules anything past 9 hours is counter productive, 14 means 2 less hours they can use me tomorrow with no added opportunity to use me today. If we had airport standby then the change to 9 hours would be a pretty big improvement.

I'm not saying the change to 9 hours is a bad thing like some others are, I just think it's codifying a situation that already existed.

edit: let me add one point, if they still let us call 2 hours prior to be relieved from SC then this is the major improvement some are making it out to be. I suspect that will not be the case and I haven't seen the email so I don't know if that has already been discussed.

My point exactly. Codifying it is a good thing and a improvement.

Color me jaded, but the company NEVER does anything that doesn't benefit them and their bottom line. I like the 9hr SC on the surface, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop when we discover why they are REALLY unilaterally instituting this gem.