Originally Posted by notEnuf (Post 2854260)

APD and IVD perhaps but APD is unpaid and IVD is essentially unpaid because you are just shorting yourself later. If your intent is to drop to adjust your schedule these tools are a waste. Both APD and IVD days can't be used to pick up so you have to be stategic with using a single APD day which makes the other 3 APD days useless. IVD days are paid at vacation day value making them worth less than a trip of equal length and you lose pay and time off during your real vacation.

Originally Posted by TED74 (Post 2854170)

The 20th hasn't happened, so that won't hold true for everyone on the list. In how many of your data points is there room enough to accommodate more than a small percentage of the list exercising this magical APD? The privilege of using your once-a-year-only, unpaid APD in a single month of the summer doesn't scream schedule influence to me. Of course I know you and I rarely see eye to eye.

Originally Posted by sailingfun (Post 2854376)

Just looked at every single category in ATL up to and including the 7ER both A and B for the last 10 days of July. There was not one single day during the last 10 days where a IVD or APD could not be used and there were still blocks in many categories where you could PD. Again there was not one single day unavailable for a IVD or APD.

Originally Posted by TED74 (Post 2854386)

ATL73NB, for the rest of July, there's not a single day available to PD, much less several in a row to PD a 3- or 4-day trip. There are also 8 Q trips in open time despite the mantra that you can always just throw stuff on the swap board and it evaporates.

Yes, coverage is good enough to APD, assuming one didn't already burn that to make their daughter's graduation, or their 20th anniversary, or to help their sick family member, etc. Many folks have multiple important engagements a year and I think improving our mechanisms to get to them is reasonable and achievable. PD’s appear to be a viable option pre month often and some availability even 5 days out.
I do have a expectation of working during my employers most profitable and busy season. I get that others don’t have that expectation.

I'll study up on IVDs, which I've never used myself.

I understand you have low expectations, and everything is much better than it ever was. So are our profits. Me? I'd like to turn some of our profits (and negotiating capital) into schedule control tools to improve (my) qol. Sounds like you have different priorities, and that's fine with me.

Until something changes, pilots will just use sick leave where required, and CPOs everywhere will keep reminding folks in double speak that they always have that option.

Originally Posted by sailingfun (Post 2854408)

Again when this discussion started APD’s and IVD’s were stated as almost useless in the summer. The truth is they are almost 100% available. That combined with vacation should give every pilot the option of having a low time month all summer if desired.

Originally Posted by sailingfun (Post 2854373)

What exactly do you want. This discussion started about the inability to fly a low time schedule because no trip could be dropped. I offered many options to do that. Now you want to be able to drop trips with pay at will!

Edit, looked at the vacation wide reports. Looks like every pilot in every category I looked at had the option of a June, July or August vacation. There were secondary vacations awarded in those time frames.

Originally Posted by notEnuf (Post 2854443)

This is not true. I bid any June, July, or August week as my primary and I've had a move-up bid in since the awards.

"drop trips with pay at will" Where do you get this stuff? APDs were at one time paid but I didn't even mention that. I'm talking about dropping trips to rearrange your schedule. I never said with pay. I'm talking about the 87 hour line with 16 days of work and you would like to drop a 4 day to get to 12 days and 66 hours for whatever reason. Maybe you even pick up 2 days later to get to 77 hours. This is never an issue in January.

Originally Posted by notEnuf (Post 2853975)

You seem to think there is choice when a line is built to 85 hours during the summer months. I believe we brought back color coding reserves available for a reason, and its not artistry.

Originally Posted by sailingfun (Post 2854373)

What exactly do you want. This discussion started about the inability to fly a low time schedule because no trip could be dropped. I offered many options to do that. Now you want to be able to drop trips with pay at will!

Edit, looked at the vacation wide reports. Looks like every pilot in every category I looked at had the option of a June, July or August vacation. There were secondary vacations awarded in those time frames.

Originally Posted by Hank Kingsley (Post 2854573)

I want money for nothing, chicks for free.

Originally Posted by sailingfun (Post 2854575)

Chicks are never free!