In the event that the back-up flight will not arrive prior to report:
• Crew Scheduling may make a reasonable attempt to deadhead the pilot (no pay or credit) to join the rotation with no rotation guarantee.
o Pilots who must deadhead to join a rotation as a result of this policy are not subject to PWA Sections 8 F. and 16 D.1.
• If Crew Scheduling elects not to deadhead the pilot to join the rotation, the pilot will be removed from the rotation via personal drop (no pay or credit).
o Once released, the pilot is free to pick up or be assigned a trip through the normal scheduling process.
Should the rules and regulations governing commuting policy (flight time/duty time) be amended, the Company will review this policy.

When does the above come into play, if you followed the rules there should always be a back up, and yes the preface is BS.

 

As a fNWA guy, my opinion is that abusing it is using the policy as an excuse to commute irresponsibly knowing that someone will bail you out if you try to get to work on a bad weather day and only leave yourself one backup or try to commute into Atlanta the day before the SEC championship without a jumpseat booked... or whatever. I didn't see much of that at Northwest and I lived in a city full of commuters where the jumpseats were all pretty much taken about 5 minutes after the booking window opened. Most guys commute as responsibly as ever... policy or no policy.

However... there's always the 2%....

I also thought the preamble was a little condescending, but this is a huge change in policy for about 60% of the entire post-merger pilot group. I think a caution to use the policy sparingly lest it be taken away isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, it was very poorly worded.

 

His commute probably is always PS, just like you said Bar.

 

Off the top of my head I can think of at least one way this would be pertinent:

You are a commuter that likes to get to your base just prior to report time and your planned backup gets you there AFTER required report time. You roll the dice and your primary flight is late/cancelled/weight restricted/full including a different pilot in the jump seat and your planned backup as scheduled would get you there after report time.

Edit: Thought of another way. Your planned backup as scheduled would get you there in time for report, but ends up delayed so that the new arrival time is after your report time.

 

"For many, commuting is a personal lifestyle choice, but the anxiety level can still be significant. "

I'm going to have to ask JG why he felt like he had to include this sentence. Read the paragraph without it. It makes perfect sense and changes the entire tenor of the message. That sentence contributes nothing to the message. All it does is make him look either ignorant of, or unconcerned about the great numbers of pilots that have been forced to make the difficult decision to either pack up and move, bid down to lower paying equipment, or start commuting.

It's a good policy, but the message was delivered poorly.

 

Agree on the edit, but if you sched yourself for a primary and a backup, and the flights both get the pilot there before sched dept...but because of wx, mx, etc and your backup will arrive after sched dept...and sched elects not to dead head the pilot to the rotation, its the same old pos. If you do everything you should, than sched should also have the same obligation.

 

Can anyone point me to the part of the PWA that addresses Call in Honest. I know where the old Call in Honest part was in the FOM. Can't seem to find the "contractual" part.

 

So how long will it take for the FA's.to say "What about us?"

 

I think I just heard it....so, not very long.

 

I assure you Carl I am not a Maddow type guy at all. Hell she does not even like guys. Honestly, still looking for a quality news outlet. In this time and place I think it may be futile, but I can say for sure FOX is not the answer nor do I believe in the lesser of two evils argument. Just like any news channel I will turn it off when it becomes junk, which for me is the rants of a lunatic like Beck and others. Come to think of it that Ratigan guy is off his rocker too.

But I do like changing FOX news channels in the crew rooms and watching some guys go ape sh** when I find the left of the left and put them on with the volume up a bit! Got to have fun with that!