Not really. If there was no such thing as carry-over, your theory would hold to some extent. Each pilot would get his "allotment" of CH each month to do with as he sees fit. Fly them all or drop some to make-up later. At the end of a set length of time, if we looked at how many CH each pilot had been given, they would be equal (within the margins of the CH spread for the lines).

Carry-over allows someone to exceed their allowance each month. If they consistently protect min days off, their M/U bank will grow rapidly. So, on paper they look the same as everyone else in terms of CH for which they are being paid. Do that for 10 years as an FO and absolutely nothing is going to keep them "in check" should they choose to then fly 200 CH per month as a Captain until their M/U hours run out (which may or may not happen if they're continuing to replace M/U hours used with more carryover).

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with doing the above - it's the way our system works and it's in the contract. But, to say the M/U bank keeps anyone in check is not a completely accurate statement. It certainly doesn't increase draft opportunities in reality. There's always someone with M/U willing to fly it a straight pay.

 

Really? And the new VB Plan is set for guys to work harder and longer. In addition to that, most guys have enough makeup time to fly there butts of to FAR limit.