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"Honey, I got a draft trip", "Okay dear, want do you want me to make for dinner?"

 

You might want to check this out:
v.
If a pilot scheduled for a nonstop deadhead over 16 hours
on duty, who is not booked in first class, deviates from the
scheduled flight in order to obtain first class on another
carrier, the following shall apply:
(a)
the pilot shall include with his deviation expense report
an e-mail from corporate travel indicating that first class
was not available on the originally scheduled flight at
the time the booking was made; and
(b)
the provision of the e-mail in Section 8.C.3.a.v.(a)
(the preceding paragraph) shall entitle the pilot to be
reimbursed for his deviation ticket up to the full fare
first class cost of a direct, nonstop deviation flight on
the planned routing, regardless of his deviation bank
value.
Intent: This rule is designed to put the pilot in excellent
position to obtain first class on long deadheads. The change
in priority greatly increases the chance that the pilot will be
booked in first class at the outset. If that does not occur, and
the pilot wishes to deviate so that he can find first class on
another carrier, provision is made to allow that even if the
accepted fare for the ticket that was planned is below the
actual cost of the first class ticket he buys. This provision
is intended for use only for conventional, scheduled airline
travel, not, for example, the Concorde, Lear jet, or other
specialty air travel. This rule does not apply to emergency
replacements under Section 12.D.1.e., nor does it permit
an increase in the deviation bank beyond that necessary to
pay for the deviation ticket.
With respect to the e-mail notification from Corporate
Travel, Corporate travel will only know to send an e-mail
indicating the unavailability of first class to the pilot who
was originally awarded the trip. If a pilot receives the trip
later in the bid period (e.g., due to the original pilot going
sick, etc.,), then the pilot who flies the trip will have to
request the e-mail from Corporate Travel if, at the time
Corporate Travel is attempting to book his ticket, first class
is not available. This only applies to deadheads originally
scheduled over 16 hours under the provisions of this rule.
The pilot should not ask Corporate Travel for an e-mail in
any other situation in which first class is authorized, but
cannot be booked due to availability.
Example: A pilot is booked on United to HKG. There
is no seating for either discounted first class or full fare
first class, so Corporate Travel books the pilot in business
class with a reservation to upgrade to first class contingent
upon availability. The accepted fare for the discounted first
class was $1500, which is the amount the pilot’s deviation
Sec. 8.C.3.a. (continued)
February 28, 2011
8-10
bank is credited with per Section 8.A.4.c.v. Corporate travel
sends the pilot an e-mail indicating that first class could not
be booked on his deadhead flight over 16 hours. The pilot
deviates, using a full fare first class ticket on a direct flight
on Northwest, which costs $2300.
The pilot’s total deviation bank for the month normally
would be $2,500 ($1,000 for other tickets, and $1,500 for
the UA flight to HKG). Assume that the pilot has spent a
total of $3,000 ($2,300 for the NW flight to HKG, and $700
for other travel). When reconciling his deviation expenses,
the pilot includes a copy of the Corporate Travel e-mail
indicating that first class could not be booked on the UA
flight to HKG. This e-mail indicates to the travel auditors
to increase the deviation bank by $800 in order to pay the
NW flight to HKG. This essentially pays the NW deviation
flight as a separate transaction, and the remainder of the
pilot’s deviation expenses are reconciled against a bank
of $1,000 (the original bank less the planned UA ticket
to HKG). Consequently, if the pilot had spent a total of
$3,400 ($2,300 for the NW ticket and $1,100 for other
deviation expenses), $100 of those expenses would not be
reimbursed, and must be paid by the pilot, just like in the
normal situation.

 

HiFLYER said...
You might want to check this out:
v.
If a pilot scheduled for a nonstop deadhead over 16 hours
on duty, who is not booked in first class, deviates from the
scheduled flight in order to obtain first class on another
carrier, the following shall apply:

The World?s 20 Longest Non-Stop Flights - Hopper Blog

What's your point? How many times do you think we are actually going to see DH's with over 16 hour legs?

Now if you want to discuss the Ultra Long Haul override that doesn't kick in till after 15 or so, that's another discussion. Other than MEM-HKG in the winter, can we really expect to ever see an over 16 leg in our system form?

 

My point is if you deviate on a over 16 hr DH you can in fact book on another carrier to get First class and that amount then becomes your bank.

 

OK, how many of those do you think are actually on our pairings? My point is that this has less "real" value that it appears.

Nice language on paper, hardly ever actually useful...

 

Not arguing that point just pointing that the Baron's comment about getting 1st Class on a over 16 is not dependent on Discounted fares, but you have to deviate to get to exercise the option I posted.

 

Totally agree with you. In addition, I really don't think we would have to wait until after peak 2016 before we see another TA. I think we all agree that the company cannot afford to go through this peak, much less next year, without a contract in place. There are way too many pilots who will not put up with more delays. Fedex is a successful company because they always have a back up plan ready to go. I feel that they put this TA up, hoping it will pass even though the pay rates are subpar, and there are give backs, in exchange for a few enhancements. I also feel, and this might be a naive viewpoint of the real world, but I feel that they have already figured out a plan if the TA is rejected, and have another TA in hand, ready to throw down quickly, in order to try to get a contract in place before peak. If they don't, then they are going to have a very difficult time manning the fleet for peak. Look at how short handed they are now. AVA, vacation buy back, in every plane, in every seat, and they have been doing this for months already. They screwed up the manning and planning, and are looking for us to bail them out. Again. And we can bail them out, but it should cost them in the form of a premium contract, not one that is just good enough to get buy. And they want this stability for 6 years, plus the usual delays? Again, that should come at a price.

It's just a matter of what you think you are worth. Maybe you think you are a subpar pilot, and will settle for subpar pay rates. I don't think most of us do. Personally, I think we deserve rates above the passenger airlines, considering the type of work we do, and the condition and state of our company, and our industry. I think those enhancements that are in the TA should be included with a higher pay rate. I don't think we should have to concede anything. We are not struggling for survival, or on the brink of bankruptcy. After all, are we not the exceptional, professional, and highly motivated crew force that management always turns to to step up to the plate when times are tough? Of course we are. We know that because we always get those nice thank you letters from them when we handle the weather events, or other operational emergencies that seem to pop up on a regular basis.

 

If you think you only paid $49 for your new iPhone, and do not acknowledge the fine print of a higher priced contract for two years, you also probably believed statements like 'You can keep your doctor' and 'You can keep you current health insurance'

 

I doubt it. The company bases vacation cancellations and advanced volunteer on real numbers. Not on their estimates of how willing we are to fly extra. Our screwed up manning levels and the state of our contract negotiations are two separate issues. Approving the current TA tomorrow won't solve the manning problems we are going to have this peak. Maybe some guys are just sport *****ing, but I think most of us are actually sincere about being maxed out health wise by the current status of operations. That means that the company could double our A Plan cap and hourly wage, and we're still not going to be able to safely increase our hours flown to get the company through peak. The company knows that, so I really don't think they are that worried about implementing a new contract before this peak. In fact, they are probably already working with other resources to fill the inevitable gaps. Again.

 

Does anybody know how many wet lease airplanes are on tap for this peak? I suggest you will be surprised at the number. Management is not painting themselves into a corner.