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sweptback 01-31-2023 05:07 AM


Originally Posted by El Peso (Post 3582002)
Ok sure. What’s the holiday pay at UAL? It’s 200% at AA. What’s the ACD at UAL, 5:00? It’s 5:15 at AA. And don’t you guys use reserves to seat fill in the sim? That’s a non starter around here.

And I’m sure there’s things that are better at UAL, like profit sharing etc, but the point is that this idea that you have some superior contract over there is delusional. Sounds like you have much better trip ownership, but as your compadre explained above, it comes at a very hefty cost. Field Standby. No thanks. All one has to do is look at your vacancies that are constantly going unfilled these days. That tells me all I need to know about what’s it’s like to be junior in your seat at UAL. I can just about guarantee the you won’t see wide body jobs or Captain jobs go unfilled at AA, because it doesn’t suck to be junior.

Yes, I get it, FSB sucks. Sometimes it’s beneficial to pick it up (because you can control your start/finish time and are rarely used), but only if you’re a commuter or live near the airport. The folks with the 2+ hour drives understandably hate it.

Junior widebody positions go unfilled because as a new hire you would have a better schedule on the narrowbody with quicker advancement. For a new hire on the 787 it is unlikely that they will be off reserve by the time their seat lock is over; the 777 might go a little quicker. Narrowbody captains go unfilled because of how good of a job being a lineholder on the widebody is. I would argue that even if we had the best reserve system in the industry, you’d still see unfilled narrowbody captains. We have a bunch of pilots that are content with their 18-22 days off on the widebody and would never dream of doing domestic flying with more responsibility and work for almost the same pay.

We have a couple backstops in the UPA too that contribute to unfilled captains, a flight time requirement for new hires and a requirement to be off probation. IF the company wants to fix the unfilled captain issue (and right now they don’t seem to be concerned about it), improving the QOL of narrowbody pilots relative to widebody schedules needs to be on the table.

Armyguy 01-31-2023 05:50 AM


Originally Posted by El Peso (Post 3582002)
Ok sure. What’s the holiday pay at UAL? It’s 200% at AA. What’s the ACD at UAL, 5:00? It’s 5:15 at AA. And don’t you guys use reserves to seat fill in the sim? That’s a non starter around here.

And I’m sure there’s things that are better at UAL, like profit sharing etc, but the point is that this idea that you have some superior contract over there is delusional. Sounds like you have much better trip ownership, but as your compadre explained above, it comes at a very hefty cost. Field Standby. No thanks. All one has to do is look at your vacancies that are constantly going unfilled these days. That tells me all I need to know about what’s it’s like to be junior in your seat at UAL. I can just about guarantee the you won’t see wide body jobs or Captain jobs go unfilled at AA, because it doesn’t suck to be junior.

Hey Chip, enjoy retirement and stop being a AA cheerleader, your facts are all screwy

AllYourBaseAreB 01-31-2023 06:02 AM


Originally Posted by Armyguy (Post 3582841)
Hey Chip, enjoy retirement and stop being a AA cheerleader, your facts are all screwy

Haha. My guess his initials are B.B.

El Peso 01-31-2023 06:18 AM


Originally Posted by Armyguy (Post 3582841)
Hey Chip, enjoy retirement and stop being a AA cheerleader, your facts are all screwy

What happened sweetie, did someone get your Starbucks order wrong and didn’t get the window seat on your commute home? Time to head to APC and cry about AA I guess.

ThumbsUp 01-31-2023 06:59 AM


Originally Posted by El Peso (Post 3582002)
Ok sure. What’s the holiday pay at UAL? It’s 200% at AA. What’s the ACD at UAL, 5:00? It’s 5:15 at AA. And don’t you guys use reserves to seat fill in the sim? That’s a non starter around here.

And I’m sure there’s things that are better at UAL, like profit sharing etc, but the point is that this idea that you have some superior contract over there is delusional. Sounds like you have much better trip ownership, but as your compadre explained above, it comes at a very hefty cost. Field Standby. No thanks. All one has to do is look at your vacancies that are constantly going unfilled these days. That tells me all I need to know about what’s it’s like to be junior in your seat at UAL. I can just about guarantee the you won’t see wide body jobs or Captain jobs go unfilled at AA, because it doesn’t suck to be junior.


How does that min credit affect combined with RIG actually affect your pay? For example, at UAL, the only fleet @ EWR that averaged less than 5:15 on any trip type in Jan was the 756 5-day pairings which averaged 5:14. Every other fleet had higher min credit. The 320 even had 5:26 for it's 4 day pairings.

Yes, reserves at United can be used for the sim. I'd like to see the last time that this went to a non-volunteer DEN local, though, if not to a PI reserve. It's easy money for a lineholder in DEN to pickup. This isn't something being shoved down some FL commuter's throat. When I was on reserve years ago, as a commuter, I much preferred FSB over SC, which is a pretty common preference. At the airport for 4 hours vs being on the hook in a crash pad for 10. No thanks.

Our vacancies going unfilled has more to do with the change in relative seniority and downgrade of control vs the payoff. Maybe at AA vacation & specific days off isn't based on relative seniority, but at United it is.

El Peso 01-31-2023 07:49 AM


Originally Posted by ThumbsUp (Post 3582915)
How does that min credit affect combined with RIG actually affect your pay? For example, at UAL, the only fleet @ EWR that averaged less than 5:15 on any trip type in Jan was the 756 5-day pairings which averaged 5:14. Every other fleet had higher min credit. The 320 even had 5:26 for it's 4 day pairings.

Yes, reserves at United can be used for the sim. I'd like to see the last time that this went to a non-volunteer DEN local, though, if not to a PI reserve. It's easy money for a lineholder in DEN to pickup. This isn't something being shoved down some FL commuter's throat. When I was on reserve years ago, as a commuter, I much preferred FSB over SC, which is a pretty common preference. At the airport for 4 hours vs being on the hook in a crash pad for 10. No thanks.

Our vacancies going unfilled has more to do with the change in relative seniority and downgrade of control vs the payoff. Maybe at AA vacation & specific days off isn't based on relative seniority, but at United it is.

Honestly, I never thought I’d find myself having to explain why higher ACD is better, why airport standby is worse than SC/LC at home or Crashpad, or why using reserve pilots for training seat fills is a massive windfall for the company, but here I am. I’ll pass on this debate if that’s ok with you. I just don’t have the energy for this next level delusion.

Armyguy 01-31-2023 11:23 PM


Originally Posted by AllYourBaseAreB (Post 3582855)
Haha. My guess his initials are B.B.

BB? Oh, probably or Chip. BB is super pro management

El Peso 02-01-2023 07:22 AM


Originally Posted by Armyguy (Post 3583499)
BB? Oh, probably or Chip. BB is super pro management

Thats right I’m Chip. Now stand at attention and salute Wagner.

Bell 02-03-2023 12:49 PM


Originally Posted by El Peso (Post 3581518)
One giant stand out is the reserve system. AA reserve is quite good. Sick if needed. No set call out time. Premium pays 1.5 over guarantee, even if flying over reserve days. Etc.

I have two words for you. Field Standby. How anyone in their right mind could argue that UAL work rules are superior to anyone when you have to sit reserve at the airport is beyond me. But this is APC after all.

Sick if needed is necessary in the AAL contract because the sick leave allowance is somewhat paltry. At Delta you just call in sick, get paid, and don’t worry about your balance.

jalco4 02-03-2023 06:40 PM


Originally Posted by Bell (Post 3585391)
Sick if needed is necessary in the AAL contract because the sick leave allowance is somewhat paltry. At Delta you just call in sick, get paid, and don’t worry about your balance.

Can someone explain this “sick if needed” idea? I am unfamiliar. Thanks.


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