Are you Delta folks generally happy with PBS? I've heard many complaints from CAL folks but they have a different system I believe.

Once you receive your initial award how much flexibility do you have to drop/trade, etc. If there is adequate reserve coverage is there a limit to how much you can drop? Can you bid for stuff in open time while on reserve? Can you summarize white slips and green slips?

Just looking for a general overview of the scheduling at Delta.

Thanks!

 

PBS in general sucks. However, I think our PBS is as good as there is.

Your flexibility to swap, drop, etc depends on reserve coverage. You can always swap a three day for a three day if it covers the same dates. If you want to swap a three day on the 3rd for a three day on the 4th, it gets harder and depends on the reserve coverage. There is also a swap board where you can go to see if another pilot wants to swap his trip for your trip. If you both agree, then it happens, regardless of reserve coverage.

If there is enough reserve coverage, no, no limit on how much you can drop. Some very senior guys drop pretty much everything, then pick up two day, two leg trips where you leave tonight at 7pm and are home by 10AM tomorrow, and the trip is worth 10:30. Other guys drop everything and pick up nothing but high value one day trips.

On reserve you can put in preferences for what you want to fly if you get called. You can also put in a greenslip on reserve, which by the way is about the best deal in the airline. If you are on reserve and get a greenslip on your off days, the time is paid above the reserve gaurantee, and you get your day off back. The reserve gaurantee is 70 hours, so if you pick up a two day, 10 hour trip, you are now up to 80 hours for the month, and you get your two days off back.

A white slip is a request from a regular line holder to pick up a trip at straight rates.

A greenslip for a regular line holder is a request to pick up a trip at premium pay (1.5). Problem is the premium pay doesn't actually kick in unless you are above a set amount, usually about 82 hours.

You can also be assigned a trip. Thats where scheduling has run out of folks who want to fly and they call people starting with the bottom person in the category and keep calling until they get someone. If you answer the phone, the trip is yours. But, it is double pay.

 

Thanks for the info, xray!

So if you put in a greenslip while on reserve, will they call you before a normal reserve, or only after the reserves are exhausted?

 

PBS is great- just make sure that you're in the top half of the category seniority list.

 

after reserves are exhausted.

A greenslip on reserve goes in the same sequence of trip coverage as a regular greenslip. When they get to greenslips in the trip coverage sequence, they go in seniority order.

Oh, one other stipulation, regardless of seniority, I get greenslip number 1 before a guy senior to me gets greenslip number 2.

 

Of course!

OK, last question:

How has reserve coverage been lately on the different categories? It seems at most airlines nowadays the staffing is so lean that you can't take advantage of the drops/trades etc because of insufficient reserve coverage.

 

honestly, it depends on the category. A quick scan of the ATL FO categories for Sept shows none have enough staffing to drop a trip. That's why we are hiring.

 

We had PBS at TWA, but it was administered by our union moreso than the company. I thought it was a good deal. No matter your seniority, you usually got the bare minimum which was specific days off or the maximum; days off, specific trips, layover cities, daylight flying.

Is your pref bidding set up like that or different ???

Just my two cents that maybe it could be a good deal if administered differently ?????

 

Hi XRay,
I'm a 12 yr 767I FO at American. We are in negotiations and i'm certain they'll throw another whole new reserve system at us.
May i ask how your reserves get to greenslip? Does Crew Sched send out a mssg saying "We are accepting greenslips for short on reserve coverage"
Or does a Reserve guy just put his pref in for a grennslip and hope for one?

I've worked for other airlines b4 that let rsv's work on days off, but here at AA they do not let us.
Thanks for any info,
ME

 

PBS is a concession no matter who adminsters it.