Don't confuse him with nuance. UAL's "global reserve" is nowhere in the same universe to what can happen at DL. The answer to his question is "no". Global reserve is, in effect, like inverse PB days solely at the company's discretion.

Getting rerouted on an existing trip into an X-day (off day) is super rare, and can only happened for 1 extra day domestic, or (I think) 2 international. And getting involuntarily inversely assigned (a brand new trip on off days) is effectively not possible if you don't answer your phone (AFAIK, jetway assignments have not happened in at least a decade).

They can’t make us start a trip on a day off, but there’s no limit to the length of trip assigned on your last day of reserve. I once got a 6 day trip on my last day of availability when I was on reserve. Suffice to say this isn’t a thing at Delta?

Correct. Not a thing at Delta.

Wow, man. That’s some divorce fodder right there. Holy cow, I didn’t realize global reserve what that bad. What’s the point of bidding other than HDO’s then? I hope y’all can fix that BS if United Next is going to succeed.

Yes. It looks like the language permits FRMS assignments on Xdays prior to reserve. In the past this was not the practice due to FRMS required rest. Even though the pilot does not have a contact obligation it seems to be the day prior assignment fulfills the FRMS rest obligation. I need a reread of FRMS rules alongside a comparison of old and new reserve language to confirm.

Disagree. When you start your first on-call day, you break any rest you may have.

Now, if CS goes fishing & the pilot ack’s a rest & trip ahead of time, that’s a different story—the moral of which is, “Never ack anything when you don’t have a contact obligation.”

(I gather there’s some FRMS carve out where they can assign the rest before you go off your previous on-call block, I’m not addressing that possibility.)

They can assign it on your X days, but you are under no obligation to see it. It's just fishing by CS.

The start of an on call day does not break the rest clock if a trip is assigned on your last non-fly day. 23.S.5.d. and e. does seem to give latitude for trip assignment 12 hours before the end of an off day (except vacation). The pilot is responsible to ascertain if they have been assigned a trip and has no obligation for contact 24 hours prior to the assigned report. Previous language was 12 hours. That would seem to allow FRMS rest prior to the trip by providing 24 hours free from obligation.

Old PWA language 23.S.3.d.e will not be required to remain available for contact in the 12 hours prior to the scheduled report of an assigned rotation.

New PWA language 23.S.5.d.e will not be required to remain available for contact in the 24 hours prior to the scheduled report of an assigned rotation.

That was my initial thought as well, but 23.5.d. 2) b) provides for notification 12 hours prior to the end of your last non fly day, excluding vacation. Even if you don't check your schedule til the beginning of your RES obligation, you were "notified" 12 hours prior to your RES period starting.


d.2)b) twelve hours before the end of their last non-fly day (other than a vacation
day) before an on-call day.
Note: A pilot is responsible for ascertaining whether they have been assigned
a rotation or converted to short call under Section 23 S. 5. d. 2) b). Crew
Scheduling is not required to make telephone contact for such an assignment
or conversion.

e. will not be required to remain available for contact in the 24 hours prior to the
scheduled report of an assigned rotation.


If a pilot is assigned a trip 12 hours prior to the end of their off day, do they have to acknowledge the trip?

The PWA implies the pilot is responsible for ascertaining they have been assigned, so one could assume acknowledgement isn't required. I know under the old PWA failure to acknowledge a trip on the off-day schedule check would trigger a call at the beginning of LC. Under the current PWA language, the pilot is free of contact 24 hours prior which would remove the option for the CS phone call.

I don't know much about FRMS stuff, but rest is always prospective in nature, so you have to know about it before it starts. If you were on a single 24 hour day off, and ascertained at midnight that you were back on rest for 24 hours, that isn't 1 block of 48 hours off. It's 2 different 24 hour periods free from rest. They can't just tack on 6 hours and call it a 30 hour rest period, just like they can't call you in the middle of an overnight if you blocked in late and extend it by 20 or 30 minutes so you get a full 10 hours. The full 10 hours would have to start over in that case.