You, sir, are the man.....

A very junior Capt with NW Elite status!

It's all about the perks.

I posted this a while ago, but here it is again:

My last SIBA trip on the Airbus was a deadhead to Mumbai. Of course it started out in Memphis and then flew to Europe for a day layover and then down to Mumbai and another day layover, before operating to Bangkok. Living in the North East, I elected to deviate and fly out of JFK. Air India (Yes, I know. Don't even start ) had a direct flight and so I booked it. When I got to JFK, I was told by the AI agent that I needed a VISA to get into India. I showed her our ICAO letter, which she looked at but still denied me boarding. I called crew scheduling to see if they had any suggestions and to just let them know what I had run up against. That was almost as dumb as booking on Air India.

The scheduler immediately asked if I was deviating, to which I answered "Yes." At that point he said that he really didn't have any suggestions, as I was deviating. I told him I wasn't asking for his help, but only any ideas he might have for me. Again, he said that he could not offer anything. I got the distinct impression that he didn't care about my situation, and so I asked him that question. I said "don't you care that I may not make my show time (in Mumbai), to which he answered that it didn't matter at all to him, because I was deviating. I then said to him that he would care in about 3 days when I didn't make show time, and he'd have to scramble to get another guy over there to operate the trip - 3 days late. He laughed and said it still wouldn't matter to him, because he only had one day left before going on vacation.

It all worked out in the end, as I flew AA over to Paris, got some sleep at the Copethorn Hotel (sp?) and then actually took Air India (Yeah, I know, don't even start), and I had a full 24 hours to enjoy playing squash at the Leela hotel in Mumbai.

Oh well, it was a live-and-learn experience, one that I'll always remember. I was the only one on the upper deck of that Air India 747. Me and a purser and a very good looking flight Indian attendant. They came out with a large cart of fresh foods and cooked my meal right in front of me. It was great, but no movie as the screen they pulled down was a very odd yellow (with age) color. I believe that the registration number of that airplane was 0001.5. A very old aircraft indeed. No perks, but a very fun flight, and I'd never do it again.

Worth the read!

Great read.

Americans need a visa to go to India?

"The scheduler immediately asked if I was deviating, to which I answered "Yes." At that point he said that he really didn't have any suggestions, as I was deviating. I told him I wasn't asking for his help, but only any ideas he might have for me. Again, he said that he could not offer anything. I got the distinct impression that he didn't care about my situation, and so I asked him that question. I said "don't you care that I may not make my show time (in Mumbai), to which he answered that it didn't matter at all to him, because I was deviating. I then said to him that he would care in about 3 days when I didn't make show time, and he'd have to scramble to get another guy over there to operate the trip - 3 days late. He laughed and said it still wouldn't matter to him, because he only had one day left before going on vacation."

To bad that scheduler doesn't know the contract....

Deviation Delay/Failure
If a pilot encounters difficulty in his deviation travel to the revenue departure location to such an extent that a live flight is jeopardized, he shall contact CRS at the earliest opportunity. If the notification to CRS is provided in sufficient time to allow the trip to be covered by a reserve, and the flight is not delayed due to the deviation failure, then the pilot will be dropped from the trip without pay, receive no deviation bank credit for the trip, and shall not be disciplined.

See the bottom part of your quote....2 "ifs", 2 big "ifs". The important one being If the flight is NOT delayed THEN you are covered. The way I understand that all important If is IF they cover it you're in the clear and IF NOT you are held responsible. IE, if they can't get someone to Delhi or wherever you are going to be hung out to dry. I really wanted to see more commuter protections in this contract. Why should it be any different than if I leave Elvis? As long as I do it legally, have a back-up or 2 and get there in time for check-in I should have the same protections as the guy leaving from the Planet.

Just my 2 cents. I'll stop whining now...and no...I'm not moving to MEM, I want my kids to be eligible for higher edumacation....kidding...kidding..

I too would like to see more commuter friendly language in the next contract. Was it all Melvis dudes doing the negotiating on the last one?

Hopefully, scheduling built this guy into the standby pairing that replaced him. That would allow them to replace the standby, utilize this guy, and probably keep him from losing all that pay and deviation cost. Anybody know the details?