Agreed. The 100 dollar thing is ridiculous today. Doesn't cover the cost. Be nice if it was less than 5 conversion a month too.

agree 100%

In essence it seems like that's what happens already at NK. Everyone drops their line and waits to fill their month with premium flying. Might as well just put it in writing.

The DTZ is a reflection of your clause that states 75% of the days have to be green at the beginning of the month, as well as having a single number of reserve min used through the entire month. You can't have an effective DTZ without both of those.

“beginning of the month” - we need a specific definition on that phrase.

The day the lines come out? The first day of Add/Drop/Swap Round 1? The last day of Add/Drop/Swap Round 2? The first day of the actual calendar month? The first day of the bid period month?

Without a written, contractual definition, we’re screwed. Bring it up at a roadshow and the NC says “The beginning of the month means just that… beginning of the month.” And then the company applies it to when the awards come out… “They would never do that…”

The devil’s in the details…

We have that covered. Section 25.G.1.k.

Edit: after re-reading said section, coverage for days can indeed vary…. I’ll leave it there as we used to be paid leg-by-leg and only with C2023 got it codified….

Premium, X list, and Y list flying are unpredictable at best. You can't drop 72 hours of trips and then pickup 72 hours of premium. That just isn't how it works. If you drop trips and then add trips out of open time the pay is 100%. If the company lists Premium Flying in open time, which I've seen twice, then that is 200%. X and Y list flying, sporadic at best, are on a revolving weight basis to always call the guy who has flown the least. If you drop to anything less than guarantee there is no guarantee that you'll get back to that with X/Y.

If we want 150% for open time I'm wondering how we're going to maintain the same amount of such. I'd love to drop my PBS award and rebuild at 150% but I don't see that as realistic.

Thanks for the info, from the other side of the fence it seemed like everyone just dropped their whole month and rebuilt it with premium as the month went along.

Not to get down another DTZ rabbit hole, but what is the difference between DTZ and a permissive reserve grid that allows trip swap flexibility? Do many guys really drop everything to zero and just take the month off from flying? Or is the main attraction the ability to pick up straight pay trips that you'd prefer to fly (essentially swapping your old pairings for new ones)

Both. It honestly depends on seat and base. If you’re an FO, dropping to zero is less likely, but dropping some and picking up lots of x-lists is very likely…. Some pilots here also have high earning spouses which makes their flying more of a high paying hobby…. It’s a nice flexibility tool to those who choose to exercise it. I wouldn’t want to give it up, it’s one of those quirky QOL thingies that don’t exist anywhere and if it’s sacrificed, it’s NEVER coming back…

Kinda like our old transition language and trip-integrity…. Sayonara!!!

Nobody really drops to zero at NK. Some drop a bunch and then play the "will I get a 200% call since I have the time off." I would not get too caught up in drop to zero as a literal meaning, that is a regular event here at NK. Personally we need to find a drop number that works for the majority of the pilots and a system that doesnt require swaps, screw having to need someone to take your flying.

Plenty of times I have dropped to 50, enjoyed the time off, decide if I want to work 200%, and did not have to worry about maintaining certain credit.

Speaking of trip integrity, I want solid reassignment language where you get paid well if reassigned. 200% for the whole trip. 400% if it touches a day off…