Has anyone successfully used this function?

Scenario: a couple of trips in open time last night that I knew, based on RES availability, would need to go out as GS or be broken up. RES coverage is good for the broken trips and I'm in the bulseye for a broken trip. Since they haven't actually broken the trips up yet, I can't 'avoid pairing number' as a YS.

I put in a YS 'Preference Qualifiers To Be Used Only If Needed To Fly' with the specific layover requests of 'NO LAYOVERS IN: JFK LGA EWR' as well as 'MUST LAYOVER IN AT LEAST ONE: AMS'

Low-and-behold, I check daily trip coverage after the run this morning and I'm assigned the ONE trip that lays over in JFK! One Sr. pilot and one Jr. got the AMS trips that would have avoided the JFK layover. WTF, over??

Needless to say, I called CS and explained the situation. They ran it up to the supervisor, verified my YS was indeed in there (and very specific) and swapped trips with the Jr pilot. I'm satisfied with the outcome, but, again, WTF??

Does this function even work?

If needed to fly, I believe it goes into seniority based. Did the trip you wanted went into YS, WS, GS?

It also depends on the other people’s qualifier or if is your turn to fly or who is legal for what flying.

Also “preference qualifiers” are not YS. I will suggest to bid specific trips in Open Time. Also, if the Jr pilot had a YS, he will get it, because you’re a is not a YS. You probably got what it was left.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding what you’re getting at here but an If Needed is absolutely treated as a yellow slip if you are identified as a pilot subject to a trip assignment.

All three trips went out as RES assignments. (no YS, WS or GS). The CS checked the other two pilot's slips and neither one had any YS or other Reserve Preferences.

We were all legal and, looking at the assignment times, it went Jr., Me, Sr. (proper sequence) but the trips were assigned randomly, they weren't even assigned in numeric order, up or down.

I don't YS unless there is a trip that I actually want. There is always a chance that someone will WS/GS/YS a trip and save me from having to fly.

I understand the purpose of RES is to cover flying and accept that, when I'm on RES and 'in the bullseye', I'm packed and ready to fly. My issue is that this process (Reserve Preferences) does not seem to be honored during trip assignments and CS can't even explain why.

If they were covered in the same batch, a "if needed" has the power of a YS. Call back and make them fix it. If not, it's assignment pay for the first day of reserve.

"If needed" YSs have never worked for me. I quit using them because they back fire more often than not. Just my experience. FWIW

I use this all the time and it absolutely goes In senority order even if someone else has a YS in. The senior pilot will get the trip. Crew schedulers
do not seem to understand it and I’ve had to call a bunch of times about it. Usually after talking to the supervisor it gets straightened out and the trips get assigned correctly. There was a scheduling alert sent out a few years ago about it. I don’t think anyone read it lol.

Did you ever call to get it straightened out?

Done. As soon as I saw it, I called and they did fix it.

But the kicker is even the CS and Sup couldn't explain what happened. Is it another situation where our 1980s DOS system can't figure out how to make it work? I'm going to submit an ACE inquiry and send this one to ALPA Scheduling to see if it's something deeper.

Not being able to explain it isn't top cover. Submit a pay request via the Pilot assist app.