Heck yes- it almost offsets our 42% paycuts and loss of our pensions!

Off to my second job...

Soup

Heyas,

I had heard that there are a TON more NWA schedulers than there are DAL, simply because we still do a lot of manual work for scheduling, and our schedulers handle a LOT of ancillary duties, like working open time and swap requests. There are also crew coordinator positions, which handle crews during trip hours.

So a question for you DAL guys...how automated is "interaction" with scheduling?

We have a VRS (phone) based system that lets you handle almost all scheduling chores, but it can be a PITA to use for SOME things, like to listen to open time (imagine someone READING you the open time). It's pretty nice, though, to be able to listen to your next months schedule or listen to the SILO list without using a computer.

The system will automatically call you with any schedule changes. You can set it up for up to 4 numbers (you can even set it to block out certain hours, like rest time), plus email and a text message number.

We also have access (from home, via the internet) for the same system we have at work. It's kind of an old interface, but there's a lot you can do with it.

If we call in sick, we actually have to call and talk to a scheduler. I know some places you can just call in with your PIN and be done with it.

Nu

About the same here. We have an automated system that will take you about anywhere you need to go. From Scheduling to training, to the CPO. It works fairly well, but with everything there are issues. I use it a lot to acknowledge my trips. I have not talked to a scheduler unless I have made the call.
The only exception was a reroute last weeks. I got a call in the hotel room. He was just being nice, and giving me notice so that someone could drop off more clothes in ATL if I needed them.
We are slated to change from E-crew to I-Crew later this year. What we have now is an internet application and take a ton of time to load up. I-crew is to be a web page where as it does not need some of the application software. (It may be a little different but that is how an IT guy explained it to me)
We really have about the same schedule, except Open Time, Swaps, Personal Drops etc are taken care of by the computer. All the schedulers do is set min staffing levels and it does the rest. It can be good and bad.

Heyas ACL,

Yea, I know what you mean. Sometimes the schedulers can "massage" your open time request if it bails them out of another bad situation the computer might not see.

I had a deal like that a few months ago. Our book puts some restrictions on beginning/end of month swaps. It's a left over from the old transition period that was eliminated with the shift to PBS.

Anyway, a computer swap probably would have just denied it, but they had a BUNCH of open trips on the day I was trying to swap into, and they approved it because, big picture wise, it made things better.

Nu

[quote=NuGuy;397750]Heyas,


So a question for you DAL guys...how automated is "interaction" with scheduling?

Remember that movie "2001 - A space Odyssey?" Ever wonder what that computer "HAL" has been up to post 2001? He now runs scheduling at DAL.
Scoop

HAL really does not like it when "human" schedulers intervene, and I for one, would not want to get on his bad side.

We used to have this type of situation going on all the time at Delta. The problem with it however is that in general such deals violate the contract and while it might benefit you and the company it could be hurting another pilot. The Delta computer system is programed to honor the contract. It works very well. If a scheduler manually does something the automated system won't do usually it is a contractual violation. Years ago the pilots never even knew that type of thing happened as there was no real way to check. With the computer systems in place at Delta today pilots can monitor most of the steps in trip coverage. The pilot denied a trip via a deal with a scheduler by another pilot will be quick to file a grievance since the process is now open for all to view. Schedules knows this so they are very reluctant to do it. If a emergency in trip coverage is going on they will make deals however they then have to go back and pay the pilot who should have been awarded the flying.