hoover

I'd normally agree but I just had this week off. Had auto bid set all week, for premium only , and didn't get a single trip. Guys bidding straight on 2 days that pay 9. To each their own and I guess you're right you can work more but at the rate that makes it worth it to work on a day off, and that's not an outrageous number for me ( rigs or better) it just hasn't been there lately.

flensr

Bidding premium doesn't seem to work...? Sitting reserve, I've been assigned a bunch of lines that got 10 premium bids during open time. If you bid premium you're basically telling the company to award it to reserves because that's what they're doing. I'm surprised that premium bidding even exists anymore since open time trips with a dozen bidders are still going to reserves, even when reserve levels are very low.

barabek

Reserve levels are very low?! Have you checked the numbers lately? There's a reason senior FOs bid reserve. I've been very happy since I started bidding reserve in September, and will be doing so at least till the spring. There's no reason to bid lines with 19.5 tfp 3-days when you can sit at home for 18. The premium won't be back until they reduce staffing which may not happen for a while.

Smooth at FL450

Have you checked the numbers Monday-Wednesday? Those open time trips still go to reserves.

flensr

I've seen PHX PM reserves go to or near to zero a few times in the last couple months, many of them flying trips that had several POT bids. Maybe it's just PHX PM FOs that are like that, using up pretty much the entire reserves on lines that had multiple bids in DOT and HOT? I think almost every reserve trip I've flown in the last couple of months went through open time and had a whole bunch of people bidding on them. Which brings me back to my point, even when reserve levels are low if you're bidding POT it's essentially the same as telling the company to go ahead and send it to reserves.

I'm not saying *should*, I'm describing what I'm seeing over my last several months on reserve. And the day before thanksgiving, PHX PM FO reserve availability went to zero sometime before noon.

barabek

Yes, I have. They usually staff weekdays with 1 max 2 FOs starting per day, that's why weekday reserve goes senior. They don't expect too much need for reserves because all the open time after ELITT opens ends up over the weekends (majority wants to have weekends off). Open time is basically only from sick calls. If nobody bids streight, it goes automatically to reserve. That's how it works. If they don't have any available, it goes to most senior premium bidder. What doesn't help the premium bidders is that many newhires (and not only) bid streight. That's what happens when you're overstaffed.

barabek

I'm not sure you realize the order in which open time trips are assigned:
1. Streight time bidders
2. Reserves
3. Premium time bidders

sMFer

Just curious. Do you think it’s wrong for new hires to bid a good trip straight? It’s effectively paid at premium rates with the bump to 2nd year. I’m almost at the end of year 1 and I’ve only done it once on a day trip (I like being home too much) but I certainly don’t fault those that do bid straight. What surprises me is senior guys/gals in both seats bidding straight on trips that are well below rigs.


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Peacock

It depends on the time of day. They won’t use up all the reserves at 0900.

RJSAviator76

Yes, it's wrong. You're only ensuring the trip goes straight, but if it's any good, you won't see it even at straight because every senior Tom, Dick and Harry is gonna outbid you at straight too.

Here's what I've been advising newhires to do:

- BID PREMIUM.

You don't know if the senior guy is over the cap or on vacation or out of base or even legal for it. If the senior guy is over the cap, you're under the cap... you're winning the bid if it's awarded at premium. If the senior guy is on vacation but under the cap, and you're over the cap or even out of base, you're gonna get the award if it goes POT.

- DO NOT BID STRAIGHT...

... unless you really, really want that trip because it has a layover at home/you really like the guy you're flying with, etc.

If you want want to make extra cash, you wait until the DOT/HOT closes and watch if the trip is given to a reserve. If it goes to reserve, you can call Scheduling and take it off the reserve as Extra Fly. If you are a first-year pilot, you will get second-year pay at straight time for flying it because the trip had been run through the open time process.

Often times, a reserve pilot who lives in base will put their assigned trip in TTGA with a note to call Scheduling to pick it up. For first-year pilots, that trip pays second-year rate because it's been run through open time. So don't just dismiss looking into TTGA.

Last... SNOTP and SNOTS. SNOTP will pay premium and is awarded random but within category (in base and under the cap, in base and over the cap, so on). You may also luck out at times when VPF shows up, and those are first-come-first-served.

The Company wants the trips flown at straight and they exploit the newhire pilots' ignorance and "no time for that union sh*t", hence telling the newbies to "just bid straight for second-year pay."

It really helps to read the contract. Hope this helps some newhire make some money and not get outbid every single OT trip.