I see what you’re saying here, but almost everything decent is going straight these days. If it averages 5+TFP/day and it’s a turn or a 2 day, it’s going straight and it’s primarily a result of overstaffing of reserves. There are just way too many reserves to cover OT without paying POT. Generally only the real varsity guys who can clear their boards are getting POT for 3day or 4day trips. The only real tool you have to protect yourself is to check and see if the person you are competing with is above the cap. If their board is blocked then it’s a crap shoot. You gotta assume by mid month most of the players are above the cap. Varsity bidders don’t come to work for less than 5TFP.. so if there is junk in there that pays less than 5 and everyone is bidding it POT and you’ve done your homework and know you can get it straight, then bid it straight.

Live in base and bid reserve Sep-Feb while it lasts. Last month I sat unused for 13 of my 15 days. #winning

 

Yes, I know that's how it works. It just breaks down when you run out of reserves, and PHX PM FOs seem to run short from time to time.

So bidding premium lately just... well, seems like that's a really low Pk shot and it's kind of dumb to use up reserves when there are plenty of people willing to fly the trips out of open time.

 

Capt “You get this trip on a POT bid to”?
Me “Nope, reserve”.

Pretty much sums up the above.

 

It's also weird to see 15 people put in POT bids for the line I get assigned as a reserve pilot, I don't have "own" preferenced, and I put it into open time the instant I find out that I'm assigned the trip, yet nobody picks up the trip. Then those same people complain that there's no open time.

Cry me a river. I'll fly straight time as a new guy and like it (please sir may I have another bowl of gruel), because it's the only game in town. A guy who's straight time rates are twice mine complaining that he can't get POT on a line he bid for but that I'm flying just doesn't get much sympathy. They can fly those trips at double the pay I get, any time they like. I suppose 10 years from now I might have a different opinion but right now it doesn't trigger my sympathy brain cell.

 

How do you know it's the only way to get the trip?

I can't tell you how many times I was bidding for a premium trip, and virtually every bidder was either over the cap or on vacation to the point that anyone in-base and under the cap would get it, and a brand new first-year guy comes in and bids it straight while being the only bidder under the cap.

Even worse... a few senior out-of-base premium bidders, and the only local base bid is a probationary FO bidding straight. Talk about a double facepalm. Had he bid it premium, he would have flown it at a premium, not straight. Had it gone to a reserve, he could have simply picked up the phone and called Scheduling and told them he wanted to Extra Fly this particular trip, and boom, now he has it at straight.

You see enough of those, and the double facepalm doesn't even begin to cut it. You start feeling sorry for these guys because someone, somewhere told them to blindly bid straight and pay no attention to the contract or point out how our open time market actually works, or relay to them that they actually have an ace in the hole in Extra Fly if the trip goes to a reserve. But you don't get to do this when you get outbid at straight. Talk about a disservice to our newest pilots! But then again, it's also incumbent on the new pilots to read the contract and familiarize themselves in how to maximize their income and QOL here. You can lead the horse to water...

 

So how about a new column on the "show bidder report" that displays cap status (this would require trips get audited quicker...or better yet software that just audits a trip right away so there's no delay) and vacation/legality status or any other no-fly event that may be obscured by a blocked board? I agree that knowledge is power and reading the contract is a must, but let's also have more visibility into who we are bidding against. Yes, I've sent this idea to SWAPA in their surveys...

 

Bottom line. Bid for whatever you want at the price you are willing to accept to get off your couch, put on the monkey suit, and go to work.

And if anybody calls you to give you a hard time about bidding straight, get their name and call pro standards.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Don’t get caught up in the moral bidding BS as a newhire. Learn the airline, learn the contract, learn how to bid, but family is number 1.

A new hire that bids straight pay on open time is still paid at second year rates as long as they are above their original line value, right?

That being said, since premium for FOs seems so unlikely, it’s important to learn the fine points of bidding.

If you find that you aren’t being used on reserve, TTGA into an easy day trip or two-day in your days off. Don’t forget you can pick up out of base. Look for deadhead trips, etc.

A friend of mine routinely does this (third year guy) and averages 150 TFP per month.

Lots of ways to skin a cat.

It’s also weird to write that phrase.

 

Just as a friendly reminder to the first year guys that sometimes gets overlooked or "forgotten" by the open time police:

Only time picked up from the company qualifies for second year pay as a probie. TTGA is paid at first year rates.

Its still valuable for some extra money, but go grab some extra fly from a reserve assignment before you go digging in the TTGA bin.

 

The system is set so those with seniority can eat with all four legs in the trough. I knew that before I came here, but not to want extent. I’m waiting until year 5 to even look at open time. Spending hours maneuvering CWA is a waste of time until year 5-6.