sailingfun

I do understand math. Your management will also. If you have a category of 10 pilots and you have 600 hours of block time what is cheaper? 6 regular line holders flying 100 hours each and 4 reserves getting 78 hours each or 8 line holders flying 75 hours each and 2 reserves getting 78 hours each. Please show your math!

Judge Smails

Yes, they're called lower limit credit lines. They're guaranteed to 72 hours and can be a mix of trips and reserve days, depending on seniority.

These lines are not restricted like a pure reserve line. If someone wants to swap reserve days for a trip from open time, they can still do that.

WhiteMorpheus

Can you specify that you want a single trip plus reserve and still retain that provision (hint, hint)? Do the new reserve drop restrictions apply to those lines? Would you need to program a preference to avoid getting a really bad hybrid schedule?

Qotsaautopilot

These are offered at the companies discretion and we don’t know if they will or not. Also, if you are senior enough to hold a regular line you will not be awarded a lower limit line even if you want one. It will only be awarded to those on the bubble between a line and reserve presuming they want a line over reserve.

My reference to guarantee was that someone mentioned that there is no min guarantee in PBS when our contract clearly states we have a min guarantee of 72hrs. If the credit window is set from 69-79 with the avg line value at 74. If the system can award a line in the credit window at 69hrs you’re still going to get paid 72 because it’s our min guarantee.

Jett i son

Super EZ E,
I have agreed with you in the past, and will strongly agree again.
We voted for a PBS LOA without any information.

I bid RES during the mock bid and waved the 4 days off.
The result was six 3RDAY blocks.
Has anyone gotten 2day RES blocks?

Will anyone else confirm that negotiations are taking place for min RES day blocks?
What is being negotiated?
If management insists on 6, how can WE force them to 3?
Hope it ain't so, but the OPTION to waive the 4 days off should not be on the table, not in six months, not ever.
That would be another concession.

Judge Smails

Yeah but we had to vote it in to see what was in it.

Super EZ E

If it was only that simple. It's not a zero sum game or what's cheaper. Flights have to be covered that's the variable you didn't account for in your math. We don't run our reserves as you've stated. Most of the guys fly very little. As they should! Cheap insurance. You're using reserves to actually cover open time. Line holders cover open time. I believe the contractually open time is only couple percent so we can trade and is nothing more than priming the trade pump. What about day to day issues. Your simplistic stated method is much like SWA model of running on the edge. Hence the massive rescheduling of crews SWA does. Res Pilots are to cover sick, WX, timing out and ferry aircraft. Plus the 10% no one wants to fly. Actually PBS should be designed to have enough line holders to cover the flying and hold the reserves to cover abnormal situation that occur. This is what we do. Reserves don't end up flying 80 hr months. That's an RJ thing. The 600 hrs block you used is a variable and not a fixed number as you've stated. The only time it's fixed is for bidding. Once the month goes active the math changes by the hour. The 600 isn't 6 guys flying a 100 hrs and oh crappy what happens when you duty out?? Your simple math only works on paper and fails to calculate for the actual variables that occur in a day to day operation. Read your contact and bid package sometime, look at all the variables in staffing and the limits on crew use. We have a lot of good rules!!

SG1159

I’m curious- so, are you saying the option to waive 4 days off shouldn’t be allowed? And you’re basing this on the reserve schedule you got when you waived it?

What did you get when you DIDNT waive it?

Seems like the ability to waive 4 days off is a no-loss for anyone.... I could be wrong- but your example doesn’t bear that out....

Those that are worried, should submit the exact same bid- with and without the waiver in the mock bids- and let’s see the results....

I guess what I’m trying to say- seems like the 4 day off thing forced 6 day blocks for RSV- waive 4 days, you can get something different- and MAYBE have some control over what that looks like- SEE BELOW....

Super EZ E

BTW my fake bid with my limits did some crazy things I bet spirit doesn't want to have happen!!! Checker board!!!! I tricked it to do it!!! Just a few times not the whole month!!! All that BS computer programing in College finally paid off! Still betting even money when the Company actually figures out PBS is screwing them they pull the plug!!!

Deathwish

Without the option to waive the 4 days this pbs is garbage and only benefits the top 10% in base. Eliminating the option to waive the 4 days off completely eliminates the benefits of schedule flexibility that can be achieved currently. The 4 day language should have been sold when we had the option; it’s too late now and the company will learn that it’s worth a lot less than they were originally offering. Keeping it is fine so long as we also keep the option to waive it.