Trading days can't be that hard. I know one might actually have to talk to other people on reserve, but as long as the rules aren't too restrictive you can still get what you want. If you have bases with reserve numbers in the single digits that is way more challenging, but still not impossible. Losing straight drop does suck, though (really wish we had that at my current gig).

If you trade reserve days with another pilot do you keep your orignal RAP or have to take (and be legal for) theirs on the day(s) you swap?

Agree we shouldn’t have to “get back” flexibility, we willingly gave that away. When I first started at the airlines almost 20 years ago I had a ca tell me “never give up work rules, pay comes and goes but work rules once gone are impossible to get back.”


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True. ALPA can't take 2% of work rules though......

What's the story behind not allowing reserves to pick-up open time?

Well, your question answers itself. They can’t do it. Couldn’t in C2010, still can’t in C2018....

If reserves were allowed to pick up open time on their days off, it could make them illegal to work on their days on, that would lead to more premium flying, assuming the company staffs correctly.

just a guess but they are worried about reserves picking up ot on off days and potentially generating duty time issues when they are on reserve. True, line holders could have the same problem, but reserve assignments are more unpredictable.

First rule of negotiating!

MEC/NC does not care about RES, they are senior enough to avoid it.
Their view is the same as Bendo's: RES is not supposed to be a choice.
We will NEVER get RES drops or any of our QOL we willingly gave up, enjoy your 1/6 Retro!
March 2018 was an epic fail:
NC negotiating while on a TRO, where was ALPA national?
They should have been relieved of their duties based on that alone!
Negotiating scared and tired, gets to be too much for anyone.
I don't blame the NC, they did their best, but were outclassed.
They walked out of the deal in November 2017, when Bendo threw the PBS MOU the last minute.
What changed between then and March? We voted on that same proposal+PBS!
Anyone that has some time in this industry knows that the vote on the first offer is ALWAYS NO!
Subsequent offer will no doubt be an improvement.
Even timing was terrible. Who signs in March?
Wait till high season, starting June to Sept and hit them when it hurts.

Lessons learned, hopefully!

This person gets it!!
Well said.

I think we fell a bit short on CBA 2018.

However, I don’t think it’s acurate to say the NC doesn’t care about rsv. I think rsv was just one part of a broader scheduling section and they got the best deal they thought they could to get with the most improvements for the largest percentage of the group. This is coming from someone that often bids rsv on purpose. I will now have to bid lines more often forcing a Junior lineholder back to rsv involuntarily. Now both of us don’t get what we want. But I don’t think the NC doesn’t care about rsv.

What changed between November and March?

First and most importantly: spirit wanted to keep all 401k overages. In the actual CBA if you exceed the combined personal and company IRS limits to your 401k you get the exceedence paid to you. So instead of spirit taking 11-15% of your compensation after the limit is reached you now get to keep it per industry standard. That’s a very big deal and that one item alone was worth walking out on in November.

Second: own occupation LTD. Our LTD is not the gold standard but compared to what the company offered in November it’s leaps and bounds ahead. We still have offsets for other income earned on LTD and we still have no retirement contribution on LTD. Those two items are must haves next time around.

I think the contract came up short on several levels most importantly scope but to say nothing changed between November and March and that the NC doesn’t care about rsv sounds a bit ignorant.