Very good point I stand corrected.

then why do you all even bid if everyone can drop to zero? Why doesn’t the airline just have everyone pick up open time and save the hassle?

Because if you’re senior enough, you get what you want. It’s not that hard to understand.

I still don't really understand. Even if you're just middle seniority, the trips in open time are almost never better than what I got in the bid. Maybe last second, but certainly not weeks ahead of time. How are the "good" trips sitting in open time weeks in advance?

It happens, believe me as a mid-seniority bidder. One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Sometimes it’s a commuter who finds a better trip in Dallas instead of Houston, thus creating a nice Houston trip for someone to swap/add…. On that note, out of base adds and swaps MUST stay!

That, I can definitely support.

A lot of us don't want to work 72 hours. A lot of us like to drop a trip or 2 and spend more time with the family. It's a weird concept for pilots at airlines who are forced to carry a certain block hours or under constraints of trade boards. So for me, it's a drop to have more time off, not to pick up open time scraps in the pot. Now we have guys who drop their entire schedule and wait for the phone to ring for 200% trips, and many of those pilots do very well at that. Personally, I drop to 45-50 hours every 3-4 months just to "reset" from work and get away from the nonsense.

You don't work at NK......

This afternoon I just picked up a 24 credit 4 day trip, commutable on both ends next Mon-Thurs. Someone just dropped it into open time.

I'm AA, but this is exactly it. There are months where I just want to drop as much as possible and have the time off, credit be damned. And sometimes during those months I feel refreshed enough to throw my name in the preemie hat, or maybe grab a nice two day that's sitting out there in open time. But it's glorious to look at your month and see only a pair of three day trips.

Sometimes you get awarded a trip you don’t want so you drop it or swap it out. Sometimes you get awarded a trip on a day you needed off. Maybe something came up and you need to drop the trip last minute, but will pick up another trip later in the month to make up the credits for it.

This month, I was able to snag a BOG turn because that pilot decided he didn’t want it for whatever reason (BOG turns go insanely senior here).

Personally, I drop to 0 and rebuild my schedule to my liking. I get trips that work for the days I want to work then swap out trips for better ones as the month goes on and trips pop up.