crumbbuster

Yep, but a great contract isn't in the IP's interest..

I think there's a chief pilot position open somewhere for him.

Qotsaautopilot

Absolutely and it absolutely should be more intuitive. In the meantime the easiest way to understand it is to have your own pay sheet side by side with theirs. Start by writing down or using a spreadsheet to show your original awarded line along with each trips value. As the month goes on through IOT and DOT catalog every swap, drop, and add along with the value of the new trip. This way you have a constant working tally of what you will be due at pay day. Also if something seems fishy you will be able to see what you swapped for even if you traded it four tikes before flying the trip you flew. Also, keep track of your block times during the trip if it's a hard time trip and move the final value to your personal pay sheet once the trip is completed. If you have a trip modified with a letter at the end make note as to what changed and to whether you are protected to the original value or if the new trip is worth more.

I've done this at every company I've worked for, even the ones with intuitive pay systems and it's worked pretty well. I come here for one reason only and that's to extract as much money out of this place as possible for myself and my family. Taking a few minutes a month to do my own personal pay tracking seems like a small time investment to me.

The point still stands that their system should be easier to understand.

sandlapper223

I'm not sure what you mean by kinking either. With regard to instructors, and instructor line bidding, it's all detailed explicitly in our working agreement. Instructors bid for lines and open training sessions during training months just like line pilots (with a few variances). The bidding is done by seniority. Days off, schedules, base assignments, flexibility, all based on seniority. That's the way it is. Not because one is an instructor, or senior, or both.

Sounds like you don't agree with the typical 121 seniority system. Do you suggest all pilots receive the same "bidding power" - I.e. days off, flexibility, vacation, and so forth? New hire vs. 20 year pilot? If so, how would that work?

You said something about rates that reward everyone - well that is based on seniority (longevity) too. I agree they need to come up, but what am I missing?

Keizer Soze

I do the same. And I believe that the company's system is both intentionally confusing and a result of growing without improving infrastructure. With the exponential growth of our company, to still be using pen and ink in the 21st century shows how far behind we are. Especially when the software we use has the capability to track everything electronically. It is absolutely worth the time invested to track ones pay with a spreadsheet, but it is still difficult reconciling with the chicken scratch pay report. Also, this is not a dig on the folks that do the chicken scratch, they are using the tools that our management provides them.

Baba Booey! Howard Sterns p*n*s!!!

Poppachubby

Yeah, I'm not sure what he means either. After reading the post a couple of times I think I finally get it or get what he's trying to say anyway. His writing is just very obscure, and kind of all over the place! I think what he means is get rid of the transitional language in exchange for a higher rate for everybody? Which I would kind of agree with. I am actually a semi senior captain here (I got my number one pick this month with a great conflict). However there are times when I screw myself on the rest of the month just to make sure I get the perfect conflict! Even though I have conflicts available to me on a monthly basis, I'd probably just prefer a good rate, and not worry about finding the perfect conflict, which would be more fair for everybody on the property, if in fact that is what he's referring to. But then Gunga makes comments like "is only available to the single"! That blows my whole theory of transitional language out of the water! So from that said standpoint I guess I'm still not sure what he's trying to say!

Gunga Din

You got it more or less exactly right.
Perhaps I should not have used the word kink. I see it was taken to imply something nefarious. Perhaps I should have used the word manipulate. I fly with guys who like to talk about a paycheck they make or made. And when I asked them they almost always describe manipulating their schedule. They talk about some call from scheduling or something popping into open time and they dropped this and moved that and BAM they made good money. These guys are almost always senior, instructors or single. I include single because several of the guys seem to not value days off like family guys. Then I think, what if we didn't hold schedule manipulation as the holy grail? What would change if everyone instead wanted a good paycheck when they just flew their awarded line? This would benefit everyone. I don't want to have to watch flica on my days off. I don't want my family to have to reshuffle their lives every month because our focus as a group is only on the rules available to 15-20% of the pilots. If our NC insisted that an 80 hr line be paid industry standard for the type of equipment we fly then we wouldn't have to cozy up to scheduling or be Johnny on the spot with my laptop open and ready to fire at any open time trip and all the other BS I hear just to be proud of my pay at the end of the month.
And after that, if you still want to work 22 days a month, go for it!

Qotsaautopilot

"But at xyz you can't credit 140hrs a month". At xyz you don't have to credit 140hrs a month to make what an airbus pilots should make to begin with. I also have to bid lines I hate to get conflicts to pick up over top of and the stalk flica the rest of the month. And forget planning anything the first or last week of every month because those are your money weeks that make the whole credit inflation work and you must work those times

I'm not saying give it away I'm just saying we shouldn't accept substandard pay (JetBlue)just to keep it. Red/green/4 days off/29-7 allow you plenty of scheduling flexibility to keep a great qol.

gonyon

I agree but believe we are going to be sorely disappointed when the TA does finally get to us. It will be sold with the "be realistic" verbiage to justify it


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dn_wisconsin

There's been a lot of talk going on about the 29/7. On one hand it gives you another way of getting a conflict but on the other it lowers your days off and caps your block every week, therefor capping credit. We shouldn't need a great JM to get some great credit.

The big discussion has been how do we make work more efficient? Trip averaging at 4.5 hours is killing us. 18 hour four days? You should be able to block 30 hours in 6 days with credit of 35 or more. Yes, it means the company would actually make us fly then sit in a hotel. Give us industry standard wages with 5.5 per calendar day and 15 days off a month is over 200k per year ($200 per hour, probably below industry standard still). That's enough for the family guys to be home and the single guys to make bank if they want to work more, right?

On a side note, all redeye turns would be worth 11 hours. Solves the night override problem too. But that's a pipe dream.

Give us that kind of pay and 15% 401k DC and you're looking at 45k a year in retirement if you contribute.

NotAHobby7

Nailed it, well said!