Senior WB FO is quite aways away for even people that have been here a number of years, in certain bases even more so. A lot of people also can’t game the system due to personnel circumstance such as child care, so better to get a consistent schedule at a higher rate. For me personally I’m going for QOL but I know people on the junior end just coming off probation and I’m those junior bases already will probably grab it

 

Agreed. That’s why I said one man’s trash…. I still think that seniority in a seat provides more QOL than years of reserve at a higher rate.

 

It definitely does, and the W-2 might be close enough that it doesn't matter anyway.

 

If the company actually cares about unfilled CA vacancies, this is where they fix it.
NB CA rate must blow WB FO out of the water.

 

Doubt they do. Those vacancies will fill once guys get off of probation.

 

Contract out next week… LHR driver leaked it.

 

It’s probably cheaper to shift a small amount of flying to other bases than it is to pay everyone in the system.

Part of the reason for unfilled vacancies is our reserve rules, the other part is that you can really do pretty well in the right seat with a little seniority, especially for those with a military pension. Most of the people that I fly with have spent the last 20+ years on a long list of deployments, or they came from the regionals and have young kids. Time at home and the scheduling flexibility provided by seniority is just a bigger carrot than being a reserve captain. If super junior people want to upgrade, have at it, but we shouldn’t act surprised when others don’t see the incentive. At the end of the day, this is just a job.

 

If you live in base is reserve that much worse than having a line? In terms of days off and and qol. If you bid which reserve days you want and call up and change days around to the futures desk it seems that you can make it work for you.

 

If you live in in base, everything about this job is better, but line holders still have more control of their schedules, typically work a smaller footprint, and can chase premium trips. Most of the FO’s that I fly with that live in base and don’t just fly their published lines are averaging 100+ hrs credit. One guy this month could be right around the g-line as captain and he would have to average 85 hrs a month to make what he did last year. Granted, he’s not junior and he’s good at gaming the system, but he works fewer days than I do and makes the same money. He’s going to sit tight until he can hold a flying seat on the 787 and really make a killing. Working smart beats working hard, but the good news is that there’s something for everyone here. Go nuts while you can, the next kick in the teeth is out there somewhere.

 

New vacancy this month or June??