Vacancy Explanation
 

Can someone explain to me how vacancies work like I'm 5 years old? For example, I'm looking at 2406V...the announcement did not have any SFO787FO openings yet the award has 10 awards for SFO787FO. Is this because potentially 10 SFO787FO's bid to other equipment on the vacancy which then opened up their spots? If this is the case, if you want a certain position should you bid it every single vacancy regardless of whether it's on the announcement or not?

you nailed it.

bid what you want, want what you bid. You never know you might get it.


Id be curious what training will be like at year end when all the DAs get activated…do you bid for upgrade before or after august ? Ha

I'm 6 years old, it's confusing but thanks for the clarification!

In Unity...

Adding to the vacancy question... It sounds like they are awarded a few months before they become effective? I'm used to bids that become effective literally 30 days after the bid closes. But at UA, a bid that closes in let's say February would become effective... June? Is that about right?

the effective date is only there to cover UPA requirements for new hires, activations….etc.

you may start training or get a lateral the next day or on day 89 or on day 120…..it all depends on where they need pilots and where they dont.

Gotcha! I guess I should read the contract. So far all I've really read is the reserve section.

Plus the crew meal section, which I found actually kind of entertaining in its level of specificity. Especially the line about "A crew meal being deemed unappetizing by the pilot shall not be counted as a failure of the company to provide a meal" or something to that effect...

You might hear the term “backfills” which is exactly what this is referring to. There may be no published vacancies on the bid but someone bids out creating a vacancy which is then “backfilled”.

Every seat Iv ever been awarded came on a backfill……

Understandable as someone's opinion of unappetizing could be vastly different than another pilot's. As an example, I find the side salads unappetizing solely because of that awful "balsamic dressing" (hint: it's not balsamic) that is included with 99% of the salads. I just cannot eat one more salad as a crew member, deadheading or as a non-rev in Polaris if that is the dressing that is provided. I'm to the point where I buy dressing packs from the salad bars at the grocery stores so I have something - ANYTHING - different for my onboard salads. And, yes, I have filed complaints to the Hotel Committee to do something about this.

Now back to the vacancy bid thread.