Can you explain what those "P, Q, R" modifications are and how a reserve could be gone 10+ days? Any guidance on where I could get a quick and dirty on reserve life at CAL right now (days off, callout process, etc.)? Thanks, dc

 

If scheduling modifies your pairing it gets a letter at the end...

For instance a Cleveland pairing would be V5038.
If scheduling adds to it or mods it, it is changed to V5038A
The more letters you go through the longer and saltier the pairing becomes.

"Hello This is crew scheduling. We have some modifications to your pairing and I think you'll like them".

 

The following is the UAL pilot hiring at CAL section from the weekly MEC email:


SYSTEM BID 12-08 AND HIRING OF UAL PILOTS
Continental Airlines (CAL) System Bid 12-08 will contain a minimum of 179 vacancies. As a result, furloughed United Airlines (UAL) pilots who meet the criteria set forth in 7-B(i) of the Transition and Process Agreement (TPA), that was negotiated between the CAL MEC and UAL MEC and then with management as part of the merger process, will have the opportunity to bid for new-hire pilot positions in the CAL system.

Following are some points about how the TPA will be implemented in this instance. To read section 7-B of the TPA, click here.

SENIORITY
The terms of the TPA specify that all furloughed UAL pilots, while flying at CAL, will be junior to all CAL pilots (after CAL pilot Employee #N3096). Additionally, such a furloughed UAL pilot’s position on the ultimate integrated seniority list shall be based upon his original UAL seniority list position. A furloughed UAL pilot who accepts this offer of employment will still maintain his normal recall rights to UAL. Furloughed UAL pilots will have two opportunities to bid a position at the bottom of the CAL list. All furloughed UAL pilots who take advantage of this job opportunity will continue to retain and exercise their UAL seniority within the block of UAL pilots flying at CAL. Therefore, if CAL has the need to hire additional pilots at a later date, a UAL pilot who had previously declined his first opportunity to come to work for CAL, and now elects to take a position, will be inserted within the contiguous block of UAL pilots consistent with their original UAL seniority.

PAY
A furloughed UAL pilot flying at CAL will be paid the hourly rate of pay equal to the last hourly rate of pay he received on his date of furlough from UAL. Additionally, these pilots will receive the same medical/dental/vision benefits as all CAL pilots. Returning furloughed CAL pilots also received immediate medical/dental/vision benefits as the TPA eliminated the six-month benefits waiting period.

REPRESENTATION
Furloughed UAL pilots who accept a position at CAL will not be required to serve a probation period at CAL and will be regular members of their respective CAL local council for representation and voting.

 

The opportunist Saving Continental Airlines Brethren will stay until 65, but I have flown with several captains who are 58-62 who have specifically stated they would leave today but they don't want to leave retro money on the table at this stage of the game. I can't blame them to be honest. There are plenty who will punch out.

 

As cal73 stated, a modification to your pairing results in a different subsequent letter at the end. Now in all (limited) fairness, not all modifications mean that a reserve is getting hosed. Sometimes a modified pairing with a letter results from a change in a flight number or hotel as an example, even for line holders. For a reserve though it generally means something has been added to the pairing.

As was stated above, you could start out with V5038 as a three-day but along the trip or when you return they have either changed it or added to the end of it for you to go on if your next days are movable days off. So, there are reserves out there flying pairings that have reached P, Q, R and even more. One captain I flew with said when he used to be on reserve he hit a double letter change (i.e. after Z). My mouth dropped when he said that. Has to be a record.

A reserve can be gone from base all the way up until the next set of IMMOVABLE days if they so desire. All that is required is a 24-hour break someplace downline. This is routine for international, but for domestic operations all the contract says is that the company will TRY to give you a calendar days off in base but it is not required to do so.

So, a reserve could leave on a trip and as long as the company can look back and find a 24-hour layover in the past 6 days they can continue to add to the pairing, respecting all other flight-time/duty-time and rest requirements of the FARs. This means days off can be continuously rolled to the next available days until you come up against IMMOVABLE days off. There could be circumstances where movable days off are at the end of the month and the company can roll those days off out of the current month, but they must be restored in the next month (with no reduction in pay for the next month).

The horror stories of reserve are MOSTLY, but not entirely, related to summer flying. The reserve rules themselves will apply all year long, however things seem to calm down from September to May with the exception of those major snow storm situations.

 

This is another example of why CAL side is getting 201 people and not the UAL side. MGMT will exploit the side with the weaker rules.

 

Big picture, it's really about exploiting the side with weaker scope. That's a foot stomper for our next contract most of us are aware of by now, many painfully so.

 

well, hopefully it will make up ANOTHER 201 NO VOTES...and 201 people who WILL call fatigued and 201 that WILL NOT pick up vjm or answer their phones...hopefully.

 

I think you can pretty well count on that!!

 

The reality is that CAL is getting a lot of planes delivered next year, 12 737s. Cross your fingers and there will be some 787s thrown in as well. This is why there is the need. These planes were on order prior to the merger. The sad thing is that some of our 777 orders were converted to 737s. Selling out 767-200 and 737-500s will not give us a total high net gain for 2012. Having to add this on the CAL side is why they are only looking at 200 vice 300 or more
If it was UAL work rules.

Btw..rumor is that mgmt finally stopped pushing for CAL work rules and UALs will be the base to work off. I think we are going to see some JCBA movement happening sooner than later.