Being on reserve at this place has of late seemed like being a janitor at the clown college. My duties are cleaning up one stupid crew desk/ incompetent management stunt after another.

Day one;

Assigned a 02:00 reserve short call. At 1800 the phone rings, crew desk, hmmm this must be their one attempt to contact me during my required rest period, and of course as per the UPA I am not required to answer, so I don't. 30 minutes later crew desk calls again and this time leaving a "threatening" message about my "assignment" for tomorrow.

I pull up the ID it's a 10:00 DH to IAD fly to CDG three day. Interesting. I call the FODM and ask what the heck is going on here? I am a Denver guy and we don't do the NAT, umm yeah I guess you're right he says. And also I'm on a 02:00 RSC so, first off I'm not legal as the trip was assigned and secondly I am not required to answer the phone during my required rest period prior to 02:00. He gets the crew desk on the phone. They claim that they didn't know I was on a 02:00 RSC. Hold I say and play the message of the very same guy we are talking to notifying me of my 02:00 RSC. Now please go away and BTW reset my rest. Okay done.

01:59 the phone rings for a 06:00 departure. Sorry not legal reset my rest again please. Oh nooooo in my state of stupor at 01:59 I was stupid enough to answer the phone on the first call attempt, so legally they can give me an assignment just not the 0600!!! In any case I wound up flying a 2 day trip that left at 10:00, whatever.

Reset with two days off. I am assigned a 14:00 RSC for my first day of duty. I go to sleep at about 22:00 at 00:21 the phone rings. I'm on RSC so I answer the phone.(Crew deask) HELLO F/O, LAX OPS is wonder where you are? (Me) Why would LAX OPS be wondering where I was?(CD) Well your JFK flight leaves in 5 minutes! (Me) Interesting! I guess maybe you should have notified me that I had a trip tonight! (CD) Didn't you check you schedule on CCS? (Me) Of course not, on RSC you HAVE to call me and notify me if you are giving me an RSC assignment....If you don't notify me it ain't my problem! (CD)Okay I'll look into it! (Me) You do that and have a good night.

So they assigned me a OOP which means Out Of Position for you LUAL guys it is the same as the old ANP. So the flight office says they will get it taken care of, we'll see.

The next day I am given a 03:00 RSC. At 03:01 the phone rings DH to ORD operate to BOS DH to DEN a 15:33 min RAP. How exactly is FAR 117 making our lives better? In any case no biggie but if they need to build an ID that has 2:00 flying and almost 7 hours DH time in it to cover one leg out of ORD because they don't have one single solitary F/O available on reserve in ORD that day we've got some MAJOR issues getting ready to happen this summer. This is MAY the summer rush isn't even on yet.

Given the combination of a severely understaffed crew desk mixed in with a bunch of untrained rookies running it and being short of pilots we are being set up for the perfect storm this summer, you'd better batten down the hatches folks! The crew desk is overwhelmed, understaffed and unable to deal with the demand. Maybe Howard should spend a shift or two with these folks? Waddaya think Howie? It might shed some light on why our operation is falling apart......

 

Wow, contrast that with 737 FO's in EWR. In the last several months I've been called exactly one time, and that was for a RSC. Of my crashpad 'mates, I think I've seen one guy get called for a trip over the last few months. I know guys that finished IOE in Jan and still aren't off high mins.

 

I feel for ya Hoss and others...what has me perplexed is that this thread was NOT about the guppy. Rsv on her has been a b!thc ...back then and this summer as well...well if you were lax based it would be.

 

Looks like you get to hang up your mop and squeegee fer June, Hoss! Enjoy!

 

I'm hoping you get that bump in the fall Hoss.

 

Based on the first quarter earnings conference call, storms are still a valid reason to post a loss. Just remember, it's not bad management, it's those darned storms over which management has no control that are the problem.

 

Don't know all the particulars but you might not of had to accept the second assignment per the UPA...
Again, not sure of all the details of your situation, but 20-K-6-e might apply?
Also, did they give you 12 hours of rest because they assigned the new short call after 1800? 20-K-6-d?

 

Short Bus,

You are correct. I skrewd myself and I verified I skrewd myself later. I am generally not so bright at 02:00. They DID give me 12 hours rest after 18:00 incident, and then I picked up the phone when they called me during my required rest period I was still psychologically hard charged for a 02:00 call from the original RSC, and I accepted the assignment, which they can do if you (ME) are stupid enough to accept it. So I done did the second one to myself....The call went like this. (CD) Hello F/O we have a 06:00 departure for you this morning. (ME) I can't do that you reset my rest. (CD) Okay we have a 10:00 departure for then. (ME) Okay.... 10 minutes later it hits me, I JUST DID WHAT?.....Oh well never again!

 

Actually we on the 76T in Denver have been notified that they are going to turn the screws to us this summer. Apparently it has started a couple of weeks early.

When I say "turn the screws" that means an increase of 65% in block hours for us this summer.

 

Beware because it is starting in the EWR 737 FO as well now. Two weeks ago I was on a trip thru IAD, we blocked in and were checking our next flight when we found out we had been reassigned to go south of the border (Captain & I) because another crew became illegal.

This last Wed they ran out of pilots legal for assignments and started breaking trips into pieces and assigning some to out of base and extending others.

Friday in EWR they ran out of afternoon short calls and field standbys (used them all) and when I arrived from my 3 hour delayed flight I found out they held a flight 4 hours for me and sent me out on the 5 hour flight (Captain, FAs and aircraft were already boarded and waiting.) We arrived at our destination at 1am and they had to delay the FA's morning flight because they were well below min rest.