Alaska reserve system

[DBS]

I know Alaska isn't hiring yet,but for the guys on the bottom of the list. What is the reserve system like? Thanks!

 

[Dash8don]

2 Types of reserve lines

Long Call-
-75 hour min guarantee
-11 hour call out
-Contactable 24 hours a day on reserve days (you go into rest once notified of trip)
-Company only has to build min. of 10% of lines per base, per seat as long call.
-If long call lines not bid the company will not assign
-First to be assigned if able (ahead of a short call)
-You can pick up open trips the day before if they match your number of days on reserve
-The company can convert you to short call up to 4 days per month. Must pay you 2 hours for the first conversion and 1 hour for each conversion thereafter. Pay is above guarantee.

Short Call-
-2 hour call out
-79 hour guarantee
-Many different lines of 15 hour long zones of contactability, depending on base and staffing needs. 3am, 4am, 6am, 8am, 9am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, 5pm.

All lines are built with 12 days off. One block of 5 days off, one 3 day off block and 2-2 day off blocks.

Long calls fly the most, sometimes even breaking guarantee. Short call depends on the base, zone and staffing. Last month there were a few LA short call pilots that never flew.

Hope that helps.

 

[DBS]

Sure does! Thanks for the reply.

 

[densoo]

-Many different lines of 15 hour long zones of contactability, depending on base and staffing needs. 3am, 4am, 6am, 8am, 9am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, 5pm.

Dash8don,
Are these short-call callout periods assigned before the month begins, before a reserve block begins, or just before each day of reserve begins?

 

[Dash8don]

Dash8don,
Are these short-call callout periods assigned before the month begins, before a reserve block begins, or just before each day of reserve begins?

The reserve lines are built with all the same zone throughout the month for any given reserve line. Scheduling cannot change the zone you were awarded for the month as a short call. If you are a LC they can convert you to short call up to 4 days per month and they will assign the zone.

Example: Lines 901-904 are all Zone 0 (3am), Lines 905-908 are all Zone 2 (6am), Lines 909-911 are Zone 7 (10am), Lines 912-914 are all LC.

 

[densoo]

The reserve lines are built with all the same zones throughout the month for any given reserve line. Scheduling cannot change the zone you were awarded for the month as a short call. If you are a LC they can convert you to short call up to 4 days per month and they will assign the zone.

Thanks.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

They can't change zones anymore? That's an improvement over the last CBA.

 

[Old School 737]

I thought they could call you at the start of your zone (short call) and say hey guess what go into rest now and you have a trip that is outside your original zone? I know that's not switching zones but kinda like...

 

[densoo]

I thought they could call you at the start of your zone (short call) and say hey guess what go into rest now and you have a trip that is outside your original zone? I know that's not switching zones but kinda like...

That's called "double-pumping" at CAL, and it is very common. On an overnight short call period you get a solid night's sleep. At the end of the call period at 7am, they call you and say you're now in rest for a redeye, expeciting you to go back to sleep all day, after sleeping all night, and be rested for the redeye.

 

[densoo]

dash8, thanks for the info. How an airline (union) treats its reserves says a lot about the character of the pilot group. These are some fairly decent rules. CAL can convert long to short 4 times before they have pay an extra penny, and they can convert all 18 days if they want. There's no limit. And the extra pay is not automatic. You have to file a pay claim in a certain time window after the 4th and every instance after. If you don't, you don't get paid. (There are many areas of the contract where they rope-a-dope the pay understanding that they'll make money because of pilots schedules there's a certain percentage who won't be able to get the pay claim in time.)

They can change your zone each and every day you're on reserve and they do. You can have a 3am callout on first day of reserve and a 1600 callout on the second. Totally screws up your body clock.

All your items exceed CAL's rules. Kudos to Alaska pilots for understanding the concept of taking care of reserves. It makes the most junior new hire realize that they're at a decent airline, and it allows senior folks to upgrade in equipment and position earlier since the reserve isn't a sweatshop type of operation and destroy your QOL.

 

[Dash8don]

Old School is correct. I forgot about that, they haven't done that to me in a long time. They can assign you a trip out of zone with enough notice. There are some contractual restrictions on it however, I would have to look them up. They can't, however, call you and say, "tomorrow we are changing your zone from Zone 0 to Zone 5."

 

[CesnaCaptn]

One of the big items in our new contract is that scheduling can't call a pilot who has a reserve time that starts before 10am and flip his zone so as to have duty that goes beyond 2am. The times are off the top of my head. Basically, scheduling can't call a morning reserve, put him into rest, and make him fly a redeye.

 

[Flyintin]

Rope a dope

CAL can convert long to short 4 times before they have pay an extra penny, and they can convert all 18 days if they want. There's no limit. And the extra pay is not automatic. You have to file a pay claim in a certain time window after the 4th and every instance after. If you don't, you don't get paid. (There are many areas of the contract where they rope-a-dope the pay understanding that they'll make money because of pilots schedules there's a certain percentage who won't be able to get the pay claim in time.)

Densoo,

I found your post interesting, especially the part about ‘rope a dope’. Perhaps the pilot group, Union or Association could survey to identify how many events that require a pilot action to get paid and document a collective loss both for the pilot and the Union as dues. Many here know publishing this information is only a start of a long conversation during flights but go one step further and identify methods to eliminate such losses. For eg; When a pilot is converted which triggers a claim perhaps an Union employee or volunteer back at the Union HQ could be notified to start the claim on your behalf. I am sure the company will come in and try and say that it must be initiated and completed by the pilot but I would like to know why. Depending on the loss to the employees due to inability to file claims could be a windfall for the company. Show the data (they prolly know this already as they spend the time and dime to follow each metric but we as individuals do not and cannot afford to do so.)

Many industries now plan on consumers not filing rebate claims as a revenue stream. There are websites that detail what needs to be done to ensure that you do get that rebate. I wonder if a company could justify to sell a product after rebates and its associated management expenses then why even go through the dance of offering rebates. They know we as consumers are suckers and will not file and even if we do they will claim it was lost (http://www.complaintsboard.com/comp...les-it-was-submitted-as-required-c153295.html).

I admit, I do not understand the nuances of setting up a volunteer or staff member of the Union to handle such claims for the pilots but someone knowledgeable can chime in. After all any dues collected from the pilots from such events (conversions, etc.) could possibly pay for the staff member while the pilot who is being represented can know that the Union has his or her back.

 

[densoo]

Flyintin,

Your example of rebates as a scam in that few people end up submitting them and then they deny and delay until you lose track or give up is exactly what CAL's mode is with the contract. They'll dare the union to grieve an issue and then just deny, appeal, deny, appeal, until there becomes a what's the point aspect to the whole thing.

The UAL union is finding this out and it is too bad they have to become a part of this dismal treatment. Fly Now Grieve Later is the motto at CAL. I think some CAL pilots didn't want the merger to happen simply because they were too embarrassed to have anyone find out how badly they've allowed themselves to be treated for so long. It's getting pretty obvious now. You can see the four stages of grief in the blast mails coming from the UAL MEC and LECs.

The "train by pilot bulletin" is the most recent example. They rattled their swords loudly and vigorously, but in the end the UAL MEC said the FAA has approved it and for them to not do it puts their license in jeopardy. Guess what. They're doing it.

CAL's latest one is changing their IDs to UAL IDs with no union coord and little CASS/FAA/TSA coord. Lots of union shouting, but everyone did the walk to the CPO, picked them up, and now there are incidents of problems at TSA, jump seating using CASS, gen decs at customs, etc. Homeland Security isn't real fond of a person in a pilot uniform wearing an analog ID that says you work for one company when all the other digital ID data says you work for someone else. In the space of just a few days the company went from "you must turn in your CAL ID," to "pilots may opt to keep their CAL ID," to "all pilots must have both a CAL ID and a UAL ID in their possession at all times." The fact that they punched a hole in the CAL ID didn't help. It'll all work out as it always does, but it's an unreal way to treat people.

Back to your original point about pay. I "heard" that the DAL union has some full time admin folks that do nothing but go through every pay register for every flight a pilot works to ensure contractual compliance. Have further heard these admin folks find $2M to $4M of money in the pilots favor each year. Well worth the $50K or so the admin people might each get paid. Maybe someone can confirm this. It might just be wishful thinking that some union, somewhere, is constructively making gains for the pilots. But I can tell you the union doesn't do it. It's up to each pilot and individual pilots are no match for the mega-MBA rope a dope.

 

[dashtrash]

Old School is correct. I forgot about that, they haven't done that to me in a long time. They can assign you a trip out of zone with enough notice. There are some contractual restrictions on it however, I would have to look them up. They can't, however, call you and say, "tomorrow we are changing your zone from Zone 0 to Zone 5."

The rest loophole ends up doing the same thing.

 

[CesnaCaptn]

The rest loophole ends up doing the same thing.

What rest loophole?

 

[igneousy2]

I've done reserve at 3 of the 4 bases and have found that reserve at ANC, LAX and probably PDX is liveable. Reserve in SEA BLOWS!

In SEA, you get called out for every little misconnect. Sometimes the crew is only running 30 minutes behind but scheduling is worried about the plane swap...call out a reserve crew....deadhead original crew in the back...deadhead reserve crew back the same day. Probably less of that now that we are so short.

Also, not sure if it changed now that they allow line holders to pick up simulator seat-subs, but Seattle also covers those. ONCE a year is enough for me so that was also a big negative.

Average SEA reserve seems to run 50-70 hours a month. Other bases seem to average 30-50 depending on their zone.