Anybody that does RR frequently at Mesaba care to comment on what the percentage is that they are used to go fly when on RR?
How often are they truly given a short notice call ("we need you now") versus like lets say one hour or 1.5 hour notice to departure time?
Has anybody called in fatigued after sitting at the airport for 6 or 7 hours and then been given flying assignments that put you at a 13 or 14 hour duty day.
I do RR frequently and obviously have nothing good to say about it. Im pretty sure the only reason they utilize it is to make our lives difficult, but then again maybe I'm biased about the subject. I don't think it really helps them increase there operational #'s as much as they would say.
For me most of the time that I'm called is to work a flight that leaves in an hour or two hours. I think there has only been one time that I was given an assignment that had people on the airplane waiting for me. I wish the union and the company could meet in the middle and settle on a short call program that would allow people that live near the airport (crashpad or permanent residence) to stay at home and accept maybe a 45min callout to get to the airport verses the 1.5 instead of doing RR. Obviously still keeping the 1.5 callout but just have one guy on short call.
And when they give you a 2hour notice for a flight it makes you wonder how early they really knew about it but waited to get inside the 2.5hrs so they could utilize the RR guy that is already getting 4hrs of credit for being at the airport. Mines will get there moneys worth.
I had scheduling call me in to work the other day asking me if I could accept less than 1.5hrs to get to the airport and how much would they need to delay the flight that should have automatically been delayed 25min so I got my full 2.5hours before departure time. My answer was "well back in the day I would have probably helped the company out but since they have chosen the road of RR I will not do both for them. Thats how it used to be, you would try to get there a few minutes early if need be to help them out hoping they wouldn't start to utilize RR which was always in our FOM. But those days are gone.
My last comment about RR and I will get off the soap box is its great when you sit at the airport starting at 430am, so you gotten up at probably 330am. You sit at the airport for say 5 or 6 hours, they call you to go fly. So now you are thinking that instead of going home after 8hours you are looking at a 10 hour day and then they add another out and back on top of the original (so 4 legs). Now it has turned into a 13 to 14 duty day. I know this doesn't happen often but it does. I would recommend to start calling in fatigued. To me its ridiculous and abuse of the RR program even though technically legal according to the contract as long as assigned within 8 hours of starting your duty and also not scheduled over a 14hr day. When asked why they don't utilize the PM RR for the second flight they give you the "well we need to keep them available for something else that might come up and we can still utilize you.
I know, fun times at XJ "thats reality fokes"