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Question for Comair guys??
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min guarantee per month is 75 hours. i've been out on line since sept as a new hire and have been averaging between 85-90 hours per month. Highest I have gotten so far has been 96 hours of pay if I remember right. Lines are made of with a min of 83 and max of 92 hours,somwhere around there. Hope this answers your question.
Later,
Hammer
Later,
Hammer
Palerider957
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Hammer:
How does your reserve system work? We are in heated (and unproductive) negotiations right now. One of the most important issues to us as ASA is scheduling and reserve assignments. We anticipate major progress in this area eventually (even if a strike is required).
Also, we've heard rumors of a Comair crew base in ATL within the next two months or so......any thing you have heard.
Rest assured, eventhough a Comair base in ATL is a bit unnerving to ASA, the CMR pilots will be treated like brothers.
How does your reserve system work? We are in heated (and unproductive) negotiations right now. One of the most important issues to us as ASA is scheduling and reserve assignments. We anticipate major progress in this area eventually (even if a strike is required).
Also, we've heard rumors of a Comair crew base in ATL within the next two months or so......any thing you have heard.
Rest assured, eventhough a Comair base in ATL is a bit unnerving to ASA, the CMR pilots will be treated like brothers.
Pale, I apprecaite the open arms for us in ATL. As far as i have heard its just a rumor right now. And i'm sure you know how rumors come and go.
As far as reserve goes i'll try and explain....
Being on reserve, and with our PBS bidding system, mainly all we can bid are days off or types of days off (i.e. weekends, or certain days of the week or month, consecutive days off, etc.)
Once that is complete the company will publish the days for the month, which will be marked as just (RS).
After we know that, we have what is called a "SAW" window where we can "bid to fly" and also pick our "reserve windows"
Since we are called out by the most junior person to the most senior, what bid to fly does is it allows someone to be put on a "first call" notice. Basically if you bid to fly and are the most senior on reserve you will be called out first rather than last.
They will also try and fill your line up with left over trips sometimes that were either in open time or open check airman time for new hires for example. Also when you bid to fly you'll almost always get 6 ready reserves that month. I'll explain more on that later.
The reserve windows we can bid go from A1- A8 and basically they are blocks of time that you are on call. A1 is from 0000-1400 and A8 is the latest which is from 2000-2400. The others begin at various other times throughout the day.
Once the SAW closes, we know now what days we have off as well as what times we will be on call and, if we bid to fly, what ready reserve pairings we have as well as trips.
Continuing on with ready reserve, it will show up as a pairing on our schedule and will be for a 6 hour block of time. It begins with your show time and ends when you duty off 6 hours later. Ready Reserve periods pay 4:20 worth of pay or whatever you fly IF it is greater than 4:20. So as long as you start your ready, you are going to get paid a min of 4:20 for that day. We are provded with a pager while on reserve so its nice not to have to worry about scheds calling me on my phone MOST of the time. <G>
I hope this answers some of the questions you had even though i may have said more than i needed. PM me if you need any more info. I hope all goes well with you guys and negotions. Too many others in this industry seem to forget where they came from and what it took to get here, for the most part, and lower the bar for many of us. Give em hell.
Later,
Hammer
As far as reserve goes i'll try and explain....
Being on reserve, and with our PBS bidding system, mainly all we can bid are days off or types of days off (i.e. weekends, or certain days of the week or month, consecutive days off, etc.)
Once that is complete the company will publish the days for the month, which will be marked as just (RS).
After we know that, we have what is called a "SAW" window where we can "bid to fly" and also pick our "reserve windows"
Since we are called out by the most junior person to the most senior, what bid to fly does is it allows someone to be put on a "first call" notice. Basically if you bid to fly and are the most senior on reserve you will be called out first rather than last.
They will also try and fill your line up with left over trips sometimes that were either in open time or open check airman time for new hires for example. Also when you bid to fly you'll almost always get 6 ready reserves that month. I'll explain more on that later.
The reserve windows we can bid go from A1- A8 and basically they are blocks of time that you are on call. A1 is from 0000-1400 and A8 is the latest which is from 2000-2400. The others begin at various other times throughout the day.
Once the SAW closes, we know now what days we have off as well as what times we will be on call and, if we bid to fly, what ready reserve pairings we have as well as trips.
Continuing on with ready reserve, it will show up as a pairing on our schedule and will be for a 6 hour block of time. It begins with your show time and ends when you duty off 6 hours later. Ready Reserve periods pay 4:20 worth of pay or whatever you fly IF it is greater than 4:20. So as long as you start your ready, you are going to get paid a min of 4:20 for that day. We are provded with a pager while on reserve so its nice not to have to worry about scheds calling me on my phone MOST of the time. <G>
I hope this answers some of the questions you had even though i may have said more than i needed. PM me if you need any more info. I hope all goes well with you guys and negotions. Too many others in this industry seem to forget where they came from and what it took to get here, for the most part, and lower the bar for many of us. Give em hell.
Later,
Hammer
The rigs are essentially a non-issue in that we fly more hours than the rigs generate.
As always, there is one exception...CD lines. The 1:2 rig (one hour of pay for each two hours duty) helps these guys a lot. A CD line may only have 35-45 actual hours of flying, but have 170 hours of duty time. The pilot on that line will get credit for 85 hours of pay. This is a high time example.
Monthly guarantee for a CD line is 76 hours vs. 75 hours for line-holders and reserves. The April bid packet has 76 CD lines.
The 4:20 average minimum day and 1:3.5 TAFB (trip) rig haven't done anything for me.
Good luck...fly safe!
As always, there is one exception...CD lines. The 1:2 rig (one hour of pay for each two hours duty) helps these guys a lot. A CD line may only have 35-45 actual hours of flying, but have 170 hours of duty time. The pilot on that line will get credit for 85 hours of pay. This is a high time example.
Monthly guarantee for a CD line is 76 hours vs. 75 hours for line-holders and reserves. The April bid packet has 76 CD lines.
The 4:20 average minimum day and 1:3.5 TAFB (trip) rig haven't done anything for me.
Good luck...fly safe!
You're right...they are.
That observation wasn't a complaint, but a statement of fact.
I ususally work trips which average better than five hours per day. If I'm away from home, then I want to fly, not sit in a hotel. That still occurs with the CHO and AGS layovers.
These rigs would be more effective if they were (a) accomodated at the beginning of the planning cycle instead of during a look-back; (b) on a daily vs. monthly basis, and (c) were hard minimums vs. the average minimum day.
Fly safe!
That observation wasn't a complaint, but a statement of fact.
I ususally work trips which average better than five hours per day. If I'm away from home, then I want to fly, not sit in a hotel. That still occurs with the CHO and AGS layovers.
These rigs would be more effective if they were (a) accomodated at the beginning of the planning cycle instead of during a look-back; (b) on a daily vs. monthly basis, and (c) were hard minimums vs. the average minimum day.
Fly safe!
JetPilot_Mike
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As far as the ATL Comair base, hear is the rumor that I heard.
Comair won't do it unless they get a guarentee from DCI to base at least 35 airplanes there for 10 years. So far, they are balking at that idea. Comair doesn't want to waste the money to open a base and have Delta change their mind in 6-9 months, or when the ASA contract is over, perhaps.
Comair won't do it unless they get a guarentee from DCI to base at least 35 airplanes there for 10 years. So far, they are balking at that idea. Comair doesn't want to waste the money to open a base and have Delta change their mind in 6-9 months, or when the ASA contract is over, perhaps.
Palerider957
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One of Comair's chief pilots, during a visit to a recent recurrent ground class stated exactly what JetPilot_Mike posted, with the exception being he said the reason Comair wasn't willing to commit was because they didn't want to disrupt their employees' personal lives by opening a domicile, then closing it six months later.
Estimating conservatively, Comair is spending $800,000 annually at the hotel they use in ATL. It is unlikely they would invest more than that to open a domicile in ATL.
Take this for whatever it's worth.
Estimating conservatively, Comair is spending $800,000 annually at the hotel they use in ATL. It is unlikely they would invest more than that to open a domicile in ATL.
Take this for whatever it's worth.
skydiverdriver
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PositiveRate
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I thought it was 60 days notice.
I heard the ATL rumor from J.C. as well...basically a done deal if we can get some sort of guarantee from mama D that the base is more than just a short term bargaining chip against ASA.
The crewroom buzz is that the announcement will come in may/june for a september opening. It's all heresay at this point...
I heard the ATL rumor from J.C. as well...basically a done deal if we can get some sort of guarantee from mama D that the base is more than just a short term bargaining chip against ASA.
The crewroom buzz is that the announcement will come in may/june for a september opening. It's all heresay at this point...
JetPilot_Mike
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skydiverdriver said:
Is that at Mesaba? One of the perks of your shiney new contract?
Yes, it is 60 days notice at Comair for the opening of a new domicile. And, if they then close the base 6 month's later, or really if ever, they have to pay to relocate all the crew members based there. That can get quite expensive.
bvt1151
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P38JLightning
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ATL
BVT,
Yep, and don't forget per diem. we have a few short layovers, but a lot of 16, 18, almost 24 hour layovers. Times around 70-100 crewmembers (including FA's) times 1.65 an hour. Yikes.
And don't forget the tons of deadheading to and from (a lot of which is on FULL flights, resulting in bumping/compensating/ticking off revenuer pax) and of course the almost daily ferry flights to and from, as well as numerous cancellations and late flights set off from a chain reaction caused by one misconnect anywhere in the system.
Yep, gotta love the portfolio system!
BVT,
Yep, and don't forget per diem. we have a few short layovers, but a lot of 16, 18, almost 24 hour layovers. Times around 70-100 crewmembers (including FA's) times 1.65 an hour. Yikes.
And don't forget the tons of deadheading to and from (a lot of which is on FULL flights, resulting in bumping/compensating/ticking off revenuer pax) and of course the almost daily ferry flights to and from, as well as numerous cancellations and late flights set off from a chain reaction caused by one misconnect anywhere in the system.
Yep, gotta love the portfolio system!
Here is how our rig structure works:
There are four different rigs. At the end of the month each rig is calculated and you are paid the greatest of the four.
1. MIN DAY RIG: Every day you show up to work and sign in the computer you are CREDITED 4:20
2. DUTY RIG: For every 2 minutes you are on DUTY you are CREDITED 1 minute.
3. TRIP RIG: For every 3 and 1/2 minutes you are on a trip you are CREDITED one minute. Not exactly sure if it is 3.5 or 3, contract is up in CVG.
4. NORMAL DAY RIG: For every 1 minute you fly you are CREDITED 1 minute, Block or better.
At the end of the month (look back), all the rigs are calculated and your check is for the amount of hours for the rig that earned you the most credit.
The most common for lineholders is the normal day rig. If you hold a high speed line it may be possible to get paid up to 95 hours on the duty rig, but not all high speeds pay more than the 76 hour guarentee for lineholders. A reserve pilot often may get paid for the min day rig. I.E. work 19 days 19x4:20= 82:20, even though they only flew for say 73 hours. Besides those three examples it is very rare to break the normal day credit.
Hope this answers your question. As you can see there is still work to be done here.
There are four different rigs. At the end of the month each rig is calculated and you are paid the greatest of the four.
1. MIN DAY RIG: Every day you show up to work and sign in the computer you are CREDITED 4:20
2. DUTY RIG: For every 2 minutes you are on DUTY you are CREDITED 1 minute.
3. TRIP RIG: For every 3 and 1/2 minutes you are on a trip you are CREDITED one minute. Not exactly sure if it is 3.5 or 3, contract is up in CVG.
4. NORMAL DAY RIG: For every 1 minute you fly you are CREDITED 1 minute, Block or better.
At the end of the month (look back), all the rigs are calculated and your check is for the amount of hours for the rig that earned you the most credit.
The most common for lineholders is the normal day rig. If you hold a high speed line it may be possible to get paid up to 95 hours on the duty rig, but not all high speeds pay more than the 76 hour guarentee for lineholders. A reserve pilot often may get paid for the min day rig. I.E. work 19 days 19x4:20= 82:20, even though they only flew for say 73 hours. Besides those three examples it is very rare to break the normal day credit.
Hope this answers your question. As you can see there is still work to be done here.
JetPilot_Mike
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Yes, lots of hotel expense.
On the other side is moving expenses out of ATL if the company decides to close the base. Without looking it up, I think they are responsible. I think this would be at least $800,000 for the 350-390 pilots. The flight attendant contract might have to pay them moving expenses also, I am not sure.
On the other side is moving expenses out of ATL if the company decides to close the base. Without looking it up, I think they are responsible. I think this would be at least $800,000 for the 350-390 pilots. The flight attendant contract might have to pay them moving expenses also, I am not sure.
P38JLightning
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big picture
CaptDave,
Yeah I heard we won't put a domicile in ATL unless DAL gives us a 15 year commitment. Yeah right. I bet they wouldn't give us a 15 year commitment on CVG.
But 800K is chump change compared to what we are spending on hotels, per diem, dead heading, ferry flights and loss of on time performance and cancellations (because one flight cancels, or one crew member gets sick or whatever, setting off chain reactions that screw up many more flights for the rest of the day) each year.
Double that for FA's and you get about 2.5 million. I bet we waste more than that IN ONE YEAR running this alter ego paper shell of ourselves just because we don't have a domicile. No amount of fuzzy math could justify that, to either a DAL or a Comair manager. It just doesn't add up.
Unless, of course, they don't care. Like, perhaps, they are so wrapped up around getting massive 40% cuts from the Delta pilots so they don't tick off the gate agents. Maybe they are worrying about keeping the mechanics from demanding to ride on every tug for every pushback. Maybe GG needs those cuts from the pilots, and only from the pilots, so the brandy sniffers at the country club (many of which he "shouldn't" have hired and "shouldn't" have JUST GIVEN them massive "retention" packages will love him again.
Maybe 4 or 5 million a year is chump change to them and its not even on their radar screen. Oh but the 800K, if they close the base within 2 years of opening it, yeah that's the deal breaker.
Now there's another possibility too that actually does make sense financialy. Like Comair is only going to be this large in ATL to scare ASA into a "below the bar" contract (again, no brandy sniffer wants to explain "Comair plus" to his blue blooded ATA/RAA labor bashing fellow nobles) and once that happens we'll quietly go away just like we did in DFW.
So either they don't know what they're doing, they don't care how much money they are wasting, or our large presence there is only a temporary back filling scare tactic.
CaptDave,
Yeah I heard we won't put a domicile in ATL unless DAL gives us a 15 year commitment. Yeah right. I bet they wouldn't give us a 15 year commitment on CVG.
But 800K is chump change compared to what we are spending on hotels, per diem, dead heading, ferry flights and loss of on time performance and cancellations (because one flight cancels, or one crew member gets sick or whatever, setting off chain reactions that screw up many more flights for the rest of the day) each year.
Double that for FA's and you get about 2.5 million. I bet we waste more than that IN ONE YEAR running this alter ego paper shell of ourselves just because we don't have a domicile. No amount of fuzzy math could justify that, to either a DAL or a Comair manager. It just doesn't add up.
Unless, of course, they don't care. Like, perhaps, they are so wrapped up around getting massive 40% cuts from the Delta pilots so they don't tick off the gate agents. Maybe they are worrying about keeping the mechanics from demanding to ride on every tug for every pushback. Maybe GG needs those cuts from the pilots, and only from the pilots, so the brandy sniffers at the country club (many of which he "shouldn't" have hired and "shouldn't" have JUST GIVEN them massive "retention" packages will love him again.
Maybe 4 or 5 million a year is chump change to them and its not even on their radar screen. Oh but the 800K, if they close the base within 2 years of opening it, yeah that's the deal breaker.
Now there's another possibility too that actually does make sense financialy. Like Comair is only going to be this large in ATL to scare ASA into a "below the bar" contract (again, no brandy sniffer wants to explain "Comair plus" to his blue blooded ATA/RAA labor bashing fellow nobles) and once that happens we'll quietly go away just like we did in DFW.
So either they don't know what they're doing, they don't care how much money they are wasting, or our large presence there is only a temporary back filling scare tactic.
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