One thing I've learned about reserve is that no one likes their own system. Everyone is sure their reserve rules are the worse. I crossed over to S-CO knowing I would be on reserve for a long time. The average CO reserve seems to be enjoying the privilege about 5 years. Some sit longer and some less but no matter how long your on reserve we all agree it's too long! In this post I am going to do my best to explain the CO system. I will post about the UA and CMI reserve system at a later date.
After speaking with so many people on both sides I realized few of us really know the rules and guidelines of each. How many of us know anything about the reserve rules of the CMI contract? I've never heard it mentioned. If we are ever going to get a combined contract we need to understand each subsidiary's contract. Once we understand the differences perhaps we can work together to negotiate an industry leading reserve system.
On the CO reserve system you can actually control your schedule and make reserve work for you. A flight attendant can pick up a trip out of open if they are coming from days off, have sat airport alert (stand by) but didn't get a trip and has flown under 65 hours. As you can imagine it's a lot easier to plan your life if you know you can pick up your next assignment.
All reserves here have a 83 hour guarantee and you can preference your flying. There are 3 choices; request to fly, airport alert and request minimum fly. You can preference a choice everyday your available. I have had my requests honored more times than not.
There are 2 different reserve philosophies the first is to basically fly as little as possible. By flying low time 2 days trips with long layovers you build per diem, stay under 65 hours and have control of your schedule all month. One of the cross-overs actually flew 37 hours and was paid for 83, not bad right? As Pam Pace said " I chose to "work it" to fly minimum....there are many options for different preferences.....learning to make a system work "FOR" you ...is a beautiful thing!!"
Others chose to fly high time. They preference "request to fly". Their plan is to fly as much as possible early in the month, because scheduling/ crew desk will use you at the end of the month. This is the strategy a friend used to earn 110 hours for June.
As a reserve it's always good to pick up trips with Dead Head, your fully paid for DH but it doesn't count in your hours towards 65, so essentially you are earning money and have control of your schedule longer.
Trading at S-CO is terrific. It's first come first serve. That said, reserves can trade with a pool, or with another reserve. Yep, it's a different system, you can't begin trading your days once you've received your line but you must wait for the open window. Reserves generally advertise their needs and set their trades up before the open window. For instance this month reserve to reserve trades opened on June 26th at 1700-0400. June 27th brought us reserve trades with the pool at 0500-0700. At 2100 EWR reopened for all trades.
Another terrific option is a partial drop. Let's say your on a 4 day trip out of EWR, the last day you do a BOS turn. You can call scheduling and if there is enough coverage you can drop that turn. On my last trip two crew members dropped the first two days of their pairing/ID. We flew the first 3 legs and enjoyed a layover in YYT and were finished in EWR the next day at 1100 when they took over their pairing essentially turning a 4 day into a 2 day. How cool is that?
In another post "We Beat the 1600 Pick Up" I talked about the 1600 reserve pick up window at EWR. Basically at 1500 CST for IAH and CLE, 1600 in EWR, reserves go on CCS and chose a trip. AT 1600 you click and hope for the best. I found though, trips are continually posted for pick up until 1800. If I don't see anything I like I wait and watch CCS for a better trip. Which brings us to Golden Pairings. A Golden Pairing departs before 1100 and a line holder cannot bump a reserve out of the trip. However any trip departing after 1100 can be taken by a line holder but there is a 12 hour cut off. If within 12 hours of check-in no one has picked up your trip.....it's yours! Let me say this, I have yet to be bumped and I've flown several nice trips. Other f/as that have been bumped tell me they have been given a chance to pick up something else.
S-Co has a two hour call out. That's 2 hours from check-in. Knock on wood, I've yet to have a two hour call out.........
Schedules are as follows, lines are built with 10, 11 and 12 days off. At 10 days off you have a 83 hour guarantee. if you have an 11 or 12 day day off line you lose 4 hours for each of those days. A 12 day off line would have a 75 hour guarantee. You can bust that guarantee and fly more or call scheduling to restore days off to increase your guarantee to 83 hours.
Every line has 4 immoveable days. These are days where scheduling can't work you into your day off. You can always count on these. I traded my line around and put days off behind my immoveable days so that I had 7 days off. I added a personal drop (wop) for a total of 8 days for a Hawaiian vacation. If you trade an immoveable day only the day traded becomes a moveable day. The rest remain immoveable.
Rolling.........I know everyone at UA has heard of rolling. The crew desk if necessary can roll your day off. For instance let's say you have 3 days off beginning the 11th. You are good for 4 days and scheduling wants to send you to BOM on a 5 day trip. Yes they can do it but they have to restore your day off. So instead of beginning your day off on the 11th you will begin your day off on the 12th.
Now remember you can't work more than 6 days in a row. Every 6 days you must have a day off. So no matter what happens the 7th day is a day of rest. That brings us to break days. Since you must have 1 day in 7 off there can be a time when your exceed the 6 days on. For instance in an EOM/ End of Month Conflict. You will be given a break day, 24 hours off in between the days on to make you legal. I have worked through my break day and it was reassigned after I returned to base.
Reserves at S-CO are able to pick up their choice of training dates. I called scheduling and ask for 787 training on a specific date, it was open and I was awarded that day. An added bonus is that I can trade into another class if I so desire.
Airport Alert is CO's equivalent to UA's standby. Given in 4 hour increments it can be extended to 6 hours. If you sit AA and get a trip you receive 2 hours pay and the trip pay.
If your AA is extended 2 hours and you sit any portion of the 2 hours and are assigned a trip you are credited with the greater of 6 hours or the flight time plus 4 hours for that duty period. Per diem begins when you began sitting AA.
When you are assigned a pairing after sitting 2 hours AA you receive 4 hours pay or 2 hours plus flight time which ever is greater.
While sitting AA at CO you must be in the crew room near the phone. ;-( Scheduling will not call your cell phone.
Reserve lines are built as Call out lines and 24 hour ready lines. Call out lines have 8 hour increments in which scheduling can contact you. They can never exceed 8 hours and can be split into two 4 hour periods. Last month I held a call out line that required I be available between 0400 to 0900 and 1500 to 1900. If the crew desk calls at 0330 I technically don't have to answer the phone.
Scheduling can convert you to ready if needed but never more than 3 times in a bid period. They can convert a call out reserve to ready if he/she doesn't acknowledge their assignment at midnight CT.
All reserves are converted to ready the first 3 days of each bid period, July 1st through July 7th, 3 days before and after Thanksgiving Day and December 21st to January 4th.
Recently I heard the Cross-overs referred to as HPRs or Highest Paid Reserves. It's true, making a decent salary does make reserve more palatable but honestly there's more to it. The ability to pick up trips, trade with one another and the pool allows you to control your schedule so that you don't feel like a pawn in the airline game. Sure it's not perfect but worked properly the reserve rules can be used to your advantage ensuring a good quality of life.
Last year we heard horror stories about reserve at S-CO, however things have changed. I can honestly say.....it's not a bad deal. If you have to be on reserve you certainly want the flexibility this system offers.
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