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swreservepilot
But you can't just look at the top of the list (8.D.2). Reserve assignments are made, first off, matching pairing length and days available. If there's a 3-day trip, it will be given to those with 3 days of reserve available before it will be assigned to someone with 4 days available. After the pairing length/days available match, then skeds looks at the RPT, or Reserve Projected Total. (Also note that there are advanced rules that cause scheduling to split up assignments...for our purposes that's beyond the scope of this document, but maybe in Part 2).
What the heck is RPT? This is a number that is calculated by multiplying the number of reserve days remaining in the month by 6.0 and then adding the value of the reserve trips flown to date (5.W.69). On the first day of the month, with 15 days of reserve, your RPT will be 15 x 6.0, or 90. If you don't work the first day of reserve, your RPT drops to 84, or (value of trips flown that month) + 14 x 6 = 84. If you DO work a trip that pays 6.5 (highly likely that will be your pay, since that's the daily guarantee IF you get called out), then your RPT for the second day would be:
6.5 + 14x6 = 90.5. Bear with us, it's a complex system, but understanding it is truly to your benefit. (We’ll get back to the DRO in a moment).
At this point, it's handy to explain how reserves are paid. As a reserve line holder, you get a 'guarantee' of 6 trips for pay for every day on reserve. Most months have 15 RAPs, thus the usual 'you will get paid 90 TFP guarantee'. Often you will have days carried in from the previous month, and this can lead to a guarantee of 96, 102 or even 108TFP. If you didn't get called in a single day in the month, you would get the guarantee--of 6 TFP per day multiplied by the days you were on call. However, this never happens.
Once you get called out on a trip, your pay theoretically goes up. Instead of getting paid 24TFP for a 4-day block you are not used on, you will get a minimum of average daily guarantee for each day you are used--6.5 pay per day (4.I.4). But...not so fast. You will only see that pay if you go over the guarantee for the month.
To demonstrate this, let’s look at the board below. You can see with a 31-day month, there are 16 days of reserve lined in red, and no carry-in or out into the next month to make it simpler. Let’s say it’s Christmas Day. So far in the month, you’ve worked every reserve day, marked by a blue line. Your trips have ‘credited’ 28 for the first 4-day, 27 for the second, and you did two two-days on the 17th and 19th for 13 TFP apiece. You did get called out on Christmas eve for another two-day, paying 13. If you don’t work the rest of the month on your remaining two reserve days, what will your pay be? 94? 90? 96? 106?
The correct answer is 96. Yes, despite having credited a total of 94 (28+27+13+13+13), your pay does not break the guarantee of 96 for the month (16x6). So you will be on-call the last two days for a total of 2TFP. Merry Christmas indeed. This is the most convoluted thing about reserve, the most unfair, and hopefully it will get fixed in the next contract. More on this later...
Okay, so back to the DRO and figuring out if you're getting called or not. First, look at open time. Are there any trips that match your RAP (AM/PM) and have the same number of days that you are available? Let's say there are three 3-day AM trips, and you're in a AM RAP. Now we have to look at above the line/below the line. See the dashed line on the DRO? Note that it divides those in a 3-day block whose RPT is at or below their guarantee, and those who are above. We'll look at those who are below their guarantee, since that is who skeds looks at first. Let's start with the first person. First on the list (all other things equal, seniority is the tiebreaker) just means that they get to exercise their preference first. (8.D.4.b)
Huh? What's a preference? You can select it in CWA, under preferences/elections (8.D.7.a). You can choose between FLY/PASS, AM/PM, and Pass last day only/Potential extra day. The contract explains these a little more, but for our purposes, choose FLY if you're a commuter and don't want to pay for hotels. Choose Pass if you're trying to stay home. Pick AMs or PMs as your preference (they typically pay no attention to this anyway). Pass Last day only is just what it says, and Potential Extra Day just means that they might call you with an add-on to your last day that will pay premium, and you have the option to accept or decline it (this is rare). Unfortunately, typically no attention is paid to your preferences. You can be a PM reserve lineholder, on a PM RAP, with a PM preference...and scheduling can still put you on an AM trip. The RAP only applies on the first day of a trip--once they have you, you are theirs. This is commonly done by deadheading you the afternoon/evening of your first RAP to an overnight, then having you fly an AM trip the rest of the time. Likewise, the Fly/Pass preference is only paid attention to when your RPT is below the guarantee for the month. Once you are above your guarantee, (aka below the dashed line), the fly/pass preference is no longer used.
So, looking at our DRO example, you can see you're above the dashed line. Scheduling looks at the RPT first, then the preference, when assigning to those above the line. But scheduling has three trips to assign. Kevin is listed first in the 3-day blocks (called buckets), but he has a pass preference. With only one trip to assign, since you're the last person that is below your guarantee, you'll be the first person called out. They'll give the first one to you (and the most lucrative, if you have a fly preference), they'll give the next one to Kevin, since he's also below guarantee. Once we start working below the dashed line, the DRO actually goes in order of callout (again staying within pairing length/reserve availability buckets). Once below the line, preferences mean nothing here. It is all based on RPT compared to monthly guarantee, seniority for tiebreakers. So, Jim would be the third person called. Essentially, skeds does everything they can to even out the assignments and to avoid having anyone above guarantee, especially at the end of the month.
Continue reading with Part 3: Sitting for Free, or pay on Reserve
