With all due respect to Dropp the Pilot, Emma Rate, Gulfa, Uplink et al I think you were very quick to post negative responses to Warning 14's post. While I too do not agree with some of the tactics suggested, I certainly give him full credit for having the balls to say enough is enough. Probably a bad analogy but you guys remind me of a woman who has been a victim of spousal abuse for years and years and when asked why she didn't do something about it she can't give an answer as the constant beatings have numbed her senses. I think the constant beatings the management has given us over the past years have dulled our senses and the response from Warning 14 attempted to bring us back into reality. Anyway, I digress.
To crapflying I do appreciate your comments and you do have some valid points but I have a difficult time taking advice from someone who has contributed to the problem (by way of you coming in as a DEC). This company was on the verge of having to increase our T&C's (due to a shortage of Captains and the continuing expansion) until your lot came around so in some respects you have contributed to the problem. Easy to tell others to forgo extra pay or position when you took advantage of it yourself?? Bottom line is the majority of pilots are whores and you are no different than the majority but I do appreciate your input none the less.
Anyway, my take on the new credit system is it can go two ways:
Version 1: We can take the simplistic and naive view as some have done on this thread that the only changes will be to Productivity pay and Appointment pay (taking away from productivity and giving to appointment; and in some cases actually resulting in a neutral to slight gain for the line pilots). However, I don't think any one of us is stupid enough to think it ends there, hence version 2:
Version 2: The existing credit based system will remain in place but only to fill each pilots monthly roster at the planning stage. It is the most efficient way to mathematically try to distribute an equal amount of work to each pilot (that is the reason why the credit based system was adopted in the first place). However, it will not in any respect be used to build final rosters, only to act as a start point to assign work.
The pairings will be built to maximize operational profitability at the expense of individuals and their families. Not that it was not being done already but there was a financial cost associated with inefficient scheduling; namely having to pay a deadheading crew credit for their time. This somewhat forced the planners to be prudent in designing pairings. Now that is gone and therefore expect many more pairings each month with flights one way/deadhead return as there is no cost to them to attempt to roster efficiently.
The way they will assign work will be to take the given productivity pay threshold for the given month and divide that by the number of pilots available. This of course will result in a significant amount of unassigned flying as we all know the policy at EK is to run the operation short of the necessary number of pilots (especially Captains) needed, hence the requirements to pay productivity pay in the past. (By the way, also bear in mind that the "productivity pay" for a 4 year Captain is only 76.84 dhs/hr in real increased wage payments to the company as the base rate of a 4 year Captain based on the old credit system would be approx 323.16 dhs/hr anyway).
Once the initial build is completed with all the various Flight time limitations accounted for (ie, your absolute minimum legal days off inserted which is anyone's guess given the complexity of the new limitations they have imposed) then the planners will be left with the spaces in each pilots roster where there is no flying assigned. As the minimum days off are now accounted for, they can simply insert reserve into each available space. Job done and the roster is published with each pilot having minimum days off, rostered hours right at the threshold and every other day as reserve.
Next is what to do with all that unassigned flying. Simple, at any given time probably 1/3 of the pilots in the company will now be on reserve (as stated above). So first look at the list of guys available on reserve and see if any of them is not rostered to the threshold yet. If you find someone, call him out for the trip. And if you can't find someone under the limit, simply call up Joe Blow and tell him he has been called out to fly XX trip. No need to pay "callout pay" as it is not a callout on a day off and if he fly’s over the threshold pay him the 400/280 dhs/hr. The callout pay is a red herring inserted to try to minimize the impact of the changes but I do not foresee it ever having to be used.
Bottom line is in my opinion this is the single most significant change in our T&C's since the introduction of the seniority list (which we know was already thrown into the toilet by virtue of the DEC's) and the development of the credit system. It will have a huge impact on the quality of life a pilot enjoys at EK, which is really the only thing left here to stay for given the lousy pay, increasing costs, poor management, etc.