Why we all need to take a pay cut.

[jed_thrust]

I'm guessing it goes like this:

The company takes the number of hours it flies per year (with appropriate factors for ULH, 3 man crew, leave, etc) and divides this number by 700. This should give it the right number of Capts, FOs and SOs that it needs to crew the flights.

Unfortunately for the company (and for us, as well) we only manage to fly an average of 589 hours, ie a shortfall of about 16% (700-589/700). It can't hire more crew: the crew cost budget has been used up. We can't work any harder: the roster won't manage it.

The only way forward is for us to help the company out and offer to take a 19% (700-589/589) pay cut. That way it can afford to hire 19% more crews, who also fly 589 hours and all flights are then ok.

Hang on....

Or, we could make the roster more efficient so that the existing crews manage to do all the work required. Hey, that's radical!

Unfortunately, NR sees (forced) increased roster efficiency as a cost, not an eventual bonus.

Make it expensive (initially) for the roster to be inefficient, and boy, will it improve rapidly!

Don't settle for anything less than a rostering system that has financial incentives to make it good.

[SOLO]

Lets take that further in this Credit Time argument.

700 hours into 12 months is 58 hours per month and at maximum leave of 56 days it's 70 hours per month.
So we do, in effect, fly a system based on productive hours. We just get paid salary as if it were not.
This should mean all flying and other duties (DT,BT i.e. "free" work) over 70 hours is overtime...

Theres my threshold for the month. 70 hours of work and no more.

[had_enough]

I'm sure I've missed something from both sides, but can anybody explain how Monthly hour caps, overtime etc provide a stable roster.

[conan]

Simply because overtime is expensive. If Crew control need someone in europe to operate to HK , it's a no brainer pull out a HK based crew DT them to PARIS to operate back. Problem solved with little expense. and no thought to the wear and tear on the crew member who had to DT. Take the same situation, but DT is paid on overtime as well as the return trip. Trust me when I say that CC will come up with an alternative solution. At the moment it's all too easy and cost free. In the old days of overtime you almost never DT anywhere simply because it used up a portion of your monthly available hours. No the company does not want an overtime scheme in place, it's easier and cheaper to cause havoc with your personal life than pay O/T or cost out BT at 1 for 1. Which is what it should be. If it costs big time, rosters suddenly become much more stable because CC have to answer for an extra expense. Are CC going to roster a C&T Capt to operate as an FO if he is on overtime. or a Capt as relief/ ? Somehow I think so! money is a big motivator. Until this issue is rectified your rosters are going to be SH-T

[This message has been edited by conan (edited 08 September 2000).]

[had_enough]

Conan : Thanks for the response.

The example you gave is obvious. I'm thinking more about : you're rostered for a KIX day return and you end up doing a low hour three day regional trip. I'm not quite sure where overtime etc helps there !

I'm not sure it would do anything to change the amounts of reserve (therefore disruption) either.

[jed_thrust]

"...you're rostered for a KIX day return and you end up doing a low hour three day regional trip. I'm not quite sure where overtime etc helps there !"

No, nothing will help there, other than the fact you should be entitled to the larger amount of credit hours, either rostered or actually flown. So there is a cost to CC for changing the roster on you in this case. You will get your originally rostered hours, if they are greater than what you actuallly flew. It doesn't prevent roster changes, and that isn't the aim, but CC will think long and hard to come up with an alternative solution, preserving your roster in the meantime.

"I'm not sure it would do anything to change the amounts of reserve (therefore disruption) either"

That depends on whether reserve earns the correct amount of credit hours or not. I would think that most pilots agree that they have to do some reserve in a year, and I do not think that, say, two lots of two weeks is excessive. No company should have to put you on reserve beyond that reasonable level. If they do, then you will be (should be) earning the same amount of daily credit hours that allows you to reach your annual/monthly total without leaving home.