Long call or short call?
Every block of reserve days starts on long call. You start somewhere else only if you are assigned to Short Call Reserve, or you pick up a short call or field standby yourself. § 20-K-1-a
On long call you must be reachable by phone 24 hours a day on reserve days until you get an assignment. § 20-K-5-b A short call is one window of availability of up to 14 hours, and the company sets its start time. § 20-K-6-a § 20-K-6-b
How much notice do you get on long call?
At least 18 hours before report time for a trip, or 16 hours before the start of a short call. § 20-K-5-a
Two exceptions shorten it. An assignment made in the 1200–1359 window needs only 14 hours’ notice § 20-K-5-a-(1), and a pilot on a Voluntary Early Check (VEC) line can get 12 hours (14 if it is the last day off) § 20-K-5-a-(2). You can waive these limits. § 20-K-5-a-(3)
What about the day before your reserve block?
On the first reserve day after days off you cannot be required to report, or start a short call, before 1000. § 20-K-7-a On the last day off, everyone except VEC and VSC reserves still gets the full 18 hours’ notice (16 to a short call). § 20-K-7-c
Assignments made from 1200 to 1359 on that last day off go straight into your schedule without a call; after 1400 the company must also phone you. § 20-K-7-b-(1) § 20-K-7-b-(2) An early start on the day after days off earns extra pay: two hours of Add Pay for a trip that reports before 1000, one hour for a short call or voluntary field standby. § 20-K-10-a
When are you released on your last reserve day?
On long call you are released at 0600 on your last reserve day, or at 1400 if the next day has flying or training, provided nothing has been assigned by then. VEC reserves on long call are released at 1200. § 20-K-5-c
On short call you are released at 1400 on your last reserve day, unless you already have an assignment or were told to finish the short call. § 20-K-6-h If the short call starts at 1400 or later that day, the company has to tell you at assignment that you will sit it; if it doesn’t, you don’t have to. § 20-K-6-h
How many short calls can you get in a month?
The cap depends on how many days you are available in the bid period, from one short call for one or two available days up to six for 27 to 31 days. § 20-K-6-k
The company may offer two extra hours of Add Pay for taking a short call; one you take on that offer doesn’t count toward the cap. § 20-K-6-k-(1) The cap does not apply to VEC and VSC reserves, Premium Short Call Reserve trips, or reserves on compressed lines. § 20-K-6-k-(3)
Which reserve gets the trip?
Reserves are grouped in silos by how many days they have left before their next unavailable days. A trip goes to a reserve whose silo matches its length, and within a silo the order is first in, first out. § 20-K-1-c § 20-K-3-b-(1) § 20-K-2-a
Within a silo, long call reserves who are legal for the trip get it before short call reserves, and short call before field standby. § 20-I-6-a-(1)-(a) § 20-I-6-a-(1)-(b) When a trip can’t be assigned without disrupting days off, the order starts with reserves who volunteered for that, and the reserve gets 5:15 of Add Pay for each day off disrupted as of the time of assignment. § 20-I-6-a-(2) § 20-I-6-a-(2)-(a) § 20-I-6-a-(2)-(d)
What are LCL, VEC and VSC lines?
They are voluntary reserve lines; nobody can be forced onto one. § 20-K-1-f-(1)-(a) § 20-K-1-f-(2)-(a) § 20-K-1-f-(3)-(a)
- Long-Call Lines (LCL): no short call or field standby unless you agree. § 20-K-1-f-(1)-(b)
- Voluntary Early Check (VEC): you check your schedule from 1600 to 1759 on the last day off before a reserve block, and in return no assignment can require a report or short call start before 0400, and early starts must be assigned by set times. You also get extra Add Pay for each block and each reserve day, and can be assigned on shorter notice. § 20-K-1-f-(2)-(b) § 20-K-1-f-(2)-(b)-(i) § 20-K-1-f-(2)-(b)-(ii) § 20-K-1-f-(2)-(b)-(iii) § 20-K-1-f-(2)-(f) § 20-K-5-a-(2)
- Voluntary Short Call (VSC): your guarantee rises by 20 minutes for each reserve day, except days you call in sick. § 20-K-1-f-(3)-(d)
What are you paid on reserve?
A reserve’s Minimum Pay Guarantee (MPG) is 4:17:39 of pay credit for each work day, and it rises by one hour for each unused short call. § 3-C-1-b-(1) § 3-C-1-b-(1)-(a) Hourly rates come from the pay scale.
If you are called to the airport at your base and end up not flying, deadheading or sitting voluntary field standby, you get 5:15 of Reserve Call Out Pay. § 3-C-3-g A voluntary field standby placed on your schedule pays three hours of Add Pay, and you cannot be held at the airport more than four hours without agreeing to it. § 20-K-10-b § 20-K-9-b
“a Long Call Reserve must be assigned the Trip with a minimum of eighteen (18) hours notice prior to report time or a minimum of sixteen (16) hours notice prior to the start of a Short Call period”
“A Short Call assignment is a single period of availability that may not exceed fourteen (14) hours.”
All reserve questions
- ClearHow long can I be held on field standby?
- ClearWhat time am I released on my last reserve day?
- ClearHow much notice does a long call reserve get?
- ClearDo I get paid if I'm called to the airport and don't fly?
- ClearHow early can I report on my first reserve day?
- ClearWhat is the reserve minimum pay guarantee?
- DependsCan I ask scheduling not to call me at night?
- ClearHow many short calls can I get in a bid period?