Benefits/Days Off

[OptimusLee]

Hi all. First post.

Would greatly appreciate if any current/former Encore pilot could provide knowledge on:

1) if it's possible to bid 5 consecutive days off (not reserve or vacation or sick leave)

2) if your priority for flying standby on mainline is higher than ground staff, dxp, etc. (I am aware that inexperienced gate agents don't know any better and can make mistakenly leave you dead last - I used to train them [OAL])

I took a look at the Agreement but couldn't find the answers to what I'm looking for. Wonder how good QoL can be as year 6+ FO... minus $ obviously

[Vsquared]

1. Yes, you get 16 bid lines (I think). Whether the system will actually give 5 off in a row or not is another story.
2. You're coded the same as a mainline pilot and CSA's can't tell the difference as far as I know.
QOL: It's OK, not sure why anyone would want to spend 6 years as an FO though, it's a pretty dead end job with the current flow situation. There is some captains that enjoy the regional flying and don't want to take a pay cut and therefore happy to ride out a career at Encore, but they are certainly not a majority.

[CaptDukeNukem]

No one in this country is getting 5 days off in a row consistently unless you are bidding top 10% percent of your position/base or long haul flying

You’re gonna be working 16-18 days a month. Use the CARs maximums and work backwards from there. You’ll get a Stretch of 4 days off, a couple 3 days in a row at home if your commute allows it, followed by sh!t 1 day offs and 2 day uncommutables.

Sure you might get a 5 day stretch off, but forget the rest of the month. The calendar and calculator apps, will tell you the rest

[OptimusLee]

Vsquared and Capt, thank you. I just wanted to imagine what life could be like with max FO seniority (working the least amount of days; having decent standby priority rank. I'm not interested in flow [I am aware from other topics that the way to go is Jazz>WS anyways these days])

I've read a lot of posts from you Cap (bored at work).
We might've crossed paths at A18, A16 at YYC (E2 very reliable in winter eh).

My buddy at mainline tells me, "Encore has priority code 4B I believe mainline staff have 2B ." I asked if even encore pilots have lower priority than mainline CSAs and rampies and he said yup. Which is demoralising lol. Although I did overhear a standby pax near me onboard the 87 to ICN say she was an encore FA. The load in prem. eco were full too so I guess she lucked out in getting on in prem eco.

Also got intel from same buddy that, "Yea they’re actively trying to sell it off but nobody would buy it." Should a sale be successful, I wonder if standby travel is still possible...

[EchoPulse42]

Vsquared and Capt, thank you. I just wanted to imagine what life could be like with max FO seniority (working the least amount of days; having decent standby priority rank. I'm not interested in flow [I am aware from other topics that the way to go is Jazz>WS anyways these days])

I've read a lot of posts from you Cap (bored at work).
We might've crossed paths at A18, A16 at YYC (E2 very reliable in winter eh).

My buddy at mainline tells me, "Encore has priority code 4B I believe mainline staff have 2B ." I asked if even encore pilots have lower priority than mainline CSAs and rampies and he said yup. Which is demoralising lol. Although I did overhear a standby pax near me onboard the 87 to ICN say she was an encore FA. The load in prem. eco were full too so I guess she lucked out in getting on in prem eco.

Also got intel from same buddy that, "Yea they’re actively trying to sell it off but nobody would buy it." Should a sale be successful, I wonder if standby travel is still possible...

@optimusLee- I would encourage you to advise your buddy at mainline to ensure he has his facts correct. All WestJet Group employees, and their companion, hold 2B status. So Encore pilots and FAs hold the same priority as any other WestJetter.

[GetAGripen]

1: It's very easy to bid for with a staggered or cascade strategy, but you won't be able to bid for more than one stretch a month. I've bid for 5 days off plenty of times, and I've done 7 off with strategic bidding.

2: All WestJet employees/designates on standby are 2B or 2BT, there is no priority for certain staff groups. 4B/4BT is for Buddy Pass holders.

Scheduling statistics for the last 4 months(June-Sept): CAs 15.2 avg days off, 67.4 avg block hours, FOs 15.1 avg days off, 71.1 avg block hours.

Bidding is socialized, so seniority only really matters for vacation and reserve call-out priority.

[OptimusLee]

Echo and Gripen tysm!