Overtime, the additional day and the 'extra sector' call at the US majors versus the European carriers: when the airline asks for more
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#1 American Chicago, and the overtime and additional day thread on here is European. The US version is different in structure (the premium pay, the junior assignment, the voluntary extension) and the European crew who read the US threads do not know the words. Here is the US version with the European comparison.
The US structure
At the US majors under the contracts: the line holder's trips are the line, and the airline can add flying through the open time (the trips that need crew, picked up voluntarily at the normal rate or at a premium when the airline is short), the junior assignment (the involuntary assignment of a trip to the most junior available crew member, with the contract's limits and premium), the reserve assignments, and the voluntary extension of a trip (the extra sector or the extra day, at premium pay, with the right to refuse). The premium pay for the open time in a short month is the thing that makes a US crew member's good month great.
The European structure
The EASA duty limits as the ceiling, the agreement's rules on the additional duty and the day off worked (the overtime thread), the standby as the airline's flexibility instead of the open time, and the commander's discretion for the extension in the day. The European crew are rostered and the airline's flexibility is the standby; the US crew are lined and the airline's flexibility is the open time and the junior assignment.
What it pays
US: the open time at the hourly rate or a premium (time and a half or double in the contract's defined situations), the junior assignment at a premium, the extension at the hourly rate for the extra hours plus the per diem. European: the additional duty at the agreement's rate (often a premium), the day off worked at a premium or a day in lieu, the standby at the standby rate whether called or not. The US crew who want the money pick up the open time; the European crew who want the money volunteer for the additional sectors when crewing offers them.
When to say no
US: the voluntary extension can be refused and the junior assignment cannot (within the contract's limits), and the crew member who is fatigued refuses the extension and the fatigue report covers it. European: the additional duty is voluntary at most carriers, the day off worked is voluntary, and the commander's discretion extension is the captain's decision with the fatigue report as the crew's record. At both: the crew member who says yes to everything in year one is the crew member in the fatigue threads in year three.
The honest comparison
The US open time is the bigger money opportunity and the junior assignment is the bigger involuntary risk; the European standby is the smaller money and the smaller risk. The US crew who work the open time in a short month earn the most on this forum; the European crew who are standby heavy earn the least. Both systems have the fatigue problem and both have the report.
For the crew in either system
Know the contract's premium situations and pick up the open time when it pays. Refuse the extension when fatigued and file. And know that the airline will always ask for more and the answer is the contract's, not the crewing desk's.
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#2 American DFW, union rep, and the open time, the junior assignment and the voluntary extension explained next to the European standby is the comparison the US threads needed. The junior assignment's limits are in the contract and the reps enforce them. Jenna has the US overtime from the right chair.
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#3 Lufthansa, and the European structure (the standby as the flexibility, the additional duty as voluntary, the discretion as the captain's) is exactly our Tarifvertrag and Jenna has described it from the outside correctly. The US open time is the thing the German crew read with interest.
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#4 easyJet, and the UK low cost version is the European one with the standby heavy rosters and the thin money, as Jenna says. The crew who say yes to everything in year one are in the fatigue threads in year three. True at Gatwick.
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#5 Delta New York, and the Delta open time and junior assignment under the policy rather than a contract is the non union version with the limits set by the company. The premium situations are published. Jenna's US structure applies with the document swapped.
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#6 Ryanair Stansted number one, and the extra sector call from crewing at Ryanair is the European voluntary additional duty and the crew who take every one are the ones I watch for the fatigue. Jenna's 'the answer is the contract's, not the crewing desk's' is the number one's advice too.
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#7 Qantas, and the Australian agreement's additional duty is the European model with the award's premiums, and the open time as the US money opportunity is the thing the Australian crew envy in the good months and not in the junior assignment months. Both systems, both fatigue. Jenna is right.