Originally Posted by
saunders111
Actually, I can't quite see what this has to do with _rolling_ delays. After all, it is common for AA to list a flight with no delay at all, when anyone with Flightaware knows the chances of it leaving on time are near zero (e.g., the incoming plane is still two hours away). Would the FAs' tactic not also work in this case? Rolling delays are super annoying to the passengers, but I don't see how they somehow enable this gaming of the system by the FAs. What am I missing?
Until the first delay is posted FAs can't bid on the delayed flight as it's assumed to be flown by the crew originally scheduled. Once the first delay is posted that will take the scheduled crew over time, it goes up for bid. If the delay doesn't get rolled, then whomever bids on it would fly it and their next scheduled flight. If it gets rolled there isn't enough rest between the two so they fly the bid and still get paid for their scheduled flight that they can't fly. In your scenario, had AA entered a realistic time, the scheduled crew would have timed out, the crew that bid on it would fly it and still be eligible for their next flight.