Pilot schedule

[szucsbela]

Hello!
Can anyone tell me what a new pilots schedule would look like at a regional? How many days would they be flying in as row? What kind of distances? Do they have to sleep over in other cities other than their hub?Thank You

 

[taters]

Expect to sit reserve with 11 days off a month at a minimum but not too many more. Yes you will overnight outstation if you go on a multi-day trip, you could do up to a 4 day in some cases...
if you commute to reserve be aware..that can really suck and in some cases be
un-commutable...it can be tough to stomach

 

[Art VanDelay]

You should ask Bob Albertson - I'm sure he'll be glad to let you know.

 

[szucsbela]

Expect to sit reserve with 11 days off a month at a minimum but not too many more. Yes you will overnight outstation if you go on a multi-day trip, you could do up to a 4 day in some cases...
if you commute to reserve be aware..that can really suck and in some cases be
un-commutable...it can be tough to stomach

So where do these guys sleep on outstation? Is it always the same city? I heard they rent apartments and such. Any thoughts?

 

[tonycondon]

you will probably work as much as legally possible

 

[Art VanDelay]

Well since we are not hearing from Bob I'll chime in - It all depends on what kind of phase your employer is in when you get hired. If you get hired right at the beginning of a big hiring wave (like me) you will not EVER see any reserve time - you'll go right to having a line (meaning a schedule of trips).

If you get hired during a time when the employer is quite "FAT" on pilots than you can literally be on reserve for years. What does being on reserve mean - well, each carrier is a little different but basically there is a set number of hours during the day that you MUST be "phone available" and also you must be within two hours getting to your base airport. When one is on reserve it is most desirable to live near their base airport. If you live near your base airport than it isn't half bad - it's basically like being paid to sit at home or play golf or be Mr. Mom (just make sure you're getting a good cell signal). Some guys even pick up side jobs like selling real estate or something while they sit reserve. However if you (for whatever odd reason) are commuting into your base airport to sit reserve then things get a little more complicated. Most guys usually end up getting a "Crashpad" as staying in hotels would be prohibitively expensive. Crashpads needn't always be slums either. I once had a $180/month crashpad on the outskirts of NYC that had maid service and a hot tub off the upper balcony. YMMV.
Hope this helps,
Art

 

[bob_albertson]

The company puts you in a hotel anytime you are scheduled to overnight somewhere other than your base. Depending on the company, you are paid per diem the whole time you are working a trip (in our case we are paid per diem even if we do a day trip that ends at your base for the night and resumes from your base the following day).

The length of time you sit on reserve completely depends on the company you work for. I never sat reserve, I was a line holder from the first month I could bid. If you go to other companies you could sit reserve from one month to five years. I've talked with several Express Jet F/O's who have been on reserve for over 3 years and several others who were at their 5 year mark for being on reserve.

How many days would they be flying in as row?

Typically, even if you are on reserve, you work 4 days and are off 3 days. It varies depending on the type of schedule you are working or the type of reserve you are doing. Someone doing a CDO (Continuous Duty Overnight, aka Stand-ups, High Speed lines, ect....) would be on duty for 4 days, however you finish so early that it's almost like having another day off. Same thing with when you start, you start so late at night that it's like you had that day off as well. Those are the least favorite lines for many guys. You get into your destination around 10-12pm and then make the first flight out in the morning, meaning you wake up about 3:30 - 4:00
The typical schedule, though is 4 on 3off.

What kind of distances?

Most people don't worry about that because they are more concerned with how much time the flight is going to take. It all depends on the plane you fly, the company you fly for, and the routes the company flys. Your best answer will come from visiting your preferred airline's website and looking at their route structure. You can then visit flight aware and put in the airports, find your company and look at the times.

Can anyone tell me what a new pilots schedule would look like at a regional?

Sure, here is a copy of my very first few days with my company:

 

[denverpilot]

In case it's not obvious to the person asking... You guys forgot to mention that when standing Reserve, you show up in two hours in uniform, ready to fly with whatever other stuff you need.

Friends who were on Reserve typically kept a uniform, flight bag, and whatever else they traveled with in the trunk of their car. We could go meet up for lunch, but if the cell phone rang, they were gone.

I also noticed they got to know their crew schedulers very well. They might be able to call in the morning and see how far down the Reserve pool they were and get a feel for whether or not they'd be called later that day. (This could also backfire... If Crew Scheduling was slammed and needed someone "right now", calling them made you a target. Ha.)

And if the weather turned to crap, it was almost a guaranteed call-out. Someone, somewhere, would be timed-out and they'd need crews.

Isn't there also a "standing Reserve" where you had to actually be at the airport too? I seem to recall one friend getting stuck with "hang out at the airport in uniform" duty a couple of times.

 

[taters]

Isn't there also a "standing Reserve" where you had to actually be at the airport too? I seem to recall one friend getting stuck with "hang out at the airport in uniform" duty a couple of times.

You bet...its also called "hot reserve." You are burning duty time while you are there so the "up" side is there becomes a point where you are unusable due to your lack of duty time. When I bid reserve on purpose, usually its 545 am show and your done by 8 am if you dont get dispatched. At my company reserve is quite senior as most guys would rather get the same pay for surfing most of the day then actually going on a trip.

 

[bob_albertson]

In case it's not obvious to the person asking... You guys forgot to mention that when standing Reserve, you show up in two hours in uniform, ready to fly with whatever other stuff you need.

Friends who were on Reserve typically kept a uniform, flight bag, and whatever else they traveled with in the trunk of their car. We could go meet up for lunch, but if the cell phone rang, they were gone.

I also noticed they got to know their crew schedulers very well. They might be able to call in the morning and see how far down the Reserve pool they were and get a feel for whether or not they'd be called later that day. (This could also backfire... If Crew Scheduling was slammed and needed someone "right now", calling them made you a target. Ha.)

And if the weather turned to crap, it was almost a guaranteed call-out. Someone, somewhere, would be timed-out and they'd need crews.

Isn't there also a "standing Reserve" where you had to actually be at the airport too? I seem to recall one friend getting stuck with "hang out at the airport in uniform" duty a couple of times.

That time varies by company, base, and type of reserve. There is such a thing as "Long Call Reserve". This gives those people a 4 hour call out. We have another type of long call reserve that's called Long Call Available. We have certain criteria for when a person can be assigned that (Example: Removed from flying so a new pilot/Captain can train). The difference between the two is relatively simple. LCR requires the pilot to check their schedule ONCE between 10am and 1pm to see if they have been assigned any flying within the next 24hr period. Most guys check it at 10:01 then hit the golf course. LCA means they can call you anytime during the time frame the reserve is listed for and assign flying to you.

There is also CDO, continuous duty overnight, reserve where you must be available to be at the airport within the company allotted time (Varies from 1 hour to 2 hours and a lot of companies are right in between there). For stand-up (i.e. CDO) reserve you are typically assigned flying between 9pm through 8am. Like I mentioned earlier, stand-up lines are where you make the last flight of the day to somewhere and then make the first flight of the day back to the base. You do a minimal amount of flying, but since you are on.... continual duty -- they can call you to assign you more flying - say a maintenance repo at 2am. Same goes for someone on stand-up reserve. Say a pilot calls out sick, they call you to go fly his route and you could also be assigned more flying within that time frame. I HATE stand-ups.... When you consider that you usually get into the hotel room around 11-1am and then have to REPORT for duty around 4:30 to 6:00 for most first flights then your normal sleep cycle gets not just ruined but completely destroyed LMAO . Some people absolutely love them because of the smooth air, more time at home, less flying during hot summer months, or more time at home during the holidays ect....

There are enough options out there that most anyone who is working the job because they want to, and enjoy the job, find SOMETHING that really fits them.

Getting reserve or not can depend on one of two things, generally.... Watching things and getting in at the right time, or finding that you prefer reserve.