Originally Posted by
Adlerdriver
Sometimes it’s min pay per day, TAFB/trip rig, monthly guarantee, etc. depending on the company and contract. We all review paperwork and do walk-arounds – it’s part of the job and we do get paid for that job.
I’m a big fan of max pay for min work. Maybe what you’re really trying to discuss is finding easy trips with the least work. I’d contend that we all get paid to review one flight plan and (F/O’s) get paid for one walk-around each day we fly. We don’t get paid extra for more than that, so anything over and above those could be considered “uncompensated work”.
We are on the same page. Max pay for min work, and obviously being professional (doing the job correctly) throughout.
That 24 leg 3 day I spoke of was as a 727-100 FE with the crappy old baro pneumatic system, and the giant AA mechanical checklist. It was a huge amount of work, and when the smoke cleared, I could have been paid the same for 5 legs.
My point - it'd be best to find the sort of flying that appeals, and to do that, one must get hired by a company with a range of flying. Some guys like Southwest-type trips, others the long haul, but you've got to be able to compare the two styles of flying, find what works for you.
Originally Posted by
gr8vu
How do you compare "good work rules and good schedule" across the majors? I know SWA does more legs per day but how do the others compare?
That's a tough question. Look beyond hourly pay rates, and examine the work rules, which can be a mish-mash of obscure terms that might not mean much to you, yet. This forum is a good place to explore, Ask questions, you'll get solid answers.
I'll give an example of a work rule that really screwed us at AA. A few years back, we went from a "5 hour
minimum per day" to a "5 hour
average day." They sound similar, but in scheduling/pay terms, it was a very bad deal. For example, let's say you've got a 3-day trip like this:
Leg 1: 2.5
Leg 2: 3.0
------------
Leg 3: 2.5
------------
Leg 4: 2.0
Leg 5: 2.5
Leg 6: 3.0
Under the 5 hour minimum per day rule, the trip would be worth 18.0. But under the 5 hour average per day rule, the trip is only worth 15.5 hours.