Originally Posted by
pagey
4 4 days.
Flying a "cool" plane doesn't make up for lost days off. Nor does going to a museum in a strange foreign country.
I'm sure you think it's great and so would I. I'd especially like to meet some nice Belgian women
but for how long? If you regularly overnight in Brussels how many times can you go to that museum and still enjoy it?
I have no problem with enjoying your job. I enjoy work when I am there, but it's still work.
Again, if you have any responsibility to your company at all it is not a day off. That was my original point.
You point is well taken. Any responsibility = no day off. Using your criteria you then have very few days off a month. Your company and Union may be telling you that you have a minimum of 10 days a month off. Do you really? Don't you have a responsibility to your company to be at work on time? Would that not mean that the day early that you commute on is NOT a day off?
I was never debating whether it is a day off or not. What I am asking is how many days off do you deserve a month and why?
I will take a stab at it. 8 days off as a national average. Plus one day for each day that you have to commute back and forth to work. If you have to commute in on the day before add a day. If you have to wait to commute home on the day after a trip then add a day. Plus one day for each time you fly over 30 hours on a trip. 30 hours of commuter flight time is enough with out a day off in my opinion.
Lets say you work 4 trips this month with one going over 30 hours and only 2 trips are commutable on the first and last days 8+1+4= 13
As for me? Yes, I love this job, but it is not for everyone. If my children were not adults I would not work here. We work up to 17 day schedules with then 13-14 days off at home. Home based (everyone is based in YIP) with company provided travel. Of the 17 days on the road most months I average 8 or 9 days of flying. As far as overnights. We don't go to the same places enough for me to get tired of any place but New Delhi, India and I haven't been there in 2 months thank God!
BTW. My reserve was canceled as there are no flights to protect. I am now on a 1-7 which mean I can drink if I choose or I could non-rev somewhere. I have no responsibility to even contact the company until 34 hours from now. That is a day off without responsibility but neither I nor the company consider that a "day off" as I am not at home. :-)
If I used your definition of a day off then I would be off some months as much as 18-20 days as they will put us on multiple 1-7s if there are no airplanes to protect where we are. (bad for breaking guarantee but great for sightseeing) If I had kids at home I would find 18-20 days of reserve when not being used, to be much more valuable if I lived in base.