Originally Posted by
Dragon7
Unless you live in Base a line is far far more flexible and just overall a better deal. 75 a great jet according to 100% of people I have flown with who have flown it. Close to 777 in rave reviews of it's awesomeness. But a shrinking fleet and besides the near Europe and Hawaii ( for now) it goes to a smaller number of places domestically than 320 or 737. Mainly Orlando, LA, Nola, Vegas. Bottom line is more tolerable commute and a quicker line is way better for your QOL than seeing Europe as an IRO.
Agreed. The biggest knock I see is that a narrow body in a junior base vs a widebody on reserve gets you:
1. More days off.
2. More pay. A lot more.
Sure, the pay rate on the 756 is a little more (same year 1 however) but you're likely looking at min guarantee (73 hrs on reserve) vs 85-100 as a line holder. Tack the days off onto the equation and it's a no brainer for me as a commuter. I'm consistently getting 16-18 days off a month with 83 (most I've made is 104) hrs per month. I'm averaging 92 hrs/month since November. On year 2/3 pay thats a couple thousand dollars every month. That extra 10-20 hrs is a lot of $$.
Someone may shoot holes in my argument as I've only been here 2 years and 73 the whole time...but this is how I see it.