Originally Posted by
Stringfellow
You make an excellent point. Perhaps after being gone at initial training my family will be more accustomed to my being gone for longer stretches. Would a 4 on 3 off be a possibility if the wife can't stand the 6?
Absolutely, 4on/3off is pretty typical for commuters.
Reserve schedules are 18 days/month, and 12 or 13 days off (depending if it is a 30 or 31 day bid period). You can arrange those 18 days on in any manner, but no greater than 5on in a row and a minimum of 2off (subject to change).
During slow months like fall and early spring the company will occasionally give every Reserve pilot in a base/seat an extra paid 1-2days off per month. These are called PRL days (Pre-Release Days). So during slow months you could have a reserve schedule working only 16-17 days/month instead of 18.
Short Call Reserve means you have to be at the airport within 2hrs of crew scheduling calling you. Long Call Reserve is 14hrs from call to showing at the airport. Generally, you have to have a 4-5 day block of reserve days to be eligible for LCR. In slow months you could have a 5-day block of reserve and the first 2-3 days might be LCR spent sitting at home 14hrs away from base. Pretty good deal for commuters.