Originally Posted by
cf105
if you're reserve at a regional, you know you'll be flying your 75-85 hours per month minimum. You get your schedule a month ahead so know what your reserve blocks are.
What's the real difference between reserve and line? choice? choice of flying the line you want, choice of biding on day trips, choice to fly more or less depending on your needs?
Well, there are different types of reserve. Long Call reserve, short call reserve, and hot reserve (or airport reserve).
Long call means you can sit at home (usually) and you may have a 12 hour call out for a flight. That should give you enough time to get into your base if your a commuter. That is if they don't call you at 9PM for a 9AM show the next day and there aren't enough flights for you to make it in. Then you drive.
Short call is generally around a 2 hour call out. You usually have to be in your base for this. This is where commuting comes into play. You will need a crash pad or somewhere to stay if your a commuter and your on short call. This gets expensive and one of the big reasons why it is preferable to live in base.
Hot Reserve is the worst of the 3. You have to sit at the airport ready to go when the phone rings. The time you sit at the actual airport is going to vary based on the contract at the airline you fly for, but it pretty much sucks no matter what.
And let's also not forget that a lot of the little "soft pay" things that line holders get are generally not extended to most reserve guys in their contracts. Reserve guys generally do not get cancellation pay, pay protected if they are displaced off of a trip, or a myriad of other things. In general, as a pilot on reserve, you won't typically fly that much (again, this depends on where you work). So you will be sitting around, making your minimum guaranteed pay, no per diem, and spending money on food and hotels or a crash pad. So yea... That is why most pilots say reserve sucks unless you live in base.