Originally Posted by
PackPilot
Where are you based? And do you live in base?
PSA sounds pretty awesome for schedule flexibility, however for the bases where you can be a R1 line holder sooner, it's a 2 leg commute for many folks (CVG has direct flights for where I live but only 2x a day, and DAY is definitely a 2 legger). CLT is where it's at (only a 3 hour drive for me), but I see it's about 18-20 months to become a R1 line holder there. Ouch! Hopefully DCA will help this, which for me isn't a bad commute. I'm curious your opinions on getting a quicker R1 line in a place like CVG or DAY, which is a difficult commute, vs. getting a build up line or LCR at a place like CLT, which is a much easier commute. I'm assuming with a BU line & LC/SC reserve you can expect to just have 11-12 days off per month. At least those are the things I would personally be weighing.
Hopefully this doesn't sound too entitled...I'm aware there are plenty of FO's that commuted to reserve for years and years back in the early 2000's.
Thanks for all these responses...very helpful.
The reason that reserve time in CLT is 16 months is because we slowed in hiring for about the same time.
We are now hiring 50+ a month and upgrading 24+ a month, and movement is starting to really pick up. With the addition of aircraft and the upgrades, upgrade times will continue to drop.
When I was hired, FO reserve time in CLT was only 3 months. I doubt it will drop that low again, but I expect it to hit 6 months.
Also, don't forget that those are times to hold a R1 line. You can hold a build up or long call reserve line much earlier.