Originally Posted by
oldmako
Joe, just curious,
1. Are you going to be on reserve? This is vitally important to your assessment and QOL.
2. If you drive, how far are you from EWR?
3. If you don't, where will you commute from?
IOW, don't pat yourself on the back just yet.
I'd like to hear your thoughts 12 months after you finish IOE as there are lots of nuisance issues that can eat at that pay raise. TAFB being a biggy.
I hope it works out for you and it's what you want. Seriously. No way I'd commute to NB reserve. Especially on the Crap7. Not from my crib.
IOW, congrats Joe! In 6 months you'll probably love the Bus. It's easy and comfy. There are some great, great PI's on the Bus. Leave any Boeing bias at the Doubletree and you'll fly through training.
ps There used to be some really comfy chairs in IAH! And the Taco Truck has pretty good b'fast tacos. But watch out for the Feeble-Mobiles because they think they own the joint. They'll run you over to save a second. As for the chairs in ORD, well, not so much. But you can get a decent dog at The Goat and the Employee/TSA cafeteria is pure epicurean bliss. And deicing, TRWs, "gate's occupied", wow, that will be tons of fun. Just remember, they don't have the parts till you refuse it.
Lucky for me the movement on the bus in EWR has been ridiculous in the last 6 months so much so that as of this bid I am 31% and I live only 60 miles from EWR and LGA (oddly enough I'm 30% on 777FO). Also as a 777FO, I never once picked up senior manning and I have always bid a min time line so in my particular case the combination of January 2018 pay raise plus the bump to captain will end up being a sizable increase in pay. Without a doubt I could work 80 something hours as a 777FO and make the same or perhaps even more, but 2 factors out weighed everything:
1) On my last trip (and this is so typical in EWR) I'm coming into Brussels descending to 2000 feet on a base leg perpendicular to the GS and the green ring shows I'm going to level off about 15 miles from the airport and my speed is 220 and the captain is telling me I'm not gonna make it because "You're on the glide path and you need to get down faster." - I am SOOOO tired of idiots telling me how to fly. (The same captain also got into an argument with me over taking the trash bag back to the galley
)
2) As I said I HATE going to work on day one and staying up all night then taking a 4 hour nap from 6AM to 10AM body time and finally that evening going to sleep at 5PM body clock only to wake up at midnight body clock and work 'til the next afternoon. That, for me, is over.
However, I appreciate your comments as they mirror what my buddy on the 73 says so I hope I am going into this with "eyes wide open" knowing that day to day operations in the world of domestic NB will be no cake walk especially at a base where the majority of my FOs will be new hires, but thats where I'm hoping the bus will be a little more forgiving as my perception is that it's slightly easier to manage overall than the multiple personalities in the 73 fleet. Anyways, I'll let you know how it's going in July, and thanks for the tips!!
Anybody got a good training video or book for the bus??
