Originally Posted by
Cyio
All that selecting transition does is allow crew scheduling to make you legal between your last trip of one month and the first trip of the new month. What often happens is they drop a turn or an overnight right in the middle to give you the needed rest and weekly hour requirements. These dropped trips are paid in this case.
If you dont select it, the conflict is simply dropped away on either side and you dont get paid. If you live in base, this is what I would do 100% of the time and like the poster above mentioned, just pick up an OT turn somewhere to make up the lost pay.
However, if you commute the transition option is nice because you get paid, get a hotel and save yourself an extra commute. The choice is yours at the end of the day. I would add though, being gone from home that many days is rough in my opinion. It takes more time to adjust once back home and if you have a family, you would be surprised at how long those extra days feel.
No - DCs are not paid. You only get paid for the remaining flying that they add when you use the transition option. Common misconception that you get paid for the dropped trips. You do not.
Selecting transition only means that you let crew scheduling salvage the rest of the trip back to your schedule. So let's say you have a 4-day starting on the 29th, and another 4 day starting on the 1st. The conflict dates are 1st 2nd and 3rd. With transition off, the 4 day starting on the 1st drops off as DC, and you get the 4th off. With transition on, they drop the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day bits, and add whatever is left of that trip that dropped, often just a turn. You only get paid for this added part, NOT the part that was dropped.
So if you lose 10 hours in transition, you lose 10 hours of your line guarantee value, plus whatever carryover was left.