Originally Posted by
exjmbdrv
I can think of a couple of reasons why 777 SFO FO is going more junior:
1. Fedex pilot arrested in China for being an American
2. Reserve sucks
3. Commuting to reserve sucks more
4. Domestic hub to hub on the 777 means more AM departures which makes reserve suck more
5. Domestic hub to hub means less productive trips, so it's harder to break guarantee, which makes reserve suck more
6. Being released from your 11 AM short call at midnight so you can do the 10 AM short call on your last day of reserve - sucks the most
7. Last I heard, you could count on at least 4 short calls in a 6 day reserve stretch
The payrate looks awesome, but the lifestyle - not so much. I think that if you go to the 777 before you are a bottom line holder, your time on reserve will last much longer than you anticipate, because so many guys are just waiting for the line holder level to bid over above you.
If your house and your favorite golf course are within 2.5 hours of SFO, none of the above matters.
Great post. Point 1 is the only thing I’d say probably isn’t too relevant as it just happened and so many previous awards on this rig have gone very junior prior to any Chinese hostage taking. Still a valid concern though.
And to make a point about being on reserve much longer than one anticipates is spot on. I’m waiting to bid it until I’m mid to low 70% range in SFO which might happen within the next bid or 2 or who knows how many. Tons of guys in the high 7000-9000’s could be holding out until they are happy with where they’d be on the list. Junior line holder in SFO looks worse than a mid range seniority 756 line with all the domestic hub to hub flying. Many trips are not even commutable on one or both ends. So I fully expect there to always be a healthy influx of guys waiting until they hit the sweet spot of getting the 17-19 day off range with no BS hub to hub trips that start early and finish late. Bid wisely indeed!