CADR

Standard reserve line (schedule) is 11 days off per month, 19 - 20 reserve days / month (depending on if the month has 30-31 days). Generally it will include stretches of 4,5 or 6 days of reserve in a row followed by 2 days off. You’ll get 1 stretch during the month of 4 days off in a row (called golden days), but they may not be where you want them since you have to bid for where those days fall and you might not get what you want since it’s bidding and that’s a gamble.

You can “try” to swap reserve days around by submitting a request to scheduling via the company website. 9 times out of 10 scheduling will deny your request and say “coverage too low”. Unfortunately our contractual rules for reserve pilots are very weak. Your only reference for what actual coverage for reserve pilots is on the company website where it says if a day is “Good”, “Okay” or “Bad”. That is literally it, I’m not making that up… that Good, Okay, Bad for reserve coverage is broken down for base (PHL or CLT) and position (CA or FO), and it is updated at the end of day for the next day. We do not have access to the reserve grid like every other airline usually does. You cannot see who is on reserve or where you fall on the pecking order call out list.

General reserve is being on call from 5am to 7pm, with a 2 hour call out. Meaning they can call you at 5am with a report time (being at the gate) at 7am. They will always call you the day before your reserve stretch (on your day off) to swap around your on call times for your upcoming stretch. They are always trying to maximize the amount of time they can use you. You are not required to answer your phone on your day off. Sometimes it benefits you to answer and sometimes it does not. It is a gamble and up to you if you want to talk to them on our day off.

We also have RAS (hot reserve), where you sit at the airport for 8 hours (and only get paid for 4 hours FYI). You are there basically to cover anything that pops up, sometimes you’ll get used during that and sometimes you won’t. They can assign you RAS (hot reserve). Up to 8 times / month.


Sometimes you’ll fly more / month as a reserve pilot than a hard line holder does. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and not ever be called in. There is no rhythm or pattern to it. Being on reserve you should expect a ton of schedule changes and you’ll be on the phone with scheduling a LOT.

Overall reserve at piedmont is quite terrible. We do not have long call reserve and we have weak outdated reserve rules in our pilot contract. If you live in base it is tolerable, as a commuter it’s near impossible and very frustrating.