Originally Posted by Globemaster2827

In general people say to take your rate and multiply it by 1000 but I've exceeded that a good bit living in base. Out of base if you did the minimum on the 767, 757, Bus or MD Domestic I think that's true. I know a buddy on the 777 that exceeds that by a good bit. My guess is to multiply your rate by 1200 if you're on the 777. Obviously all of that is just pay and doesn't include retirement, days on... etc. For a 777 guy though 12 days in a 4 week month would exceed 80 hours. In a 5 week month you'd probably go 16-17 days and be around 110 hours or more. The 777 guys usually see changes to their schedules that result in pay addition to the international overrides. If I were living out of base I'd do the 777 so that I commuted less. We're just starting our negotiations but if you personally are morally opposed to flying extra you can pick up trips that other pilots are trying to give away. I personally don't really need much extra given what I make so I choose to stay home with the wife and kids to the max. For those wanting to do extra we have 777 FOs who cracked $500k last year and Captains clearing $1 million. I'm nowhere near that.

For people worried about losing Gateway, there are contractual protections for commuters. Jumping in on one of our planes is usually wide open. I don't remember ever seeing the jumpseats full and I'd rather do that than riding coach across the country. Crashpads in MEM are dirt cheap at $250 a month to share a room that's usually just you there and after 6 months or so you won't need one anyway unless you're choosing to sit reserve.

It all depends on what you want out of life and we're likely to go through the bitter portion of negotiations though I'm hopeful it won't get as bad as what was going on at Atlas. In the end I expect to feel as if I've got the best job in the world and am so fortunate to be where I'm at. I'm especially thankful to all the instructors at Atlas that worked with me earlier in my career. They really teach a Boeing well.