Originally Posted by
jstanotherpilot
Hey everyone, I’ve been incessantly reading through hundreds of posts trying to find answers to certain things, and I noticed that a lot of basic questions I feel pilots want to know aren’t easily found or very superficially discussed in this forum. So, with your help, and in light of this hiring wave at AA, I thought it would be incredibly helpful to have a post that could answer some questions for pilots looking to make a move to AA.
So, if anyone is willing to provide some insight… here are some questions (sorry for the long list)
1: Average amount of days off per month as a line holder? Is dropping/swapping flexible? Is it possible to continuously get 18-20 days off a month, for example? What does a normal schedule look like and how much can it be manipulated? Does it compare to the flexibility at Spirit, Frontier, or Southwest, for example? How flexible are things at American?
2: Potential for higher earnings. We all know what the rates on APC are so we can figure out minimum guarantee. But, what does a normal schedule look like that goes over guarantee? There are multiple posts about pilots making well over the projected guarantee, (NB CA’s in the 400k mark), how is this possible? How does the system allow pilots to earn more than guarantee?
3: Commutability. Obviously living in base will improve anyone’s QOL, but how commutable are trips? What is the average length of trips? What can new hires expect?
4: What is the current system for bidding or awarding lines? What is TTOT? What is TTS? What is IMAX? (Sorry if these are incorrectly spelled). Are you stuck with your line after it’s awarded? How often can you adjust your schedule to make it to your liking?
5: What are the bases expected out of training? How often can you switch base? Can you switch equipment/base during training? Can you pick up trips from other bases? Personally, as a new hire I am looking for ORD, how would I be able to obtain the base of my liking? If I am awarded XXX/XXX (equipment/base) in new hire training, how can I switch to an equipment/base that better suits my QOL?
6: How long on average can a new hire be expected to be on reserve?
7: What are your reserve rules? Can you move around reserve days? Can you create a huge block of days of continuous reserve and have a longer block of days off? How are days off organized during reserve? For example, is there any “4 days off minimum between trips/blocks of reserve” type of language in your cba?
8: What are the current upgrade times? How long can new upgrades expect to be on reserve?
9: Medical benefits? Good/Bad/Expensive?
10: What is the training footprint?
11: And lastly, what are some things you as a pilot at AA wish you would have known before joining, or is there anything else you would like to share to potential new hires getting offered a the job at AA.
Thank you
1. As a brand new hire my first month I got a 15 day off line (30 day bid period). All 3 days, 86 hours of credit. That’s LGA 737, but still, I got a line immediately. Flexibility I have no idea I’m not even done OE so I can’t even try to adjust my schedule but it seems it’s pretty flexible minus being junior in a holiday.
3. Commutablity is what you make it. You just have to be smart and you have the privilege of booking the Jumpseat 8 days out. You don’t even have to take it if there are seats in the back. Trips can be 1-5 days, I live near base so I like shorter trips had no issue getting all 3 days month 1…
4. see above idk yet
5. LGA/LAX/MIA, if you’re young most likely LGA, all these bases have multiple airports to cover, they go junior, any airline with these bases will be what goes to new hires. You can get ORD or practically any base in your first vacancy. I only have to do 1 month not in the base I wanted. At 6 months you can be in narrow body right seat in any base as of now. 6 month seat lock, but you can move bases almost any month through vacancies, and mutual base exchange.
6. See above I’m doing 0 days of reserve but that
like anything else is base/seniority dependent but looking at some of the bases through 3XP it doesn’t look like it takes long to hold a line in a lot of bases.
7. Not too familiar, I know you can bid min/max and some other stuff for days such as max 3 days on reserve or max 6 days l, again more seniority helps you get what you want.
8. less than 3 years, it may be right around 2.5 years or less with the next vacancy, reserve who knows, I know I’m not upgrading immediately when I can but it’s fast.
9. I personally would say good and inexpensive. I’m younger though and don’t have health issues so I haven’t dove into the details too much.
10. 2-3 months you may have a gap where you’re gone but you’re getting paid ~80-83 hours a month and another ~28 to do training modules on an iPad, pretty good deal IMO.
11. It’s really amazing the negativity on these forums. I have had extremely limited exposure. Everyone I talk to seems to be very happy. I would not listen to the negativity on these forums really at all.