Originally Posted by
pitchattitude
Reserve is 11 days off, for all aircraft.
11 days off is the contractual minimum days off for line holders as well, again, for both aircraft. Once you get a line, timeframe unknown, based on base and aircraft and variable, expect 3-6 months, you can expect to get a line that only has 11 days off. Once you get some seniority, you will start seeing lines with 12 and then 13 days off a month.
For May the average days off across both fleets and all three bases is about 13 days. The majority of lines have 11 or 12 days off. Fewer lines have 13-14 days off, with up to 18 off. You SHOULD never see those lines with more than 14 days off. There are only a handful of those 18 day off lines in the system, meaning you have to be the most senior to get them. If you’re an FO, you should be upgrading long before you get that seniority, which means starting over at the bottom again as a captain with reserve and 11 day off lines. Hopefully you will get out before you have seniority to hold a 13-14 day off line as a captain.
Ok, so not great overall, but if I could hold MIA on the first base bid after whatever base the initial assignment in class would be, that also wouldn't be terrible either since living in base would mean no commute. It seems like airlines are at least very slowly coming around to accept the reality that they are operating beyond their means and need to cut back and allow staffing to catch up. Not to mention the high oil prices and price inflation are going to start negatively affecting demand, and hopefully lead to more 50 seaters going away for good. For me, QOL, or at least QOL defined as being able to hold MIA or anything in South Florida, and drive to work is the most important. More important than upgrading or making every last dollar. I'd just be getting back to 121 after taking the covid period away from 121, and have non-aviation obligations I want to maintain. Being able to drive to work, with so few days off, even as a line holder, would make all the difference for me. I guess I'll keep watching to see how things are going before throwing applications in. Hope things stabilize a bit and they don't start doing forced upgrades again. Thanks for the info either way.