Originally Posted by
jcullen4
Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this; I didn't want to start a whole new one...maybe I should? (I'm not in the APCF loop these days)...Anyway, I am approaching my in-person interview with SWA--sweet. Currently, a Captain at a regional and I've been on reserve for nearly a year now with, what seems like, no end in sight (I'm in a fairly senior base). It is demoralizing. I feel like I barely fly airplanes and instead sit in the back of them, sit in airport terminals, sit in hotels, etc. I know, reserve isn't ideal in general, but does it get better at somewhere other than a regional, i.e. SWA? Because, my goodness, I can hardly take it anymore (cue the classic Peter Finch line:
I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!) I did reserve enough as an FO, took first available upgrade, and now here I am again. Does it get better, at least a little? I just want to do my job: fly airplanes. Not deadhead all over the country to sit in airport terminals, waiting waiting waiting to do one flight, or stare out hotel windows contemplating the meaning of life (...that's a joke, sort of
).
If you live in base, reserve isn't bad at all. I think the most hated feature is the lack of "released to show/report," meaning if you get assigned a trip that has an 8:00am report, but you're a 3:00am reserve, you're still on call at 3:00am, and still liable for a 2hr call-out. However, if you are a commuter, chances of getting used during your reserve block are quite good. Pay on reserve will be substantially over guarantee. My classmates, that are only working their reserve line, are still crediting about 30 trips over guarantee, every month. Basically, it's impossible to only make guarantee.