Originally Posted by
ugleeual
Here is a snapshot of what I’ve experienced the last couple years while on global reserve… I live local. During Oct - April I average about 6 days of “work” per month… the rest of the year I average about 14 days of “work”. I define “work” as actually flying a trip and being away from home. I average 5 short calls every month throughout the year… about 25% these SCs are “used” per month and I’m assigned a short notice trip…. The other 75% I’m usually golfing with my phone on.
I bid reserve rather than a line because I “work” less each year. In comparison, The pilots who are in the 60-80% G Line range are working on average 15-16 days a month year round… usually flying crappy europe or domestic trips… on reserve I get a variety of high seniority desirable trips and on occasion a one day aircraft ferries… u never know.
In a nutshell if you absolutely need 15-16 hard days off each month then don’t bid a seat/fleet/domicile that you’ll be on reserve… if you live local and don’t really care what days you “work” then it could be beneficial.
Your definition of “work” needs to change. An unused short call is 100% a day at work. Would you be ok with being on short call every day of the month?