Originally Posted by
Flyby1206
Yes, our most junior schedule type is the Reserve status where you have a 10hr on-call shift each day (known as Short Call Reserve) or have a 24hr on-call shift that is Long Call Reserve. On SCR you have at least 2.5hrs to get to the airport after a call. For LCR you have at least 14hrs notice.
Each type of Reserve schedule consists of 17-18 days on per month and 12-14 days off depending on the bidding cycle. Many pilots like to stack all 17 days on in a row and have 13 days off afterwards. This would be doable as a pretty junior pilot.
As you get more senior you could bid a line and hold regular trips and attempt to stack all your flying together, although that can be more challenging considering legalities and conflicts. If compensation is not a primary focus you might be able to drop or give away many of your trips as a lineholder which would give you even more time off, but less pay.
Where in Europe are you commuting from?
I would likely be commuting from Frankfurt (I live 15 mins from the airport) if I can't convince my family to make the move :-) Therefore BOS or JFK would be good bases for me. Currently trying to do the math if it would be worth it in the mid-to-long term. I have 22 years ahead of me. Here are the options
Option A - join EU legacy carrier
Entry salary 90k EUR
3hrs commute
Linear, slow increase
Upgrade after 10 years
Exit salary 220k EUR
Option B - join EU ACMI carrier
Entry salary 40k EUR
3hrs commute
Upgrade after 1 year
Then salary is 110k EUR
Build PIC hours and move on after 3-4 years to ??? (and likely be a nomad for the rest of the career)
Option C - join US carrier (e.g. JetBlue)
Entry salary 80ish USD?
10 hrs commute
Upgrade after 2-3 years?
Then salary is 240k USD
Exit salary north of 300k USD
With a salary of 300k USD, I could even work on a 67% base, drop all other lines and still have a salary of 200 kUSD? Even if I have to invest 50k USD each year for commuting and renting an appartment, this doesn't even sound too crazy. With 150k USD + wife income, we'll be able to have a high living standard over here.