Originally Posted by
FangsF15
First, WELCOME BACK!
Done it 2x. It's surprisingly quick. In essence, they have to pay you from the day you submit your medical (aka RTW, "Return to Work), so they want you back flying ASAP.
Once you submit your medical to the company, the Director of Medical Services turns it around within a day or two at most. That's just a double check that all the i's are dotted and t's crossed. Crew Resources will call you within another day or two to ask you what category you want to return to. Officially, any AE award that happened while you were out for which you were eligible (i.e., no seat lock), you can just 'pick'. In practice, you can pick anything you can hold. No that you haven't thought about it, but chose wisely. (also, they returned me with a seat lock, either...) They will probably get you into training within a few extra weeks at most. I heard one story of a RTW to sims that was well under a week. That said, one of my 2x, I returned to the 765 (767-400), and the training planner called with training and said, "it's your lucky day, I can't get you in for 7 weeks!" So I got 7 weeks off at full pay (ALV, I think).
Feel free to PM. It's been 4ish years, but glad to offer any help.
Everything he said is accurate. It's quick. I submitted my medical on a Thursday, I was sitting in the sim the following Tuesday. Oh, and with 142 CBTs to do over the weekend. Never caught any grief about not getting those done on time, lol.
There is a checklist to follow on DeltaNet: Flight Ops -> Admin -> Pilot Leaves -> Return to Work Checklist. Some things on there didn't happen automatically as they say they will or are a pain, such as the EFB. I had to get a loaner for two weeks, as they would only ship the thing to my house but I was already in ATL doing sims.
Originally Posted by
FangsF15
Also, it totally sucks, but your vacaiton will be reduced on a pro-rated share. And if you have less than 7 full days to bid in a given week (secondary/tertiary/quaternary), you don't get the seprate vacation week, it will be tagged onto your 'previous' week as a super long 'week'... You also don't get sick bank time until you finish OE and get the OK...
This is also true. You'll get penalized for two years after coming back for the audacity of losing your medical. Also, if you call out sick on OE, you won't get paid for it. Ask me how I know...
I'm working on some resolutions to get these POS's fixed in the next contract.