Originally Posted by
Acoustic2
Wow- thanks for the specific info. It is definately an industry that I want to keep working at. I am ready for a change, even if it means a paycut. Sick of flying in the back, even though it is quite fun every now and then.
Couple more questions:
1. Is per diem taxable?
2. Does SKW pay on duty, trip, or hourly rig?
3. If someone were to commute, what would a typical work week be like? (such as- when would they fly to their base airport in relation to when their duty starts, hotel stays...etc)
4. Does the airline pay for the hotels during overnight stays? If so, are they double or single occupancy?
5. When does the per diem clock start ticking? I've heard that it starts any time that your away from your base airport and only when you will have an overnight stay...but does that mean it starts when the plane is pushed from the gate, or upon reaching your destination?
Sorry to bombard everyone w/ questions- but your replies are a big help to me in understanding what I'll be doing.
1. It is not taxable on any given day as long as you had an extended break (5 hours ?) or an overnight away from your domicile. If you fly a "local" trip where you report in the morning, do some flying, and return to domicile at the end of the day your per diem for that day is taxable. Senior pilots who live in base tend to fly locals. Junior pilots and commuters tend to fly 2,3,4, or even 5 day trips.
2. Not sure what an hourly rig is but SKW pays as follows:
- Leg Credit: The greater of scheduled flight time or actual flight time (totaled up on a daily basis). Flight time in 121 is gate-to-gate so this includes ATC, Wx, and deicing delays as long as you are off the gate.
- Daily Guarantee: 3:45 hours for coming to work.
- Monthly Guarantee: 75 hours.
- No Trip Rig, this is covered by the daily guarantee.
- Duty Rig: 50%...so 12 hours duty will pay at least 6 hours regardless of how little you fly. If you go over 12 hours you get more (x1.5 IIRC)
3. I'm middle of the pack in my domicile, and I get 4-5 day trips which show early afternoon or later, and get done in time to catch the last flight home. The late shows give me to 2-3 options to get to work, so I'm not hanging it out every week (stressful). All 700/900 flying for me, just because the schedules work out better. A more junior commuter might get stuck doing a 3 day followed by a 2 day (or some other split trip combo), in which case he needs a hotel or crashpad for the break between trips. He might also get an early show or late release, which would necessitate coming in the night before or staying the night after the trip...again hotel/crashpad required. Junior FO's and flight attendants have been known to "camp out" in the crewroom to save money, but this does not seem to happen at SKW...it is probably frowned upon.
4. All US airlines (except mesa) provide a single occupancy hotel. At SKW they range from barely adequate to luxurious. Sometimes you get a great hotel downtown, other times it's eastern-block housing in the airport industrial park.
5. Per diem starts when you report for duty at your domicile (45 minutes prior to departure) and ends when released from duty in your domicile (15 minutse after arrival). It continues the whole time you're on the trip, even if you return to domicile and have a short or medium break in the middle. If you get legal rest (8+ hours) in domicile, then duty and per diem ends.
Most of the better regionals have similar or even better arrangements, but a few may have significant workrule gaps (pinnacle, colgan?) and mesa has no workrules other than per diem. At mesa you only get paid when they feel like paying you...pretty much their discretion.
Always happy to help out another navy swimmer
