Originally Posted by Razor
Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the information you provided. I’ve got a couple more questions now however. Can someone describe what a work day is like when you’re low seniority and getting “the dregs (Peoria night Hub Turns to MEM).” I guess being that junior on a wide body means you’re going to stay junior for a long time but you’d be doing international flights right?
I'll let Dennis -or any other “active” guy talk about how rapid advancement is these days, since I have been gone for 2 years now.
As far as a "work day", I still have THAT emblazoned on my memory and I don't think life as a freight dog has changed much.
The way the week starts depends on whether or not the trip originates in the Hub or is a DH out to the field. In the case of starting in the Hub, you can expect to either DH in or drive from home, depending on your living arrangements. The Show Time will depend on the time of your departure and can be anywhere between, say, 0100 to 0330 or so.
As an engineer, you will show, check in, find your crew (or not), screw around until the time you have figured it takes to get to the jet, do the preflight and have everything ready for when the other two folks show up out there. I used to go out to the ramp without delay, just to have the time alone with the jet and be ahead of the power curve.
Depending on the trip, you can have one, two -or multiple legs to your destination, which you are generally going to arrive at as the sun is coming up -or the fog is the thickest. THEN you get to wait around an interminable amount of time for the hotel van to pick you up. Generally, you pass the “real” airline crews, all bright eyed and bushy tailed . . standing on the curb, waiting for the van ride to the airport. . as you are dragging your fatigued butt up to the front desk.
Crew rest . .broad daylight. . in a layover hotel that has no regard for the fact that the FAA mandates 8 hours before you fly again. Generally, the crew might meet for dinner between 1630-1730 local. Back to the room, freshen up, pack the bag and head back to the ramp. Preflight. .fly whatever legs it takes to get back to the Hub. . and then do your 1st Hub Turn of the week. You got a 3-5 hour turn to catch a nap, do your personal stuff. . and the routine starts all over again.
The difference between that and doing a DH out to the field is that your 1st “show time” is going to be in the early evening (1830-2000) at the field ramp. So your 1st “live” leg will be the early evening inbound to the Hub . .for the turn. You do that for as many days as the trip lasts and generally end up on Saturday AM at the field airport where you started out Monday night.
In the case of commuters who might live nearby the field airport where the trips operate to the Hub, you can “deviate” on the dead head portions, effectively giving yourself an additional 4 days off per month, with pay.
In my case, I operated a trip that ran like this: DH MEM to SAN on Sunday - crew rest till Monday PM -fly SAN/OAK -Hub Turn- OAK/SAN all week, till Saturday -crew rest until Sunday-DH-MEM. Since I never took the dead head flights from/to MEM, it was 7-8 days of pay for 5 nights of work. THAT is where seniority comes in -to be able to hold a trip that enhances lifestyle. There are many trip parings like that -to/from many cities to a Hub.
So, if you live in or nearby one of those cities, it could be worth while to stay senior in the seat/equipment that flies those trips. Or, you stay constantly junior, though upgrading . . live in the Domicile OR get to DH, on your own time and nickel to the Hub where you operate out of . . and then drag your tired bones home on the jump seat at the end of the sequence. There used to be a pretty good “trip trade” policy, so that if you couldn’t bid or hold “week on, week off” . . you can “trade” into a commutable schedule, if living in the Domicile is not a palatable option.