LeineLodge

Your results may vary, but I'll do my best.

I'm not sure where you're coming from, but if you're currently at a regional you can probably expect to credit less per month than you're used to. On the up side, the hourly rate will be higher, eventually.

As far as smallest aircraft, the junior positions right now are DC-9 in DTW and M-88 in NYC. NYC covers all 3 airports which I hear is a big pain on reserve (read expensive.) A large factor determining if you will break the 70 hour reserve guarantee is whether you live in base or not, and what equipment/base you are assigned to. The best way for you to go over guarantee is if the company comes up short (typically on a weekend or holiday or day with horrendous weather which we call IROPS - for Irregular OPS). The company will then begin running out of options and start awarding Greenslips (overtime - which is paid directly over guarantee) or Inverse Assigments (which is a benign version of junior manning, also paid above guarantee. This of course means you would need to be near the airport and useful to the company to be able to accept any of this overtime/premium flying. If you commute it is pretty difficult to do any of this "above-guarantee" flying.

To go over guarantee the traditional way, you would have to fly on most or all of your reserve days (18 per month, prorated for absences such as vacation, sick, MIL leave, etc.) The way our contract is setup with reserve credit, DH credit, reserve utilization order, and a few other things it is difficult, but not impossible to credit over 70 hours. If you do, you will be worn out. My biggest month going over 70 credit hours, I got to 78.

Bottom line, do not count on getting more than 70 hours until you can hold a line. Reserves are not allowed to pick up open time, nor can you take a trip that a line holder is trying to drop. The two scenarios described above are the only ways to make some extra cash.

With all that said, 1000 hours of pay per year is probably a high estimate for a reserve pilot.

As far as pay goes, I'm on the bus which is a little more than the 9 and 88 and a little less than the 737. On 2nd year pay (we won't talk about first year pay at NWA since it doesn't exist anymore ) I took in right at $80k last year, with last summer being under the NWA contract and crediting mid/upper 80's for the summer months.

My advice which isn't worth much. Don't focus too much on first year pay or the hourly rates. You will actually make more money if you get senior in a junior category and can control your schedule (credit) as a regular lineholder. There are plenty examples of 88 FO's that live in base and Greenslip making more than 777 FO's who only get guarantee every month. Compare your current contract to ours, and you will probably find that if you're at a regional (with ExpressJet being the notable exception) that our contract is better than most regionals. Quality of life is much better than the abusive regional world, IMO. The downside is you will be junior for a LONG time (our retirements and movement don't really pick up until 2017-2018, which is an eternity away in this business.)

In the end, it's a very personal decision of whether to make the leap of faith or not. Obviously considering your age, family situation, base preference, commuter or not, etc you'll have to decide. For me it was worth, and has been great so far. I'd be very senior had I stayed behind at my old company, and being junior and commuting reserve here is still way better.

I wish you and everyone else the best of luck.