Few basic Qs please
 

Good day,

Few basic questions I am trying to find the concise/definite answer for here.
Please do not call me lazy, I browsed through thousands of informative posts here, but there seem to be some ambiguity on those points.

1. What are the chances of getting SFO as a new hire these days
2. Is fleet/base bidding based on SSN or the actual age?
3. If unsuccessful, how long after Indoc can one expect to get a chance to bid and be awarded the base/fleet of choice (as above)
4. How long can one expect to sit home/airport on reserve? Are new joiners ever called out for the flight in first few months after IOE?
5. During reserve how many ‘undisturbed’ days off a month can one expect?
6. What is the report time at the airport on ’short call’ reserve? Or to put it another way how far from the airport can one live to make it on time?
7. How long does the whole training process take and do you get to fly home on your days off during that training?
8. Is the training paid per Year 1 rules (Minimum Guarantee) or is it less?
9. What is the realistic take home pay during the first and second year - ballpark figure
10. What is the scope of the Family medical/dental/eye insurance? Is one expected to pay his own part and if so how much?

Lastly, is it a good 'final destination' place for an experienced pilot with 12 years to go till retirement you reckon?

Appreciate your time taken to get my head clear on those points.

1. SFO is the Junior base
2. age
3. varies. No way to predict it.
4. most new hires are not on reserve for very ling. A few months. yes, you get called. That’s why they hired you and put you on reserve.
5. What do you consider an undisturbed day? On reserve you have 12-13 days off. As a line holder it varies. But if you do an all nighter turn at leaves at 11pm and gets back at 9 the next morning you are gone 10 hours but the computer says you were gone 2 days.
6 2.5 hours is short call. 14 for long call.
7. I think it’s 2 months. Can’t remember. Yes you can fly home on days off if you want. It’s your day off.
8. can’t remember the exact number but it’s not less.
9. I have no idea. There are so many variables.
10. Another super complicated question. I do t use the companies issuance. I am on my wife’s and have TriCare as secondary since I am retired military.

training pay is your hourly rate at 85 credits

forgot to answer your last question because it wasn’t numbered.

Any experienced pilot should know there is no way to answer that question. You never know if it was a good ride or not until it is over.

also for 9. Your take home pay ballpark is typically your hourly rate times 1000.

Thank you very much. All clear now.

I wish times a 1000! Before Taxes times 100, after taxes and deductions times 65.

might want to check your math. First year pay is $100. 100x100= 10,000. Times 65 is $6,500. I am pretty sure a fist year FO makes more than $6,500 a year. Now if you multiply by 1000 you get a more reasonable number.

Also someone making $100k a year does not have an effective tax rate of 35%.

Sorry figured they were looking for a monthly figure. Besides the fact, if you’re living in base (sea, pdx, lax or sfo) with all the federal and/or state taxes plus medical deductions, yea your take home is probably 65% gross.

Close. I’m in Washington and my net is 70% of my gross.

Nice not having to pay state income tax

Gross pay including 401k DC and bonuses is probably about rate x 1250, before taxes and voluntary deductions. Take home depends on taxes and vol deductions. First year maybe a bit less due to reserve and bonus eligibility.

Maybe a couple FO’s could give the guy useful numbers not the ego numbers. Take-home is what most people want when they ask the question. What you can count on and what you can spend. Most commuters also fly nearer guarantee in order to have a life.

Just to clarify for #4, there is no airport reserve. Long call is 14 hrs and short call is 2.5 hrs. You do not need to be at the airport for that. Nor is there any reserve assignment that makes you sit at the airport for airport reserve.

How does anybody here know what his tax rate and voluntary deductions will be? Depends on where you live, family finances, etc.

1st-63k-85k
2nd-94k-126k
3rd-109k-146k
4th-114k-152k

Those are all based on min hours per month of 75 to max pay of 100 hours per month. They do not include per diem, bonuses, or any other work rule kickers (reassignment pay, premium trip pick up, working over vacation, etc...).

Thanks Gents!
Great detail, gives me something to crunch on....

What do you mean “max” pay of 100 hrs per month? Lotta pilots can credit well above that number month to month.

Just used it as an average since the suggestion was "Not Inflated Numbers." But sure pilots can do more. One ca credits 150-160 every month, but that wasn't the request. Since I made a gross error/term you didn't agree with......

12 year fo beginning Sept 2023 at 220/hr crediting 150 hours every month for the year will gross $396,000 (without per diem, bonuses, etc...) Now apply your own deductions.

How does that help a guy asking what the average Take-home fo pay would be as a new hire and the first couple of years????

Those numbers are very close to what I have earned at AS. I didn't pick up premium from the contract amendable date in 2019 until the new contract was voted in last year.

Let’s fix that: Some guys in the SEA base can and the top couple percent in the little bases can. I think it is published by ALPA exactly how much premium was flown by seat by base. Tiny percentage of the whole. Helps all of us if we don’t try to claim the 1% as the statistical average. I will grant you that SEA as the only “real” base in the company does produce nearly all of the 1% crowd.

I’m not doubting it. Just that it was written as “max pay of 100 per month.” Only clarifying there’s really technically no max. There is a contractual max during line awarding, step trading, but after that one can exceed those max limits too.

Did you not understand the progression of the comments? I also wrote using a min pay of 75 hours, but people fly less than that as well. Didnt want to correct that statement? No one asked what's the max pay you can attain in a given month?

And it’s a shame some folks can’t hold out for 2x over 1.5x. Albeit the real money is getting delayed into a day off or by training displacements. Wish I could count on those like some do 🧐

He can manage to shoehorn in a humble brag about how well he works the system into pretty much any conversation.

Haha, that made reading through the whole thread worthwhile

If you’re not working the system to your own advantage, you’re not doing it right. Or at least, doing it inefficiently.

Any advice for a new hire FO?

Be nice to scheduling.

Be more senior

Go to Delta

Move your days off around to avoid flying on reserve. Pick up on your days off if you want for pay above guarantee. Fly 50 get paid for 110. This only works well from a QOL standpoint if you live in base and don’t have a ridged family schedule.

Get off probation. Single fleet operations are more efficient and require fewer pilots. All pilots based in one time zone require fewer pilots. Be happy

What does that mean? Cheerfully go along with their every whim while they wipe their arse with the CBA?

It's not bad advice to be very civil on a recorded line when your employer holds the recordings and you're on probation. You can still know the contract and politely remind your coworkers of your contractual rights, politely. If the contract is violated you can grieve it after politely reminding scheduling the part of the contract in question.

That's what I was fishing for.

is SFO/LAX bases commutable from vegas or dont bother?

Lots of people do it. But it's getting more popular due to CA taxes and politics.

LAX you can drive in a pinch.