skyypilot

I’m a corporate guy looking to change jobs. I don’t live at a base currently and I’m in no big hurry to move.
My question is schedules.
What’s a monthly really look like? From what I’ve been able to gather it looks like 14 to 17 days off a month. I’ve also read that it’s more like two on two off. I understand base seniority etc. changes a lot but for a junior F0, what should I expect? With the two on two off scenario commuting would be nearly impossible wouldn’t it?
Thanks

CAirBear

Unfortunately, we don’t use any kind of legitimate bidding/scheduling software. It routinely ignores your seniority and preferences. It’s a complete dog**** and we may soon be striking over it. If we somehow get screwed over, and have to continue using it, I’m going elsewhere. It is not worth it and completely unacceptable.

You can commute to our hub bases like LAS/LAX etc. Unfortunately, since we havent hired recently, our junior bases are PGD, IND and OAK. OAK would be doable, but if your living in a Legacy hub city then almost all our bases are commutable with the exception of PGD.

CAirBear

To expand on this, schedules vary drastically by base. If you want the most days off, best schedules, the trick is getting senior in a small base like IND/OAK with only 1-2 airplanes. If your in Vegas, your not getting many weekends off no matter your seniority as almost all of our flying is Thurs/Fri and Sun/Mon.

skyypilot

So does that mean you are off Saturday and Tuesday and Wednesday?
So there’s no hiring at all?
I’m reading different reports on that. Getting new planes and adding routes I assumed they were hiring. I obviously have no idea I don’t work there.

greeka

when Airbus transition stops they will hire.

JustWatching

Traditionally speaking (prior to the addition of the Airbus) yes. As the transition nears completion, more and more bases are switching to a 7 day a week operation. From the sounds of it from senior management, the 7 day a week thing works much better east than west, so west coast bases can expect less Tues/Wed/Sat flying than the east coast bases. With that said, junior pilots can probably expect those days off for a while to come.

We are currently not hiring, but that will change soon. A lot of garbage coming from the company about being over staffed, but everyone knows it’s posturing and not realistic. A CP has openly said that we’ll likely see classes resume in Q4 18.

dutch rudder

Quiet morning so I’ll humor you with a novel

I was hired into a large base at the beginning of a large hiring wave. I was on reserve for about 5 months, which consisted of minimum days off and I was called about half the time. I had a lot of single days off, however, I lived in base and wasn’t really trying to avoid them. I actually enjoyed flying a couple days then having 1 day off. Post contract, the single day off issue is partially fixed – 6 days off each month are required to be consecutive (4 off and 2 off, or 3 off and 3 off, etc). I have found that most guys living in base don’t mind single days off sprinkled in. It’s a different story for commuters.

After I escaped reserve, I would average 13-16 days off per month with relatively short and inefficient trips for the first year. However, short trips can be very enjoyable… away from home for less than 5 hours. A few people directly above me were getting 17-19 days off. The second year my schedules were consistently 16-18 off every month with minimal solitary days (maybe 1-2/month, not trying to avoid them). Could I have commuted? Yes, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed my life as much. For reference, at the end of my second year, I was top 20% of FO’s in that particular base and equipment. Keep in mind; I was hired at the onset of a huge hiring wave and lots of movement from right to left seat.

I am now in 3rd – 4th year in a different (less senior) base. I dictate my entire schedule… from more than half the month off consecutively, to not working more than 1 day in a row, and everything in between. If I have less than 18 days off, I screwed up. Average 19-21 off with decent credit. Easily commutable from anywhere on the planet.

The interface of our bidding software is ok; the way it solves is bad. Once you figure out how it solves and you are not on the bottom of the list, it works (there are tricks). That being said, I want new software with traditional solving capabilities.

The question you must ask yourself: Am I willing to sacrifice (move to a base or crash-pad) for a few years to get what I want? Once the Airbus transition is finished later this year, I expect the hiring boom to start again. You may be in a good position to ride the wave.

skyypilot

Thanks so much! I’m seriously considering starting my application process. I love allegiant business model and no overnights!! Nothing is quite as satisfying as spending five days in Oxnard California while my family is at home doing my chores!! Do you have any idea which bases are junior?

skydisaster

I will offer a slightly different perspective. I was hired much later in a period of steady hiring. I already lived in a large senior base. I spent the first year commuting to a junior base with a fairly easy commute. I only spent A month or two on reserve and dropped as much as I could get away with and picked up trips in the base where I live. I had varying degrees of success with that, but if you stay on open time, you can do a decent job of reducing the number of days that you have to commute. After I year, I barely made it into the base where I live when the hiring stopped. So, I have been on reserve (except when I volunteered to TDY) for 7 months now. I will probably be in reserve for at least another 8 months. Some months, I fly my butt off on reserve, but most months I get called out half the time or less. I tend to prefer flying over reserve, so I usually still pick up as much as I can to fly more and make more. So I average around 7 or 8 days off a month, but I also usually have another 7 or 8 days that I don’t get called out. So I am home 15+ days a month. Other than the one month I chose to TDY, I have spent 5 nights on the road this year, and 3 of those were for training. This schedule beats my previous 135/91k lifestyle by large margins.


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RunningB

An even different perspective..
Hired right before hiring stopped, was promised hiring to resume in a couple months (eye roll). Moved to junior base, staring down the barrel of involuntary TDY month after month after month. Then was displaced out of said base subsequently and forced to just wait for a spot to open back up to get back in (with no hiring and little if any movement). If the company gets its way and doesn't hire again for years then jumping ship to do 4 days again will be vastly superior to being TDY'd involuntarily for half the year. Hopefully hiring resumes at some point but if its slow then be cautioned your experience could be similar