A day in the life at Allegiant?
03-10-2011, 07:31 AM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2010
Position: MD80
Posts: 188
Originally Posted by averyta
Great info! A few more questions...
1) About how long can a new hire expect to be on reserve?
Really depends on base.. Generally, FO's are on reserve until the next class comes through. If you're at a small base with little movement, it can be longer.
2) Are there opportunities for those on reserve to pick up trips? ie aggressive reserve or pick up on your days off?
We have an unlimited open time pick up policy. What that means is that opened trips can be picked up on days off by seniority, up to pre-established weekly and monthly limits. Common theme here... Depending on your base, the amount of open time may be limited.
3) What is the reserve system like? Shifts? About how many reserves per base?
Reserve is a 12 hour deal here and can be great or the biggest turd sandwhich you've ever eaten. Not sure how many reserves per base, but I do know smaller bases may have 2 reserve lines. I think GRR has zero...with Captains sitting reserve for both seats.
4) Are there several vacancy bids each year? How difficult is it to change bases?
We have a standing bid system and you can theoretically change bases every month.
Appreciate the input!
1) About how long can a new hire expect to be on reserve?
Really depends on base.. Generally, FO's are on reserve until the next class comes through. If you're at a small base with little movement, it can be longer.
2) Are there opportunities for those on reserve to pick up trips? ie aggressive reserve or pick up on your days off?
We have an unlimited open time pick up policy. What that means is that opened trips can be picked up on days off by seniority, up to pre-established weekly and monthly limits. Common theme here... Depending on your base, the amount of open time may be limited.
3) What is the reserve system like? Shifts? About how many reserves per base?
Reserve is a 12 hour deal here and can be great or the biggest turd sandwhich you've ever eaten. Not sure how many reserves per base, but I do know smaller bases may have 2 reserve lines. I think GRR has zero...with Captains sitting reserve for both seats.
4) Are there several vacancy bids each year? How difficult is it to change bases?
We have a standing bid system and you can theoretically change bases every month.
Appreciate the input!
03-10-2011, 07:35 AM
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2005
Posts: 442
Originally Posted by averyta
Great info! A few more questions...
1) About how long can a new hire expect to be on reserve?
The answer to most questions about schedules, reserve, etc. is that it depends on the base. Charter bases mostly have reserve built into the lines, smaller bases have 3 reserves, SFB has ~10, LAS ~15. You'll be on reserve longer in SFB and LAS, plan on at least a year.
2) Are there opportunities for those on reserve to pick up trips? ie aggressive reserve or pick up on your days off?
You can't pick up trips on days you are scheduled. You can request a specific trip within 48 hours of the trip. You can pick up trips from open time on your days off, paid above guarantee.
3) What is the reserve system like? Shifts? About how many reserves per base?
Reserve sucks. 4a-4p or 12p-12a mostly.
4) Are there several vacancy bids each year? How difficult is it to change bases?
No vacancy bids. We have a base bid system where you list where you want to go in the order of preference and when an opening occurs they go to the list. No base lock when you change bases, you can move every month if there are openings. Not much growth right now so not too many openings to change bases. You can trade bases with someone if nobody between you on the seniority list objects.
Appreciate the input!
1) About how long can a new hire expect to be on reserve?
The answer to most questions about schedules, reserve, etc. is that it depends on the base. Charter bases mostly have reserve built into the lines, smaller bases have 3 reserves, SFB has ~10, LAS ~15. You'll be on reserve longer in SFB and LAS, plan on at least a year.
2) Are there opportunities for those on reserve to pick up trips? ie aggressive reserve or pick up on your days off?
You can't pick up trips on days you are scheduled. You can request a specific trip within 48 hours of the trip. You can pick up trips from open time on your days off, paid above guarantee.
3) What is the reserve system like? Shifts? About how many reserves per base?
Reserve sucks. 4a-4p or 12p-12a mostly.
4) Are there several vacancy bids each year? How difficult is it to change bases?
No vacancy bids. We have a base bid system where you list where you want to go in the order of preference and when an opening occurs they go to the list. No base lock when you change bases, you can move every month if there are openings. Not much growth right now so not too many openings to change bases. You can trade bases with someone if nobody between you on the seniority list objects.
Appreciate the input!
Posted at the same time.
03-10-2011, 09:12 AM
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Position: Airbus CA
Posts: 909
After a year or so on the line here I think I can refute some of the claims raised here about maint., or the alleged lack of.
Engines - Way back in the dark ages of my career at usair we had the -80 and most of the PSA/usair guys I knew who flew the thing for a while had an engine failure or two. These are not CFM's. It goes with the territory. Our numbers are not out of line with the industry.
MEL's - we carried more MEL's at the legacy than we do here. In a year I've had maybe one APU mel'd. You couldn't go through a 3-day trip at usair without at least one . We had the crossbleed start procedures down cold. The -80 is a 20+ year-old mechanically intensive machine - everything is not solved simply be re-racking a black box. You have to fart around with it a bit at times.
Reliability - because of the nature of our operation when things go bad they go real bad. You break a hyd. pump in Fargo you are gonna be there half the day. At American they'd re-route you on the next flight an hour later and get you right back on your trip. Here you sit and wait for the part to be flown in. So these events tend to stick in your memory and you forget all the uneventful trips. The truth is we're on time 90% of the time, again better than the legacy I flew with. We don't go through hubs and change planes and we almost never fly where there are ATC delays.
That said - the -80 is definitely a piece of work. If you come off an Airbus or CRJ be prepared for a bit of a shock.
Engines - Way back in the dark ages of my career at usair we had the -80 and most of the PSA/usair guys I knew who flew the thing for a while had an engine failure or two. These are not CFM's. It goes with the territory. Our numbers are not out of line with the industry.
MEL's - we carried more MEL's at the legacy than we do here. In a year I've had maybe one APU mel'd. You couldn't go through a 3-day trip at usair without at least one . We had the crossbleed start procedures down cold. The -80 is a 20+ year-old mechanically intensive machine - everything is not solved simply be re-racking a black box. You have to fart around with it a bit at times.
Reliability - because of the nature of our operation when things go bad they go real bad. You break a hyd. pump in Fargo you are gonna be there half the day. At American they'd re-route you on the next flight an hour later and get you right back on your trip. Here you sit and wait for the part to be flown in. So these events tend to stick in your memory and you forget all the uneventful trips. The truth is we're on time 90% of the time, again better than the legacy I flew with. We don't go through hubs and change planes and we almost never fly where there are ATC delays.
That said - the -80 is definitely a piece of work. If you come off an Airbus or CRJ be prepared for a bit of a shock.
03-10-2011, 12:56 PM
#15
Banned
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Position: Narrow/Left Wide/Right
Posts: 3,655
Originally Posted by tailendcharlie
After a year or so on the line here I think I can refute some of the claims raised here about maint., or the alleged lack of.
Engines - Way back in the dark ages of my career at usair we had the -80 and most of the PSA/usair guys I knew who flew the thing for a while had an engine failure or two. These are not CFM's. It goes with the territory. Our numbers are not out of line with the industry.
MEL's - we carried more MEL's at the legacy than we do here. In a year I've had maybe one APU mel'd. You couldn't go through a 3-day trip at usair without at least one . We had the crossbleed start procedures down cold. The -80 is a 20+ year-old mechanically intensive machine - everything is not solved simply be re-racking a black box. You have to fart around with it a bit at times.
Reliability - because of the nature of our operation when things go bad they go real bad. You break a hyd. pump in Fargo you are gonna be there half the day. At American they'd re-route you on the next flight an hour later and get you right back on your trip. Here you sit and wait for the part to be flown in. So these events tend to stick in your memory and you forget all the uneventful trips. The truth is we're on time 90% of the time, again better than the legacy I flew with. We don't go through hubs and change planes and we almost never fly where there are ATC delays.
That said - the -80 is definitely a piece of work. If you come off an Airbus or CRJ be prepared for a bit of a shock.
Engines - Way back in the dark ages of my career at usair we had the -80 and most of the PSA/usair guys I knew who flew the thing for a while had an engine failure or two. These are not CFM's. It goes with the territory. Our numbers are not out of line with the industry.
MEL's - we carried more MEL's at the legacy than we do here. In a year I've had maybe one APU mel'd. You couldn't go through a 3-day trip at usair without at least one . We had the crossbleed start procedures down cold. The -80 is a 20+ year-old mechanically intensive machine - everything is not solved simply be re-racking a black box. You have to fart around with it a bit at times.
Reliability - because of the nature of our operation when things go bad they go real bad. You break a hyd. pump in Fargo you are gonna be there half the day. At American they'd re-route you on the next flight an hour later and get you right back on your trip. Here you sit and wait for the part to be flown in. So these events tend to stick in your memory and you forget all the uneventful trips. The truth is we're on time 90% of the time, again better than the legacy I flew with. We don't go through hubs and change planes and we almost never fly where there are ATC delays.
That said - the -80 is definitely a piece of work. If you come off an Airbus or CRJ be prepared for a bit of a shock.
03-10-2011, 01:26 PM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,459
When you say Reserve sucks - is it just the general suckiness of being on call, the shifts themselves, or is it something different? I understand you only get 10 days off, but doesn't a JR line holder only get 11? I mean with only day trips how bad could reserve be? - you either go fly that day or you don't right? Am I missing something? Do they send you out to other bases to sit for week? Do they have Ready Reserve? Now those two things would suck!
03-10-2011, 01:37 PM
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,459
Originally Posted by Car Ramrod
Don't work there but I have some friends that do. The most appealing part about Allegiant in my eyes: all you have to carry to work is your lunch box.
Day trips don't work well when you've got multiple short legs with long sits, but it sounds like the occasional 4 leg day at Allegiant is still pretty efficient. Even if every other day had 4 legs, the math noted above still holds true.
This to me makes Allegiant highly desirable.
03-10-2011, 02:02 PM
#18
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2008
Position: MD80 CA
Posts: 315
Originally Posted by sulkair
When you say Reserve sucks - is it just the general suckiness of being on call, the shifts themselves, or is it something different? I understand you only get 10 days off, but doesn't a JR line holder only get 11? I mean with only day trips how bad could reserve be? - you either go fly that day or you don't right? Am I missing something? Do they send you out to other bases to sit for week? Do they have Ready Reserve? Now those two things would suck!
The biggest thing is on call all the time and the occasional trip that ends up with a lot of time at work with little flying or real late night rescue flight due to a broken plane in outstation.
Most junior lines have more than the 11 off. as a junior line holder I usually see at least 14 off unless I pick up day off flying. we have a lot of out and backs at 5:30 plus and the few 4 leg days usually push close to 8.
03-10-2011, 02:04 PM
#19
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2008
Position: MD80 CA
Posts: 315
Originally Posted by sulkair
Oh man this is so huge. I started doing the math... Even with an intense amount of flying like say 95 hours - the trips are by nature so efficient (one out and back with a 45 minute turn) that really no matter how you slice it, you are spending significantly less time away from home than a typical 40 hour 8 - 5 guy who works M - F with an hour lunch. You cannot say this for most other airline jobs, who even though they have more days off, are waisting life in hotels. Some guys enjoy hotel time - personally I hate it.
Day trips don't work well when you've got multiple short legs with long sits, but it sounds like the occasional 4 leg day at Allegiant is still pretty efficient. Even if every other day had 4 legs, the math noted above still holds true.
This to me makes Allegiant highly desirable.
Day trips don't work well when you've got multiple short legs with long sits, but it sounds like the occasional 4 leg day at Allegiant is still pretty efficient. Even if every other day had 4 legs, the math noted above still holds true.
This to me makes Allegiant highly desirable.
03-10-2011, 03:42 PM
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2009
Position: B756 FO
Posts: 1,288
I seem to get a bit of mixed reports when it comes to bases. Would a new hire in April have a chance at IWA within a year? If one was LAS based and lived in PHX, is the possibility of going home for the night after a rsv shift is over and come back the next day in time to be available? Finally in the event one who is hired in April gets based out East, would it be unreasonable to hope for atleast LAS within 3-6 months?
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