R57 - here's another statistic - in ten years, or five years after a guy with five years to go retires, 81% of the current Captains will have retired.

There will be a tremendous amount of turnover which is great for the guys getting hired.

Amazing. And with 32 years I’m sitting at about 50% of lineholders in CLT on the little Bus Capt.:rolleyes: Glad for you young guys though!

+1.... well said.

My situation was almost exactly the same as yours... Most junior guy in my class. Unfortunately (fortunately now!) my entire class was 727 F/E. Looking back now I’m super grateful I got to go through that course and experience the 3 Holer even though I never got to upgrade to the right seat in it.

737 is missing a lot of creature comforts and gee whiz stuff that the Bus has. But I wouldn’t trade a single hour of that for anything else... except possibly Super 80 time which was even more fun flying than the 737!

I’m sure I’ll end up flying a Bus some day in my future and believe it or not, despite all the knocking I do over it I’m actually looking forward to the experience. Guess I will have to come up with some other material at that point :D

I was a Boeing guy through and through when I went to the Bus. Going from the 75/76 to the A321 SS model(Super Slug) was a shock. But after a few months I started to think “This thing is actually kinda comfortable, has a better EFIS presentation and ergonomics.” It has a great smooth ride detection system-it’s alway 500’ above recommended max!

I really liked the basic 737-200s. The trim switches were so worn that you could just kinda roll your thumb over them and have slow trim. Probably wouldn’t want to spend a long day in it now.

I wish I’d bid F/O on the 727, but I went for seniority. I flew it two legs when the captains said “Get up there boy, let’s see what you can do.” Different world. Was sitting in the left seat over DEN hand flying it one day (so the captain could eat his lunch on my table) when #3 threw a stator. Kept running all the way to LAX.

Great stories, guys! 😊

JP, you will be assimilated! Resistance is futile! Lol!

R57, you have a way with words, man. I always like your posts.

Not any more. That was pre airbus/ pre Jumpseat reservation days. It's an easy commute now. Airbus= mo jumpseats.

What was more junior in DFW two years ago (bus vs. 737) flip flopped. What is more junior in the future may or may not be the way it is today. It's not like a regional where there's a fairly clear line drawn as people move up. Something to consider.. US group is a bit older. More retirements coming on the bus.

The bus is not better just because of "creature comforts".. It's simply an easier to understand airplane.

Thanks! Good to see folks still enjoying aircraft now and then.

So what is the easiest commute out of DFW for a new hire? LAX, NYC, or MIA?

LAX probably

F100. By a long shot my favorite plane. Must have been designed by a pilot. Young/new Captains when I flew it. I went to 757/767 after that. What an antiquated let down.

I am waiting for an Airbus base in ORD. Unfortunately it may never come and when it does it will be wicked senior.

Did you fly the F100 at AA? I flew it at US it was my least favorite jet aircraft. Hot, loud and unreliable. It was a nice hand flying airplane and good cockpit layout and auto flight system. I’d heard AA’s were better than ours.

Unless you want Boston or Chicago eventually, bid the bus, it opens up every possible base. I know plenty of guys who refuse to bid back to the 73, but only a few who despise the bus, good luck.


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Miami. Not sure about loads and stuff to LA but I sat Long Call commuting to MIA and had zero issues. Got to where I didn't even reserve a seat until a couple days out sometimes but it can get tight if you wait until the day of/before to reserve a seat. ( A lot of no shows, still always made it on) I did both DFW - LGA and Miami. LGA is a lot longer flight and harder/expensive commute in general. A couple years ago it was all 737 which = one jumpseat. And you're in it a lot. Also Miami has the widebodies during the day.

LAX just looks like a nightmare in general with the schedules and covering those bases. I can't remember which airplane covers all three bases.. anyone?
LGA you'll get stuck with an occasional 0400 show at Newark. Well where is your crash pad? ... New York side of course. You could take the mysterious Flight attendant bus that I hear leaves at 02:30 (Sleepy yet? Yes that's a midnight thirty wake up for your central time body) or go over the night before like a safe sane person and get yourself a Hotel.. total bill? $150 ish.. That's on top of your crash pad and ubers back and forth to JFK-LGA. In other words it got expensive. Even though the Newark deals are kinda rare you will get them on the 73 if you spend a few months there.

The 737 has typically been the airplane covering all three airports in LAX (plus SAN, but that has a completely different set of rules). Although, someone did report recently they saw an Airbus trip out of ONT. Don't know if it was an anomaly or what.

That whole lga-jfk-ewr thing chaps my butt. I knew 2 cpts who had 2 crashpads, 1 on each side. Total joke we get no reimbursement for that. Nyc will always be super junior because of that crap.

Back in the day when I was the system wide plug and on eternal short call reserve on the -80 in LGA...my pad was just across the street from the USAir terminal. Lo and behold I’d get assigned EWR trips more often than not. After doing the mid town bag drag while changing 3 buses and two trains, I’d had enough. The next EWR trip I got assigned, I walked to the USAir terminal and hitched a JS ride from LGA-BOS, then promptly walked to the Continental terminal and hitched a ride on them from BOS-EWR. Total travel time, 3hrs... and I sat in First for free on both flights.

Never been more relaxed on a cross town commute :D

Flew the prop version (F50) for a few years, and flew with the son of their test pilot. Fokker took all of the old F28/F27, threw it out and designed the Fokker prop/jet-liner cockpit (the plan was to keep the cockpit the same for both prop and jet). They let the pilots decide how the cockpit should work. IMO the best designed cockpit I will ever be on, and it definitely made up for the fact that it flew like a garbage truck with flat tires. The F50 had full fadec engines on a turboprop in 1985. No prop levers, just an engine rating panel and power levers with a detent. Annunciator panel and alerting system better than A320.

How easy is to get the E190 as a new hire?
Thanks.

Is there really any base you can get that won't require getting a crash pad? Or which one can you hold long call fastest and or a line?

Never thought of that.. Hilarious.

PHL E190. You’ll be off reserve pretty quick. Cheap airport hotels will allow you to avoid crashpads. Once you hold a line, there are lots of commutable trips.

In PHX long call reserve goes junior. Hotels are cheap, except while spring training is going on. PHX hasn't been an option for new hires in a while but you'd be able to transfer there within a few months. PHX doesn't have the 737.

It all depends on where your seniority falls in your class. Some classes, the 190 goes senior. Others, it goes junior.

I thought the same thing (forced 190 upgrade was not limited to 190 FO’s). The award came out yesterday and in fact every forced upgrade was a 190 FO, which I think is BS, but I haven’t read that section of the contract.

How's SC life on the 190 if you live in-base?

Thanks! Cant wait!!

The re proffer said that if there weren’t enough bidders they would start assigning the most junior qualified pilots in PHL. I’m guessing they didn’t want to displace someone from another base and have to deal with all that entails.


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I agree, most jr pilots in PHL, but that would include A320 pilots. Maybe there aren’t any jr enough. I’ll check.

Edit:

Just checked, yup they took the most jr in base which were all 190. So I was wrong in my earlier post, consider it retracted. I made an assumption, because I’m pretty out of touch with PHL seniority these days. It’s a lot more sr than I thought for 320 FO.

That may be changing. I know someone who got LGA 320 in an Oct indoc who is moving to PHL about a month after he's done with training. It will be quite possible for there to be 190 FO's more senior to him.

Don't forget that FedEx has flights into EWR, including nonstop 767s from LAX. I used them once or twice, works great, bus connection to terminal.

I’ve flown both. Airbus ,if given the choice, everything else being equal. As mentioned, quieter, more spacious , more comfortable for a long day at the office .

HA!
 

There's a better way, CA Drag-yr-Bag.

Tried Uber from my pad in East Elmhurst near LGA to LIRR Woodside Station, 1.9 miles, $6.25, then catch the first WB train to Penn Station, $4.50(no stops), change to NJT train at station, $9 to EWR airport, 2 stops, Airtrain to terminals (slowest part of journey), 1+45...;) Late sign-ins were best, of course. Train service less on late nights and weekends.

I love the advice but it is sad you gotta spend 2 hours/$20 and get no reimbursement from the company. What if the company just makes the entire eastern seaboard a base? Or split them up into 2 bases. Miami-PBI-FLL-DCA-IAD-BWI-CLT and PHL-EWR-LGA-JFK-BOS. Where does it end? Maybe the entire US is one damn base. Better have an east coast crashpad, west coast crashpad, and mid continent crashpad. Probably should delete this post before the company gets any ideas.

I agree, it’s unbelievable...and unacceptable. Needs to be changed in the next contract.

UAL pays “add pay” for any trips that originate from other than the base airport. So if say a EWR based pilot has a trip originating in LGA, he/she gets extra pay. Same for an IAD based pilot going to DCA or BWI. I think JetBlue does the same, so does Delta. Heck everyone does it except us.

I was at ual briefly but they also expense the $100 uber ride

I remembered wrong. Only expensed if taking off ewr and landing lga. It was just add pay

Go for QOL and commute ease. Do not worry about the type you fly in terms of comfort. Both are great to fly - just different. The Bus is comfortable and quiet. The 73 climbs better and with a larger wing it seems to get on top of WX where the Bus has to slog through sometimes. Especially on a heavy coast to coast. But in the end, do you really care what you are driving? I don't, I just want the QOL, ease of commute, in base as quickly as possible and a deposit that doesn't bounce. Focus there - do not worry about the office you are working in so much.

I am on the 777 now and love it. But mostly because I just like the long haul trips because I get more days off.

I wish it was only $20. Usually $30 just to go LGA-JFK and back.

I spent $150 for aeroporter and hotel for 0400 shows at Newark. (plus food) I tried staying in that EWR crew room one night it's horrible. There are slightly cheaper ways. I prefer easy and rested.