Typical schedules?
 

Hello everyone trying to get a gauge on what a typical schedule would be for someone that doesn’t live in base. I’m close to DEN so I would say LAX would be the best base option. I know it varies per fleet.
Are your commute days just used for commuting? Are they considered as one of your days on?
I do have a phone screen coming up, so I’ll ask questions, but those flying the line can answer better. Specifically if someone on here does the commute.


Thanks in advance!

You can really be based in any domicile. Forget the non reving to go to work stress... and the need for crashpads. We don't need any of that.
They will fly you out the day prior and provide you with hotel.
In case you start your pattern with a DH you will usually be able to leave the day of the trip and be home a day more.
On secondary lines you get more days off but usually only get min guarantee.
On reserve, you get hotels for the duration...

LAX folks get hit with California disability taxes, so you might not want to be based there. A Captain just told me it is now 2% with no income cap.

We gateway the day prior to our first leg so that we have at least 10 hours rest. Flight, hotel, and ground transportation in base is included. You can gateway home on the first available flight as soon. as your pattern ends, or you can head to the hotel for rest and leave later.

Living in Denver, any base is just about as close as any other and you will have direct flights to them all. ANC, ORD, MIA, or CVG on the 747; CVG or MIA on the 777; CVG, IAH, PDX on the 767 are all good options. If the flight is 1 or 2 hours longer, we'll, more points for earning your Premier 1K status.

JFK on the 767 would permit traveling on Day 1, vice Day 0, as all our flights out of there begin with a phantom Deadhead. Phantom meaning, you won't actually go to JFK, you would travel from DEN direct.

tax?
 

do you get taxed based on the state you work in? sorry I thought you get taxed based on where your residential address is?

They are not Income Taxes. NY and CA have Disability and Unemployment Taxes. OR has a transportation tax. Residency doesn't matter. All income earned in the state is taxed. Earnings are based on Domicile.

l

Okay thanks for the info!! With lines what is the average rotation length? I know you can bid, but trying to get a gauge on what the typical range is. Thanks!

Another question along the same line. For you senior folks out there, what does a senior schedule look like at Atlas?

On 747, exactly the same as a junior schedule.

747 - ANC newhire base with probably LAX next.
777- LAX newhire base with probably CVG next.

Wow, I did not realize this for being 'based' but not actually living there. Commuting out of Abq, LA would probably be the easiest. Daaaaarn.

I would not think of commuting at Atlas in terms of ease. Think in terms of time and connections. From ABQ you can have a paid direct flight to ORD or IAH, or a paid two leg paid ticket to any of our bases via DEN, DFW, or PHX, and probably SLC.

Two legs means your status rises quicker and it is easier to reach 1K on Unkted or whatever AA and DL call their elite levels. Helps justify being gone a few extra hours once your Gateway usually is upgraded to first class.

Good point.

DERA is correct overall/99% = Most everyone takes the upgrade as soon as possible. "Senior" must be defined with some intent if you have a specific goal of running your schedule as a lifestyle focus. Granted, a lot of it is base specific regarding the number of offered lines and of course where the most senior folks have dug in. Sitting right seat well beyond upgrade times and the lifestyle has its measurable improvements. Currently with a very very senior crew - Capt/2 FOs and we have had multiple meals and excursions together discussing the opportunities we have come to enjoy regularly (Uncommon to have three legs together). Plenty of burner times getting here and there's a cost no doubt, but our schedules at least 6 months a year are not like the others. Things do change so we are enjoying what we can. Seniority here isn't like your main lines.

*Living in base is hands down the best quality of life. Couple that with being within the top three, five or maybe ten depending on base/bids available gives you significant breathing room. I myself considered moving left a couple of times, but you must calculate where you will fall into the Capt mix to truly understand your capabilities of best controlling the uncontrollable. Immediate upgrade makes the most sense no doubt, but tack on several years and there are loopholes to be had just my observation living it as we all have our priorities.

several of my 74 classmates have been able to get CVG/MIA on the first vacancy bid run and we've only been here a month, seems like LAX is going more senior due to the Aussies. ORD/JFK/IAH also seem to be more senior.

No. And yes.

No, the California disability tax is not 2%, it is 1.1%. Yes, there is no longer an income cap on that as of 2024. The cap was on earnings up to $153,164 until this year.

ANC based employees have to pay 0.5% in 2024, but only on their first $49,700.


A Captain exaggerating taxes by almost double?? Unthinkable!

Still a crap state of affairs and terrible waste of good real estate. Could be amazing and that's the shame of it all. It's an extravagant pay to play situation on so many levels. It was tough enough decades ago living in SoCal and NorCal and I can't imagine since the turn of the Century or worse yet this past decade. Northeast and some other areas have pay to play as well, but these past five years many have revealed their true colors. Such a quagmire of choices really.

Schedule question
 

Hi,
Is there a "typical" schedule on the 74 for how many days in a row you are on?
What are the chances that you are gone 17 days straight?
​​​​
Thanks

do you see JFK during the rotation if that's your base? It sounds like if I actually want deadheads instead of a commute to base then JFK is a good choice? (Also would like Europe travel)

Anything can happen with Atlas scheduling; trying to predict what the lines will look like in the future is a wasted effort. I've been JFK based in both seats on the 747 and there are months that I don't ever see JFK (DH on both ends of the trip) and other months where all I have done are out and backs from JFK. I would say the best base for starting with deadheads is probably IAH simply due to the lack of scheduled flying there but JFK almost always has a few lines that don't touch it.

Now on the 767, no. You will never see JFK. In the future? Well, Amazon does fly there, but ATI currently has that route. Atlas did a route from JFK to East Midlands for DHL, but the 767 no longer flies for DHL. Sports charter into JFK? I guess that is possible.

So for now, on the 767, JFK is a commercial DH day one and day last (Alternate Travel between your home and the jet). No need to gateway to base.

How long are the rotations?

What are the chances you'll be doing int'l vs domestic?

737 is all domestic
767 is almost all domestic, unless you are JFK based, then you will be mostly international.
747 and 777 are Global. Some domestic legs, but the pattern will be mostly international.

Trip lengths vary by fleet. Could be 2 days, could be 17 days. You could have a single block, or it could be split up into 2, 3, or 4 blocks in 30 days. You could have 13 days off, or 20 days off, or anything in between.

Two things are certian. The company owes us 13 days off Minimum. We get 96 hours (4 Days) off in between trips.

There is a tremendous amount of variety in our schedules. There is a niche for everyone of our 3000 pilots to fill. Your experience will vary based upon your fleet, your pay vs. time off priorities, your base, your home, and your seniority.

This actually sounds a lot better than I was expecting. Very useful information for sure.

Very true all around and if you find your priorities can be met on another fleet your commitment is two years initially. Things change a bit as you move about different fleets and/or positions thereafter, but it's not like your stuck on a 737 for the next 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years plus like some other outfits (company longevity is a thing of course). Can't imagine not having an out or option if you will as decades slowly roll, granted it truly is in the eye of the beholder.

*Also, the variety of flying does help to mix it up depending on the fleet and seniority weighs in of course.

I’ve “heard” the Amazon flying is 7 on 7 off schedule. Is that true?

No. Not at Atlas. Again, tremendous variety in our schedules. Split lines are more common, but it isn't a set 7/7 schedule.

Random look at 767 May Bid Packs. 30 Day Primary Lines.
PDX: 3 Examples
7 Off, 13 On, 11 Off // ​16 On, 15 Off // 10 On, 7 Off, 6 On, 8 Off

CVG: 4 Examples
15 Off, 15 On, 1 Off // 5 On, 7 Off, 9 On, 10 Off // 1 Off, 8 On, 5 Off, 6 On, 11 Off // 9 Off, 6 On, 5 Off, 9 On, 2 Off

ONT:
9 Off, 6 On, 7 Off, 5 On, 3 Off // 3 Off, 6 On, 4 Of, 2 On, 4 Off, 5 On, 8 Off /// Secondary example: 9 Off, 17 SCDY, 5 Off

This is very helpful, thank you for posting what split lines actually look like at Atlas. Any chance you could do the 777 and 747 fleets as well?

Dumb question: 17 day trip length as in 17 days straight, away from home for two and a half weeks?

yes, it would be very hard to do our flying otherwise.
i just finished my 17 days.
ORD-NRT
NRT-BKK(DH)
BKK-DEL and DEL-ZAZ(DH)
ZAZ-RUH-DEL
DEL-HKG(DH)
HKG-ANC
ANC-ORD(DH)
most of these overnights we over 32 hours each one

That sounds like a lot of fun. How are crew accommodations? In a walkable area or close to public transport?

Side note regarding the 747/777 schedules. Has anyone been able to start or finish up a degree program while working at atlas? specifically if your doing almost all international flying? I know a lot of people are able to do that at regionals, was curious if the schedule at atlas is more or less conducive to helping finish up an online degree program.

yes, overnights over 18h are at a “downtown” location…

in April I had a 32 hour overnight in Hiroshima. That was really cool. We stayed just a couple of blocks away from ground zero and were able to do the museum, the castle and shopping.

in haven’t done it, but I don’t see why. The problem is that you will not be able to connect online during flight. But if you work on your papers instead you should be fine.

Hi all, what are destinations for the 767? is it mostly domestic or a mix of international? what can a JFK 767 pilot expect to fly? is it 17 on 13 off? how long are the layovers? Thanks!

JFK 767 is generally a bunch of secondary lines to fill AMC pax flying. So a mix of the asian (MSJ, OSN etc) military bases out of Seattle, or the European (HHN) ones out of BWI. There's about 2-3 primary lines that are 5-6 days on every month, but those go extremely senior.

Thanks Astray!

So We should expect only one leg per day on a 17 day rotation? or up to how many legs per day do you usually see?

Thanks.

1 a day is typical but you can see 2 legs doing stuff like ICN-PVG-ANC or HKG-ICN-ANC. Domestic peak flying like SDF-JFK-SDF exists too, but they're uncommon.

Just finished up a 16 Day Domestic Amazon pattern. Commercial Dead Head Day 1 and Day 16. 11 operating legs crammed into the middle 14 days. All single leg days and 3 x 32 hour rest periods.

Amazon may see a 2 leg Day, like PDX-RFD-CVG / CVG-BWI-MIA / CVG-ORD-CVG. But usually a very relaxing 2 to 5 hour block single leg day.