Sus Scrofa

I’m a military pilot expecting to spend some time with a regional before being competitive at the majors.

Most airlines guarantee a certain number of hours to work, but is there a minimum that one is required to work?

dera

They guarantee a certain number of PAY, not work.

Play it right with the right airlines and you have months when you don't work a single minute (assuming you live in base and count on-call reserve time as not working).

JohnBurke

What you work is dictated in part by your seniority; the more senior the better your choices of options in a given bid period.

The bid period is a time frame, a calendar month for some, or overlapping for others, in which known flying and reserve time is established in "lines," or flying assignments. One line might be standing by in Los Angeles on reserve, waiting to be called in the event a crewmember is needed, and another line might be a series of trips (flying back and forth between Chicago and Atlanta, for example).

For a given bid period, you put in a wish list, or a "bid," as to what you want to work, during that time period. The lines are typically listed by number, one through XXX (depending on the size of the company and consequently the number of bid lines). The most senior pilots get their first choice, and so on.

Your bid line may be a specific set of days near the first of the month, or several days each week. Some operators do entire blocks of days such that all the time away from home is in one block, with all the days off in another, and some it's sporadic. It really depends on the bid lines.

The bid lines are "built" or designed by the crew scheduling department, typically, and have the flying divided up between the lines; the amount you actually work depends on the line. You don't really have the option to say you'd only like to work three days, but rather you pick the lines you want and put in your wish list and see what you get. How and where you work depends on the operator and the structure.

Also factoring into that are domiciles, or where you're considered to be based, and where you're used in the system. There are some operators, primarily certain cargo operators, that do home basing and typically have people go out for about 17-20 days at a time, with 10-12 days off (or sometimes 40 days at a time, if back to back lines are flown).

What you actually get or fly can vary widely. In December, I spent some time in a hotel, and flew one trip. I flew one trip in January. I had thanksgiving and Christmas off, and had a full month off through the Christmas holiday. Other times, I've stayed quite busy. The time of the year, the particular assignment, the nature of the operation, all play into what you work, and when, and how much.

The minimum you'll work is whatever you're given on the bid line you receive. There are sometimes opportunities to work more, to increase income.

Sus Scrofa

John, great explanation. Thank you!

Let’s say a random carrier guarantees 75 hours of pay per bid period. Do I have to bid to that level or can I bid less? Am I responsible to them to be available for 75 hours per bid period without dropping MIL leave? Stated another way, can I be a part-time airline pilot?

Phoenix21

That’s called living in base and bidding reserve with your preference set to “last out”.

Sus Scrofa

But you’d have to be pretty senior to make that happen, right?

As a junior FO, can I say, “I only want 40 hours of pay per bid period?”

Hacker15e

No, but you can put "max days off" as a preference in your monthly bid, then you can try to drop trips once you get your schedule assigned to reduce your work days even more.

FollowMe

If you go into this with any expectation that you will work less than 18 days a month you are setting yourself up for disappointment, especially while at a regional.

TiredSoul

I’m guessing you don’t want to work at the Majors either?

Sus Scrofa

Thanks, Hacker