Originally Posted by Flyhayes

If you move into the airline world, realize that this is a full time job. You WILL be away from your family. The upside is that with a little seniority, you can eventually hold 15 days off a month to spend with your family.

This will be the same at any regional you go to. There may be other quality of life differences between carriers but the above applies across the board.

Originally Posted by PosRateGearUp

This is the real answer here. If you come into this industry thinking you can be home 20 nights a month you’re gonna have a bad time.

Originally Posted by PosRateGearUp

As many as you like, as long as it’s legal under FAR 117. I have heard of them restricting guys to 95 hours so they can’t time out, though...

Keep in mind on reserve you’ll only get 11 days off a month, so it’s at your own peril. Line holders vary from 12-15 days off. You’re free to pick up trips as you please.

On reserve you can pick up open time on scheduled work days as long as it falls within the footprint of reserve days and starts or ends on the same day as your reserve block.

Originally Posted by hawk1123

Thanks for the quick and informative response! So overtime picked up on trips are full day legs or just one/two flights here and there on your days off. The way overtime works in the airlines is much different than what I’ve been used too.

Originally Posted by hawk1123

Glad to see there are plenty of opportunities to pick up overtime! As to being on reserve, I understand that you have to do 8 hours at the airport while on reserve if you aren’t flying. Do you tend to have a slightly later report time if you are a commuter, or is it the same as if you lived in base? Also, do most reserve commuters stay in the area during their days on, or just commute everyday trying to save the free rooms in case there are no more flights out?

Originally Posted by MrAV8OR

Thank you for your answers:

Does anyone know the minimum number of hours to fly to keep the contract?

I fully recognize it will result in less pay. That’s not the issue. QOL is. I want to be able to fly less with low seniority until seniority builds a bit and I can get a schedule that works for my family. I know the first six months to a year I’ll be gone a lot. I want to know if that is possible at C5 after a while to have QOL or if I should head to PSA, RAH, or a different local based regional.

I want to choose an regional with a DCA/IAD/BWI = WAS base where I can get my 2000 turbine time including 1000 pic, ATP, and the experience to then go to a major or simply contract fly around DC.

It’s all about being home enough for my family. As noted, this may not work out - but I’m going to kick myself in 20 years if I didn’t get my ATP and 2000 hours turbine when I could have.

Thanks!