I WISH my plane had EWR trips.

 

That's what makes it a junior base, and why Capt in NYC is very junior - those who have been here have seen how bad the bid packages can be. It's also a tough trip from the Kew Gardens area.

 

The NYC 717 has a lot of EWR trips because it's a small airplane and EWR is (for Delta) a small airport -- as in not part of the "hub." This is not likely to change.

The 7ER trips out of EWR (AMS and CDG) go fairly senior.

As far as the commutability issue is concerned -- I don't like getting up at 2am to drive in, either. As a matter of fact I usually shell out the $80 for a room at the Doubletree even though I drive -- as a benefit to me, my crew and my passengers.

My RCC survey was strongly worded on this subject -- not on the EWR trips, but on the early sign-ins. Give them to the guys on layovers who only have to worry about getting up and showering -- not the guys who actually have to figure out how to get to EWR at 5am.

Bidder beware.

 

Of course, and I totally get that. I'm sure some guys in ATL would love a BHM, CHA or GSP "co terminal". But it would really suck for the majority of the pilots based there. Since NYC has a far higher percentage of commuters than most other bases, it magnifies the problem (to the majority) even more.

The $100 cab fare doesn't even help mitigate anything since it only applies to short call. A cab helps the company in that case anyway and not the pilot, since any reasonable report time is sufficient.

For the vast majority of pilots who commute, and even most locals, living/staying in position to cover the majority of trips means being near JFK/LGA, which are close enough (yes, even during most traffic) to be realistically considered a co base. EWR is not even close.

Again, there's nothing wrong with EWR pairings. They can build as many of them as they want to. They just need to be in a separate bid category, because that's what it is for most pilots.

 

That's very conscientious of you, but don't you see the folly in this? That would be like telling me that I've got to be in Chattanooga for a 0500 report. Do you think the ATL based pilots would stand for that?

/agree 100%

The company wonders why they're getting 3 month captains. If they're concerned about it, they can easily fix the problem.

 

The 88 is getting 4 month Captains. The 717 is a bit more senior than that. Although after this EWR pairing debacle that may change n the next AE😁

 

More like telling a PTC pilot he has to be in Buckhead for a 05:00 report. A Chattanooga report would be the equivalent of an Albany, NY report.

 

Get rid of the 5am reports at every base and there'd be a lot less angst all around.

 

I see there is an amtrak option from EWR but as best I can tell, I cant get anywhere near KEW gardens. Do I have to combine the train with bus or cab or is there an option I'm not seeing that will get me from EWR to within a mile or 2 of kew gardens?

 

EWR from Queens is easily 3 hours or more with normal NYC traffic anywhere near morning or evening rush times. Other than Snowmageddon type stuff, it doesn't take 3+ hours to get from PTC to Buckhead. The comparison stands.