Thanks for all this information.
For the new hires that get nyc reserve and commute, what route do they typically take?. Do they commute in the night before and stay in a hotel, crashpad, Airbnb?.
​​​​​​For the short term base assignment, I'm guessing a crash pad isn't a great decision.
thanks

 

Commute in on the first day. And only as early as necessary, so if you don't get assigned anything, come in the evening of your first day. May not be the right choice if you have a long or multi-leg commute, but its very doable with a single leg and positive space. Remember that they usually wont assign anything that starts before noon on day one and if they do it will never be before 10. I will continue to bid reserve because its always commutable on the front end, unlike 90%+ of our lines.

Crash Pad. It seems to be the norm that pads are month to month so even if you're NYC based for 3 or 4 months you can gain comfort pretty cheaply by getting a pad instead of rolling the dice on which AirBnB you want or booking it and then finding out you got tagged with flying.

 

The scheduling reference handbook is agreed upon by both the company and union. If it disagrees with the contract the contract has priority. Other than typos I have never heard of a issue or the company challenging it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to explain!
Saving this

 

What’s the price range on crashpads in NYC?

 

Much of that depends on where you commute from. Commuting from BOS, DC, or even ATL give you a lot of flexibility as there are so many flights between those locations and NYC. If you have a two leg commute, your options are much more restricted to be PWA legal.

I commuted to NYC from ATL for the first part of my career. Unless I was covering the early SC window or had an assigned trip that reported early, I’d commute in the day of. I was able to work it where I didn’t need a crashpad and just got a hotel the couple times a month I needed to.

Yellow slipping is your friend, be it for a trip that reports late, or requesting an additional SC after you’re assigned your first so you do them back to back, etc.

 

Good stuff from Wolf...I'll add my $.02 of amplifying data...

I commute to NYC from a place that has DL/AA/B6 going to either JFK or LGA...lots of Iron to choose from. Even with that, there is a small witching period in the early evening where if I were to get tagged with a bare minimum 12 hour call out for the next morning, I wouldn't be able to make the drive to the airport to catch the last flight out that night, nor would the first flight the next morning get me there for sign-in, so I know if I get tagged in that small period, I have to make the drive....and I'm OK with that....knowing is half the battle (Go Joe!)

If double commuting, going the night before is a 99.9% given in my book.

if still on probation, I would also recommend going down the night prior...no reason to give the company any grievance with you since you can be fired without cause while still on probation.

Once you have sat RES for a while and you get skilled at reading the tea leaves (looking at Resevere Avail list, figuring out your place in the RAW / Days of Avail grouping, looking at how many trips are still in open time, etc) you can make smart decision on when to commute in the night prior vs day of.

Regarding hotels vs pads, I'm a pad guy. I bounce back and forth between RES and REG depending on the month, when I have vacation, opportunity for green slips, etc and I like knowing I have a bed that is just mine and available the entire month....takes the worry out of missing the last commute flight home, or what happens if there is massive cancellations due to weather and the hotel rooms are now gone.

There are some that you can pay by the night (I've been told they are in the $50'ish per night range) but I believe they are first come first serve. I have paid anywhere from $250-350 per month for pads in either the Kew Gardens area or the Howard Beach / Aqueduct Race Track area. The JFK airtrains runs 24/7 and makes getting to/fro the pad to JFK a no brainer. Can buy 10 trip ticket for $25 and its valid for 30 days.

Cheapest hotel I have found around JFK is the Five Towns Inn....out the door for about $125, so 3 nights puts me at $375, so I use 3 nights as my rough break even point. When I fly trips in REG months (I'm domestic narrow body), I usually get 4 rotations and they are normally only commutable on one end, so I spend 4 nights in the pad, so more cost effective vs a hotel.

If I do have to commute down for a SC, I do what Wolf said and submit a Yellow Slip for another Short Call the following day so I can reach the 2 SC threshold quickly. (In broad terms, our PWA says junior folks have to get 2 short calls before you (senior) get tagged with your first).

If Yellow slipping trips, use caution! I already mentioned you generally can't start before 1000 on your first day, but if you enter your yellow slip incorrectly (particularly when submitting a "blind" slip") you could end up getting awarded a trip that signs in at 0530 on day one. Has bitten many a people in the past, and will continue to bite people in the future.

 

Sailing is absolutely correct. I will add that in addition to the SRH, all the Scheduling Alerts are likewise vetted through the company and are binding. Use them when quoting to CS when needed to correct an error.

Always be professional (not just because it’s a recorded line), but be firm and wait to speak with a supervisor if you are right. There are a TON of new schedulers, and they have a tough job. There will be mistakes.

 

Anywhere from $275 - $500 depending upon the what comfort/ privacy level you want.

 

Dumb reserve question: where do I see if I’m “full?”