ATL 320 Pairings
 

I tried searching and didn’t come up with much…What do the typical pairing lengths look like for ATL 320? Is it predominately 4 and 5 day trips? Approximately how senior do 1, 2 and 3 day trips go if you don’t mind working weekends? I’m currently at a ULCC and interviewing soon and just trying to get an idea of what a junior NB schedule would look like.

Mostly 3 and 4 day. Some 5 day and just a very few 1 and 2 day.

You wont get the same QOL as ULCC in ATL on the airbus at DAL. As far as the 1/2 day pairings go. 320 is also pretty senior from what I have been told when jumpseating.

In june, ATL 320 had 5% 1 day trips, 10% 2, 43% 3, 27% 4, and 15% 5. 1- and 2-day trips tend to go pretty senior, even on the weekends. Once you can hold a line it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to get a fair number of 3 day trips, although if you're looking for commutable ones that may be a bit harder (you didn't say if you currently/plan to live in ATL).

Thanks for the data. I do live in the ATL area and prefer early shows due to the ridiculous traffic. Are the trips similar on the 73 and ER? I realize this is a moving target but just trying to get a general idea.

If you want early show trips that go over a weekend, you'll have no problem getting those on any fleet. The 737 trip mix percentages are 14/1/46/27/12. They have a decent number of high block Caribbean turns hence the abnormally high number of 1 day trips. Those tend to go very senior. The 7ER (757 and 767-300) in ATL is 12/2/32/19/23/12/1 (1 through 7 day trips). That is skewed by the fact that the fleet does international flying as well as a heavy dose of domestic. Expect to become intimately acquainted with the state of FL if you're junior in ATL on that fleet.

I'm in the same boat as OP, currently ULCC but interviewing soon. . I rode a A320 jumpseat and the FO showed me his 85 credit schedule with 4 x 4-day trips and it made me second guess my application. Currently I do 6 x 2-day trips living in base, and it sounds like it'll be a big qol hit for a while.

What's the obstacle for these fleets in ATL--is it a high average line value due to staffing levels? Or are the trips averaging just 5:15 per day? Was that FO's schedule atypical? I'll be grateful for the opportunity but sad if it takes years to get back to a comparable qol. 4 days away currently sounds pretty rough with these kids at home (times 4 every month yikes).

I don’t see it getting much better than that. Maybe 15 days away for 80 hours. But hey you get used to it. Seriously there are some tricks to trade for a better schedule but you have to be flexible.

Your schedule at DAL will be significantly different than at ULCC. Here’s my question for you. Will ULCC be doing majority 1 and 2 day trips for the rest of your career? Will ULCC be in ATL the rest of your career? There’s so much uncertainty with that company. Deciding to stay there based on what’s happening today may be a decision you end up regretting down the road as those dynamics could very easily change overnight. At the end of the day, you roll the dice and do what you think will be best. You may not know until the end of your career if you made the right decision.

I'm on the 737, so similar trips. 4 day trip, 4 of them in a month is a little atypical, but not that far off. A NB FO generally needs to fly 14 days a month to fill up, and with the majority of trips (73%) being 3-4 days, that's what you're going to fly. You can probably preference the 3 day trips and get them, but you'd end up with 5 of them to fill your month. You could probably do 2 -3 day and 2 4-day trips and fill up.

As you get more senior, you can get more efficient trips, and maybe knock the flying down to 12-13 days, but on the NB that's about the best you'll get - the high efficiency 1 day turn are usually all awarded to people on the first page the bid awards (top 10 people). When I was an FO on the NB, I couldn't hold island turns until I was at 15%, and even then it was only on a weekend day. I would do them on a Saturday because they were so darn efficient.