Regarding reserve with new co domicile, will a P2 commuter still be able to commute in to arrive in NYC by 12:00 on day 1 of a P2 reserve sequence? What if he or she commutes into LGA and is given an assignment for JFK?

 

As of Jan 1, 2018 it will be 12 days off minimum.

 

For me, worst case would be early show first day and late show last day. I've never flown 121, so I have no idea how it works.

 

Commuted to reserve for six months in DTW from AUS/SAT. Our policy allows to commute in during our contactable time. Afternoon reserve starts at 1000 so I would need to arrive by 1145 (1:45 callout). I could commute in the mornings if the loads looked good.

Between that and as a line holder for another 18 months I made it home every time on the last night except 3 or 4 times.

You can bid for a six day stretch to cluster days off together. That way you will get at least two days off in a row. You will get a 6 on/2 or 3 off schedule. When you get to an 16-18 day off line (around the 18 month mark) you will forget about your reserve schedule.

That being said I’ve seen mainline (higher priority on the standby list than us) have to fly through SAT/AUS and connect with AA or SWA because the commute is so bad.

 

There are three reserve time slots that you could hold. 5am to 7pm, 10am to midnight, and 7pm to midnight. You are contactable during one of those times for the whole month (excluding your days off, obviously). Scheduling can change this on you, but it doesn't happen very often and it only affects you for one stretch of days at a time at most.

What happens after they contact you will vary based on what their needs are, but in general if you've got an early time slot (P1) you're not going to end trips late, and if you've got the second time slot (P2) you're going to finish later. So you get to decide whether you want to commute in the day before you've got reserve but probably get home the same day you finish, or whether you want to commute in the same day you start but probably not be able to go home until the day after you finish. That's not to say they'll never give you a trip that starts early and finishes late, or a trip that starts late and finishes early, but those don't happen as often.

The last reserve period is used for CDOs. Pros: you get to commute in the day of, and most of the time you get to commute home the day you finish. Cons: you don't build up flight time very quickly, and you're working the back side of the clock so it can really ruin your sleep cycle. Some like it, others don't.

Reserve sucks, but it doesn't last too long. The only thing you really have control over is when scheduling can start calling you on your first day. Beyond that you're at their mercy, so you just have to roll with it. FWIW, currently FOs are not flying much on reserve, so plan a lot of time idle in the crashpad.

 

Awesome thanks. How will long call reserve play out?

 

Just to add to what Arvik wrote... with the low reserve utilization on the FO side in NYC, most of the P2 10-midnight reserves are getting automatically released at 7pm on the last day, or as early as 4 pm if you call scheduling and politely ask on a non - irop day. This makes commuting to reserve from a city like Dallas very doable. Fly in day 1 and fly home day 5 (and probably sit around the crashpad all 5 days).

 

Unknown at this time, but it'll probably go pretty senior, and its utilization will be higher. How that will affect short-call utilization also remains to be seen, but it figures to be lower than it is now.

The important thing to remember is that with long call you will be available 24/7 (except on your days off), so scheduling could theoretically call you at 2am and require you to get to the airport by 2pm (how this will work in practice is something I'm quite curious about, since phone calls in the middle of the night suck). If you're in DFW, that should be fine for you, however you may have an issue if they call you at 9pm for a 9am show the next day, the last flight has already left, and the first flight the next day doesn't get in until 10:30am. So that's something to consider.

 

1. Only disagreement is that the Flow will take 8-10 years not 5-6 years for someone hired today.

2: For your situation I personally would also recommend EDV although I’m at ENY. Your situation is different and others like you with 121 CA qualifying or close to CA qualifying time. Collegiate CFI with 1,000 or 1,500 hrs CFI entering 121 world.

3. You are correct, due to forced upgrade practices / tactics, plus 1-2yrs + forecasted time dealing with poor reserve rules that are not industry standard or fit for the times we live in.

My lifestyle, experiences, family situation & motivations were, are, and might be different from yours. But IF I had to make a decision today as everything stands, EDV would be my 1st choice then maybe ENY. I would interview at both and after the experience and offers make my decision. Between now & the next 4-10 months the entire picture could be totally different (ebs & flow nature of the FFD/regional Industry I guess). So many FOs and CAs at ENY are suffering from mild PTSD due to bad blood from Pre & Post BK talks & threats.

No regional is perfect (except maybe SKYWEST because they think they are. Haha chuckle). I’m happy to be at ENY overall. Pilots will be pilots and complain and never be satisfied. The same could be said for Shareholders. But, most of what ENY pilots are, and have been saying is true now that I am onboard. Many of us are hopeful and optimistic our overall QOL (Schedules, Pay, Reserve Rules, Contract Language, and Flow) will improve soon.