I have a CJO to come back to Envoy, which would be as a DEC (or I'd pass on the job.) I'd expect to be DFW based, so I'm wondering what the reserve schedules, and trips, in DFW look like. I have full understanding I'd be at or near the bottom of that list for a long time, I'm prepared for that. Optimally I'd like to be able to hold Tues, Wed, Thu off in 4 blocks throughout the month, giving me the 12 days off. Is there any flexibility to move reserve days around, trade, or drop them without pay? Another question would be if people are actually able to utilize their vacation time? I have another offer from a regional that a lot of talk online is that guys can accrue vacation time, but cannot use it. The benefits being offered to come back to Envoy after being gone for 16 years are almost too good to pass up, but I do have other offers to consider that eventually won't involve commuting.

** Before anyone jumps in with the "Just go to XXXX airlines," that's not an answer I need, nor is it useful in helping me make an informed decision on which offer to take. I've been in this industry since 1992, retired at 55 earlier this year mostly because the constant redeye transcons I was flying were starting to become detrimental to my health, and my schedules were not ever going to get better. I can stay retired if I want, but sitting around doing nothing has gotten boring. I also own a Baron, which I try to fly 2 days a month or so, and the cost of that has gone up a lot with the jump in the price of Avgas, so having some additional money to throw into the fuel fund would be nice. I'm trying to get a real world sense of whether I can make a decent quality of life in a long-term reserve spot in DFW, commuting from southern California.

 

Right now DCL is the junior Captain seat so you should be able to hold it asap. There is also a standing vacancy for it right now. I would think that those days off would be pretty attainable since most look for weekends off, but with PBS coming soon there is no telling. You probably already know but you won’t get more people below you unless there are more DECs hired after you, or the FOs in your class finally upgrade (12-24 months). Out of SoCal would PHX be a better commute? New base announced there but yet to see how senior it goes. Great gig for the money too if you end up coming back.

 

Oh, and flexibility right now does not exist with dropping anything on the Captain side. Swapping days may work sometimes but you will get very use to seeing “denied due to staffing” emails.

 

So pretty much the industry-standard right now. Thanks for the info. I do think PHX would be an easier commute, I could fly my Baron out there to work if I wanted to bake it in the sun for several days at a time :P In all seriousness there are a ton of flights from SoCal to PHX, so getting there would be easy, and a shorter commute.

 

You will have little or no control over your days off. The days you want do tend to be off in fairly junior reserve blocks so you'll be able to hold that block of days once a month every other month or so, but getting them consistently will be impossible. Crew scheduling has adopted a policy of automatic denial for reserve day swaps/drops.

 

Vacation has always been honored here as far as I know. There was a time when they were trying to buy it back from people but that was some time ago and short lived. It’s bid for in seniority so don’t expect to hold Christmas week off anytime soon.

Also be sure to ask the recruiter about getting credit, longevity wise, for your previous 121 time. Could potentially get you more weeks of vacation right off the bat. I have a friend that had a few years at a regional but quit for other opportunities years ago. Has a CJO from Envoy and they are honoring his years worked. (Starting on year 4 pay, 2 weeks vacation, 401k match, etc.)

You’ll have a decent chance holding Tues-Thurs off a majority of the time, but if you absolutely need those days off every week, I would caution you.

 

With 12 years prior at Envoy (actually Wings West, merged into American Eagle Airlines, then became Envoy), and another 16 at a major carrier, I've got an offer that I basically can't refuse. I won't go into the details of if, not sure it's supposed to be public knowledge, but it's a big part of what has made me jump back in.

 

I can connect the dots, congrats to you! You’ll appreciate every dollar during your 8 hour airport standby shifts 🙃

 

If you are coming back in to sit in a management position, then you should know that none of this applies. If you’re coming back as a line guy, don’t expect to get more than one or two strings of three days in a row off while on reserve. FOs have SOME success, maybe one in ten from what I hear, moving or dropping reserve days. As a captain expect the standard “denied due to staffing” response in less time than it took you to get the RF 100 form to properly send.