RyanP

Reserve "can" be good here once you learn how to manipulate things in your favor (if you are local), once you get some seniority built up and are in the top 1/3rd of the reserve list. Bottom to middle reserve or commuting reserve sucks bad though. I mean REALLY bad. The system is horridly skewed to absolutely hammer the bottom half to bottom 2/3 of the reserve list while the top guys do virtually nothing. Bottom 20% is absolutely miserable. This is one of the main problems with our reserve system (or benefits) depending on where you sit on the list.

Personally I will intentionally bid reserve over any of these garbage lines as a relatively senior (for reserve) local Captain. 3 days off between reserve days is better than 2 off with a crap line. My last reserve month I spent only about 7 nights in a hotel and ended up with like 17 days off even when staffing was bad and many days zeroed out with no reserves available. You are Given 11 days off plus the days off I was not called. I flew about 35 hours. Paid the same as a line holder that had way less days off and they were gone away from home WAY more. I could have been home even more but I pick and chose certain daily trips or 2 day trips with late starts and late finishes that protect me from getting something worse and protect me from extensions. (trying to sit home and do nothing can be high risk depending on the day and open time). Looking at the days after the fact, I could have sat home free about 4 more days, but there was a good chance of sitting standby or getting nailed with a crap 4 day trip so I just proffer for something easy to avoid that junk. After day 1 on reserve you can always get 10am or later starts if you want them, or stick with early if there is more people below you that way. Once you learn the game and learn to play defense (and have the seniority to do so effectively) reserve isn't bad at all for a local. Best thing we have right now to be honest. Which is sad. Only a sucker that is a local would intentionally fly a crap line for 72 hours pay and be gone 17-19 days, working 10-12 hour days and be exhausted.

The main thing is if you are a local, junior reserve is quite tolerable, senior reserve is actually desirable. Commuting to reserve you will want to blow your brains out. I will never do that to myself again in my life, it is NOT worth the extremely higher level of stress, lack of sleep, horrible QOL, time away, unpredictability, home/family life destruction. I don't care what the pay is or how nice of an area you live, or if your wife has family there and your kids are in schools just like everyone else's excuses. It IS NOT WORTH IT. You will wreck your home life and be miserable commuting to this reserve. The stories of divorce, cheating, problems at home, fatigue, never seeing kids etc are through the roof lately.

Smutter

Someone should post the crj bid packet, or just a screen shot of a few pages. That will scare everyone away, and maybe get things changed.

moon

Man the hate is running strong here the last few days. The schedule changes weren't ever planned for November and we were never told they were. I understand being skeptical that the changes will be seen, but to be ****ed off that something didn't happen earlier than we were told to expect it is crazy. Give it the time then feel free to spew the hate.

RyanP

People are pizzed off because they have been saying things will improve with schedules (in a few months) for over 2 years now. It's always a few months from now the changes are coming "they claim". Yet schedules have gotten worse month after month after month.

This January False hope is nothing new. Same ol' BS tactics. Tell them it's gonna get better so they will shut up, then in January we will tell them March, then August, Then November....... It gets old watching the same things play out year after year with AA/ENY. January is going to be the same crap, blame it on the flight file. No change. It's just how ghetto trash USair likes it. Schedules were fine before they came along and wrecked everything.

People will only believe it when they see it after being burned so many times.

Smutter

2 years in a row we have been told that schedules will get better in January. First yr. Company and union said it, last yr. Only union said they would, then when January came the union remained quiet till the end of April.

What shocks me is, we all agree Sam has been on the companies side through out, yet we haven't called for him to resign or be recalled. I think it's time we start. As I said earlier, the company has been the one to give us gains, the union has not got one.

Bigpimppilot

.............

Blizzard

Thanks for the detailed post. I live about 35 minutes from ORD, so I'd like to be based there. Can you or someone tell me how many FO's are on reserve in ORD on the crj and the erj fleets? Thanks, I appreciate it.

Machwon

56crj out of 156 and 50emb out of 203.

slavetotheman

Start class on the 24th. Looks like DFW is not going to be an option at indoc. I do plan on bidding the 145 to keep DFW an option. Any idea how long it's taking to get back into DFW? I live here and the fact that I could be based at home was the #1 reason I took the job. I just cashed out on a severance package from NetJets that will supplement the weaker pay at Envoy for a few years and am in the pool at VX, but am not looking forward to the commute that will entail. Thanks guys! Looking forward to getting back to 121.

Meatball

Not until there is a vacancy and nobody knows when that all happen. If you are the CRJ in ORD, you will most likely never get to DFW so take the EMJ!