35 off in a row is doable, almost without using any vacation time. 30 is absolutely doable. With vacation, it's easy as pie. I don't know anyone that uses sick time to do that but I suppose that would give you more. 70 off is harder but somebody senior could do it I suppose lol.

 

AA only, or used to, require that you keep landing currency. That's it. Drop to zero for 2 months, take 28 days off, get 3 landings in the last days of the month (too much risk...but possible). You could literally take 85 days off every 3 months. Some guys have great outside jobs/businesses so they stay senior in their seat and drop their primo trips. Some use that to chase premium (same pay with 2/3 - to 1/2 the number of days worked) or to work the same number of days and get more money. Others drop trips to work at their primary job/business but fly a trip a month to keep their landing currency. Two guys I knew flew a turn a month. One guy did a Saturday a month. A third guy packed his tie and jacket and had dinner in London once a month. Left his business by 3 PM on Friday and was back for dinner on Sunday.

If you're willing to make Part 135/fractional pay airline guys can drop a lot of hours to get more time off. With seniority in your seat you can get almost any day off you want. If you base has the long turns, which guys pick up like crazy if they're posted, you can make $200,000+ with 3 weeks off every month.

 

It is harder to drop at AS, but we have some folks who do that. Nobody is jealous of NJA vacation at any of the airlines I know, as this is all very doable to get long chunks of time off, and it's even possible without using sick time, dropping below min guarantee, or using vacation.

 

The ability to drop isn't unlimited. You can post trips to drop and if others pick them up you're taken off the trip with a loss of pay or you can use vacation bank hours. So it's related to seniority - junior guys don't have the great trips while senior guys do. The senior guys can bid trips that they aren't interested in flying. Eg TGU - a lot of guys didn't want to fly a month of them but enjoyed doing 1 or 2 a month. I bid TGU and posted the weekend trips I didn't want and when those were taken I posted the mid week trips I didn't want. Instant 11 days off in the middle of the month. The nice part is you can do the posting, and trading, once the next month's flying is finalized which happens before open trip trading starts.

 

Spending free time on a computer bidding every month, dropping and adding trips, trading trips, working the system is my idea of hell on earth. I bid once a year for my line, once a year for my vacations, done.

 

Yeah, getting to specify your destinations and days flown on a monthly basis is the absolute worst.

 

Ehh, I spend all of about 5 minutes a month doing that...

 

And that hard bid line runs your life every single bid cycle. Some make it work but for many it's more restrictive. Spending time getting better schedules to fit your own lifestyle, or your families, is hardly a chore for most. Anything that takes a weekly commitment is impossible with a hard 8/6, 7/7, 15/13, schedule. But for some that schedule is a gold mine.

 

I watched my wife wrestle with major airline bidding for 11 years. She hated it so much she hired a former NWA scheduler who made a business of bidding for people. I’m certain the tech is much simpler these days but I’m also certain that I love knowing exactly when I’ll be working a year from now. I don’t use them often but tour slides, tour swaps, and PTO can move things around when it’s important enough.

 

Knowing your days off for a year down the line is awesome, the schedule premium 91/135s typically have is much better than the bidding BS, as I’m sure the divorce rates would show lol


“But I can bid that” sure sure, unless someone with a better employee number wants it’s more