In honor of your smoking hot profile picture, I shall attempt to answer your questions.

Typical Day: I was really trying hard to come up with a smart-arsed answer to this one, but I'm too tired because today, my day started when the hotel front desk called my room at 12:30AM Central Time to ask me about our 4:30AM van time.

It's pretty much like any other Part 121 job. Day 1 is usually 1-3 legs. 2-3 legs the remaining days. 10 hour days are fairly common. 40 to 60 minute turns with some "airport appreciation" 3-4 hour sits here and there. I would guess that maybe 1 out of 10 pairings will have a deadhead somewhere. The deadhead frequency is probably higher for domiciles other than Denver.

Newhires Holding a Line: Tough one. Right now, they're holding a line within 4-6 months. Who knows if that'll continue. When I was hired, I spent all of 2 weeks on reserve. The guys in the very next class were on reserve for 18 months. 5 years after that, there were people on reserve for 3-4 years. It's all about timing and growth--beginning of the wave or the end, etc.

Length of Duty Day: Our contract says 14 hour maximum scheduled unless it's either very late or very early flying and then it's limited to 10.5 hours. Of course where Part 117 is more restrictive, the reg applies.

Legs per Day: Usually 1-3 legs per day. HOWEVER, we've recently started to see 4 and maybe even 5 legs in a day on some pairings. It's still not terribly common.

Pairing Details: From November's Denver Bid packet: 1 Day: 23%; 2 Day: 20%; 3 Day: 23%; 4 Day: 30%; 5 Day: 4%.

Contractually, everything starts and stops in your Domicile. As someone else said, if there's a deadhead at the beginning or end of the pairing, you have options allowing you to skip the deadhead.

Hope this helps.

 

If hiring forecasts of 100+ every year are true there is a chance reserve won't last long as a new hire. However, looks like the growth will be not in DEN. It seems like both frontier and united are willing to roll over and let southwest take over Denver. It might be IAD or CLE but if you want to move up quickly don't plan on Denver. Damn!

 

LOL I knew this avatar would have paid off! And thanks a lot for that very informative post, it really clears up a lot of my questions. Hopefully I can use some of this info at a potential interview soon, now I feel a bit more armed for this week's upcoming job fair!

Thanks SD

 

Word is that we'll be hiring 30 per month for the foreseeable future, starting next month.

 

I heard 20 a month from a sim instructor for as long as they can forecast. Gonna be tough to fill a class when they hire only 2-3 interviewees per interview group.

 

Great point. Thats a lot of interviews to get 20 a month. Good luck to those applying!

 

Do you get flown out to training or do you have to drive? It would take me about 15 hours to make that drive from where I live to Denver.

Is there ever much of a break between ground school and sims?

If you get your sims scheduled anywhere besides Denver, do you get deadheaded out to your sim location from Denver or from where you live?

Does anyone who is not local ever Jumpseat home during the weekends? Not every week but every once in a while?

 

Hey openclimb, you do realize that is a man right? Haha. Just kidding brother. I have been burnt too many times to assume thats a women.

 

Don't think I want to have beers on an overnight with you! If you've been burned a bunch of times, I'm guessing your judgment in hot women is highly questionable at best!

 

Heis,

1.) I'm not 100% sure about your first question - hopefully someone else can chime in. It seems reasonable you would be positive spaced since once you show on property they can arrange for you to travel via jump seat even before you are badged. But again, I don't know. I know guys that didn't have cars here and stayed in hotels within walking distance if that helps.

2.) There can be sometimes, but there is no way to know for certain if you will get time off between ground school and sims, or before starting IOE. It totally depends on how things are moving. I wouldn't count on it, but if it happens - all the better. As class progresses you'll begin to glean an idea as to whether or not you'll get any time off, but even that can change.

3.) For sim training outside of Denver you will be provided positive space travel both ways, a hotel, and per-diem. Most out of town guys bid for this on purpose to save the expense of putting themselves up in Denver. You will bid according to class seniority on sim slots. There is a rumor of a second sim in Denver opening - don't know when it will happen.

4.) Sure many guys go home on the weekends during training, or if they get some time off between events. I watched many in my class do it, even all the way out to Florida. Some guys went every weekend, some only occasionally. In fact you must do four segments of jump-seat observation rides before starting IOE, and this is a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. As an adult you should feel free to balance your study and family-time as you see fit.

Sulk