Lazy pilot options
 

Hi guys,
I'm considering a couple options but need more information. The deal is that I'm currently based in a city I want to live at a regional airline. To go to a major, I would be commuting. Not a bad commute; there are direct flights to every hub for the most part. I need a significant amount of time at home during the month because of my family situation. My question then is, how many days off can I realistically get at home including commuting, say 5 years down the road? Which major is the best for dropping trips/min credit months? I know Southwest has the most time off on reserve...

With five years seniority you could pretty much do whatever you wanted at any major. You'd comfortably be able to hold 17+ days off anywhere, and more with dropping trips.
Five years is a long way away, and contracts are going to change by then, so hard to say who will be the best for dropping etc. That said, Spirit is very good for that that currently. JB not so much.

Most things major are better than most things regional. Commutable 3/4-day trips should get you plenty of time at home compared to typical regional schedules. Unless you hold standups at the regional, that's a whole different animal.

Research each major individually, some are better for commuters than others. SWA trips are commutable on one end only, but their system is apparently flexible for drops.

Recently had an NK and a B6 guy in the jumpseats, they pretty much confirmed what Potato Chip said.

Spirit guy here...I’m in a similar situation in that due to family stuff I need a lot of specific days off every month. With that said I’m very senior and can average 16 to 17 days off per month. I “commute” in my car with a few hours drive to domicile. I cleared 300k last year and barely flew in the summer. Your situation will be very dependent on which domicile you choose to commute to and how quickly you can get off reserve in said domicile. Don’t know your experience level but my friends at UAL seem to have schedules comparable to mine or better and all commutable from our midwestern city. Spirit is great for a family man and I love working here. But depending on your age your leaving ALOT of Money on the table coming here over a legacy. I wish you all the best. Family over funds.

FedEx. You can drop or give away everything as long as you get your 3 and 3 every 90 days, and your airplane isn’t too understaffed. You can often get paid for airline tickets to get to and from work, if you commute and pick the right trip.

However, we stopped interviewing, we have people in the pool, and we are currently over staffed. Our earnings haven’t been so great, and things are looking a little shaky. So there’s that....

I bet fedex will be fine, but I’ve been wrong before!
It sounds like a lot of it just depends on the time of year and how well or poorly staffed the airline is then. It seems like most places have tricks to learn about commuting that make it better

Jetblue is very base & seat dependent. Boston for instance on the FO side is pretty fat which allows you to drop to 70 hours. Some of the other bases staffing situation is much tighter.

Good to know!

I just dropped my schedule down to 52 hours and 24 days off in January for family reasons as well. I am a very junior line holder on the 777 at United. Been here 5 years. We can drop our schedule down to 0 I’ve been told. It seems doable most months with the possible exception of summer. Haven’t tried it yet. I’m not in love with the flying on the 777, but the schedule is the best I’ve ever experienced at any flying job on any aircraft.

Over 5 years at United on the 756 and I usually am awarded 18-19 days off. I back up 2 day trips into a 4 day block to usually get 4 days of work with 24-25 hours of credit. However I also like to play my luck and drop as much as I can and hunt for sweetheart trips. One leg on day one with a dead head back the next day. Same pay, half the work and usually home 8-12 hours sooner than my awarded 2 day trips. Most months I don’t fly a single awarded trip and average 6-7 nights away while often times having more credit than my original line. I won’t lie, it’s often times a pain in the ass and feels very much like gambling. Win some weeks and lose some other weeks. But having more time and home with my young kids makes the burden worth it... most of the time.