Scheduling Question
 

I know that most airlines build pilot schedules for 75-80 hours/month. What if you dropped one of your 4-day trips (someone else wants to pick it up) so then you fly about 55-60 hours/month instead? Will they let you do this? Will they let you do it every month over a 25 year careeer? I understand your pay would drop quite a bit.

Depends on the airline. Many have an automated, online scheduling system whereby you can drop and pick up trips without ever speaking with anyone. The only limitations on this are:

1) To pick up flying, it has to fit legally into your existing schedule.

2) When you drop a trip, it goes into a bank of "uncovered flying" for some else to pick up (if they want to). If no one picks it up, the company has to assign a reserve pilot. The company will normal set a limit on how much open can exist, if the bank is to fat, then no one can drop any trips until someone picks one up.

In order for trip dropping to really work, you need enough people willing to pick up extra flying. If everybody just wants to drop, then no one gets to drop. The company will try to set the system parameters to optimize pilot utilization, which may reduce add/drop opportunities, but the unions will attempt to negotiate more favorable parameters. Also you will reduce your pay below guarantee if you drop and don't pick up.

Airlines aren't like regular comapnies where your boss knows you and takes it personally if you are absent a lot. You are a commodity, if the system allows you to never work, you don't have to and nobody cares. You can volunteer for reserve and, at some companies, you might have to fly twice a month. If you live in your domicile, this can be a prett easy lifestyle.

At CAL you can drop your line value (monthly hours) as low as you want assuming reserve coverage exists to cover your trip(s). Of course you will lose the pay of any trip dropped. The only issue that may surface is flying enough to maintain your currency and proficiency.

At NWA as a block/line holder, you have a monthly min and max. You can drop anything, but you can't go below your monthly min. If you are on the high side, you can drop a higher value trip and pick one up on the open board worth less time. This month, our min is 72 hrs and mx is 84 hrs. If you want, you can go up to 5 hrs above your max (your choice, scheduling can't make you do it).

Like rickair said, there has to be enough reserve coverage to cover your dropped trip. If there is'nt, you don't get to drop it.

Thanks for the responses. Is it easy to drop your trips? Is there noramlly enough reserve pilots?

So what happens if the big package comes out and you don't bid for anything? Will they automatically put you on reserve or you will just end up with a very crappy line?

Easy to drop trips. Very difficult to drop a trip over a holiday unless to do a drop/add (I do that all the time to get better layovers). NWA is on a computer based bid. If you don't put anything in, the computer "gives" you your monthly bid that will fill your schedule up to the monthly min. So, to answer your question.....no bid = crappy line.

NWA has block/line holders and reserve line holders. Can't go back and forth UNLESS you are a reserve holder and you bid a temporary block. A "temp block" holder is on a month to month basis as needed.

Good for them, so so for us
 

Fedex has a lot of options to picking up flying and few to dropping. In my experience, they denie most trip drops for reasons you can't quantify. Drop/add worked better, but even then Ive been denied for stupid reasons. I think Fedex works on the assumtion that picking up flying is "OK" ,dropping, well if there is no chance in he** it will affect operations, than maybe they'll approve it.:confused:

To remain current all you need is 3 T/O and 3 landings, correct? Do you need 3 night T/O and 3 night landings to remain night current?

Nope. No approaches either.

the bad news is airline currency only counts for 121 ops and 91 ops conducted for your airline...if you fly part 91 for fun you still need to stay IFR, day, and night current per part 61/91. Your 121 recurrent sim sessions can help with that if you bring your log book and log the landings and approaches.

Just 3 t/o's and 3 landings...day or night.....plane or sim.