Part time at the majors?
 

Been looking for answers on here but can't find what I'm looking for. I'm getting ready to retire from the AF and I'm a bit undecided about whether I want to fly for the airlines or not. The thought of being away from my family for half of the next 20 years causes me pause. So my question for all you out there in APC land is: is it possible to fly part time for a major? I've heard you can sell trips and reduce your days to around 8 a month. Any insight is much appreciated.

Live in base and bid reserve. That is the closest to anything being part time

A lot depends on your seniority in your seat and how the staffing is. If you get trips others want, they will pick them up from you. If the staffing is good enough, you could just drop your trips. It's certainly doable here at Delta. Maybe not as a new hire though.

Live in base and bid turns. Drop as many as you want. Your wife will get tired of you being home all the time.

^^^^This^^^^

Although I'd say it all depends on your seniority and staffing in your seat. Your first few years after hire, don't expect to be able to do it part time. After that, stay as senior as you can on equipment and live in base.

Denny

A great thought being with family, you'll know when it's too much of a good thing when there is no place setting for you at dinner.

I've been dropping down to close to a min schedule here at JetBlue, which is 70 hours. At 1st-year pay and the current lousy productivity of trips, it often doesn't make sense for me to come into work more than that as I can make more in my part-time job and sleep at home to boot.

So for the past couple months, I've had 16-19 days off. Not bad for a <1yr guy, especially with our work rules and staffing.

First, you wouldn't be gone for half as you add vacation time. I now have 5 weeks vacation with 6 around the corner. Plus, if you work five 3 day trips for 15 hours each your still only gone for 10 nights. At DAL you can put your trips on the swap board and fly as little as you want. I could drop my entire month most months if I wanted to.

That's funny right there, I don't care what country you're from.

Get senior on your aircraft and drop trips, or go to a major represented by ALPA. Then you'll get your trips bought by the rest of the line flying pilots while you eat steak, drink single malt scotch, and carouse with local town ladies all on our dime.

Trust me, I've been funding this type of behavior for over 9 years :(