Airline/Employer (Corporate) dependent.
General planning..safe to say, 4-6 months for many from Indoc to consolidation complete.

See my discussion above in this thread on probation. Application: Many employers of pilots extend probation in some manner. Does it harm you? Fast answer is no. Read about the "Escalator" clause/principle. (In next answer)

Pay, longevity and opportunity to move up do not pause. When your non military new hire classmates get year 2 pay, you will return or be paid at year 2 pay with them. Arguably, FAA certificated pilots are not apprentices. If consolidated after employer required and FAA approved training at your company, then have same ratings and all training required to fly the type of operations certificated (91, 121. 135 etc) from ESGR FAQ's https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdal/file/477991/download

Does the reemployment position include elements such as seniority, status, and rate of pay?
Yes. The reemployment position includes the seniority, status, and rate of pay that an employee would ordinarily have attained in that position given his or her job history, including prospects for future
earnings and advancement. The employer must determine the seniority rights, status, and rate of pay as though the employee had been continuously employed during the period of service. The seniority rights, status, and pay of an employment position include those established (or changed)
by a collective bargaining agreement, employer policy, or employment practice. ln particular, the employee's status in the reemployment position could include opportunities for advancement, general
working conditions, job location, shift assignment, rank, responsibility, and geographical location. lf an opportunity for promotion, or eligibility for promotion that the employee missed during service is based
on a skills test or examination, then the employer should give him or her a reasonable amount of time to adjust to the employment position and then give a skills test or examination."

Hi All,

Long time lurker, first time poster and I want to be clear up front that I'm not trying to game the system, I just don't know what my timeline is at this point. I couldn't find an answer through the threads (maybe I just didn't look in the right place?). What benefits (health, financial, flight benefits) continue while on mil leave? I understand one comes back as if they'd never left but would flight benefits continue? I ask because I'm looking at a year or so to be on mil leave away from my family and would like to be able to get back to see them as often as I can on weekends.

Also, at what point in training would I have to get through to be able to jump seat? I'm looking at making my transition to a regional in a month or so and I'm waiting to find out when my mil training will be scheduled. I'd like to get through training and get out on the line but I just have no idea when my mil training would start. It could start in as little as a month, or as long as 6 months.

Thanks in advance.

The benefits which legally MUST be continued are those benefits which the company provides to other employees on other types of leaves. But that typically is little-to-nothing, most often travel benefits.

Some companies may choose to offer additional benefits, mine will make up the pay gap for example. So it depends on your company, both what they offer to anyone on any type of leave, and any special perks for military.

As far as the JS, that depends. Some cut you off pretty quick, 30 days or less, others may let you keep it longer. There are TSA rules and it seems airlines interpret them differently.

I wouldn't plan on much other than non-rev benefits, with no JS.

As far as initial JS eligibility, that can vary by airlines, but most get that knocked out before the end of GS. But again, it will likely get turned off at some point on mil leave.

1. Don’t mention orders to your employer that you don’t have in hand.

2. Jump seating happens when your employer issues yo an ID and loads you into CASS. You should get a KCM ID tag as well on, or about same time. Jump seat access may be revoked depending on the length of your leave.

Question for you all about returning from military leave. The airline I am at has said in the past after returning from military leave that since I am not available the first day of the month, I cannot bid for that month.


So hypothetical, on mil leave all of August until September 2nd, I am now not allowed to bid for the entire month of September. The airline will now build a reserve schedule for me, even though I could have placed a bid and held a line.



Does this sound correct?

Does your contract address this specifically?

If not, then basically you have to be treated the same as people returning from other leaves e.g. long term medical

Could you advise them of your September mil leave after you’ve bid for your September schedule?

You could make a legal case I think that they cannot punish you for the whole month because you're out for two days. I think if you don't need any refresher training it would be easier to make the case. I'd definitely talk to union and management, not sure if it's worth taking it further than.

I had a similar deal once, they ran a standing bid while I was out on long-term leave and awarded a bunch of junior guys a base I had been waiting for. I actually prevailed on that one, but I did have a standing bid in the system before going on leave, which they had ignored.

rickair7777, the standing bid issue is probably something that holds a little more weight in following up on. Not looking to make a legal case but I am hoping to get it changed.

I asked management and the union and both basically said it follows what other leaves do, as navigatro had said.

I am going to address this further with the union and see if they can't push the company to make a change because it does feel almost like punishment as this is going to happen a couple times a year when placed on 30ish day orders.

It would be one thing if we were able to bid a specific reserve schedule but we are at the whim of however the company wants to build the entire month of reserve.

I would drop the leave for the following month after the bid is published if that's how they want to roll. I've done that kind of thing to avoid getting hosed by an inflexible system.