KSCessnaDriver

The MAF just opened an ATL base, for what its worth. (Skywest for the reading impaired)

Honudiver

Thank you. Now the second big question on commuting and reserve time. Where do you stay while on reserve and commuting? As I understand, it is usually five days on and three days off while pulling reserve. Does the five days on come out of my pocket for hotel stays?



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Joshua19

Is it better to get a line and commute or fly out of your base and take reserve for several months? I would like to fly as much as possible once out of training. Reserve flying seems very erratic and may only yield 20 hrs per month, whereas a line would yield 65 hrs +. In my situation I would commute from CLT or GSO to DCA for a line rather than stay in CLT on reserve.

WhiteMorpheus

Once you get your relocation days, any hotels "in base" will be out of pocket, but with the $250 monthly commuter hotel reimbursement available. You can blow through that pretty quickly on reserve. That's one reason new-hire commuters might pick the base they can get a line at the fastest instead of the one they really want because they can 1-leg.

If you play your cards right you could change domicile every month until you hold a line and get company paid hotels until you "relocate" each month. I'm pretty sure that's not worth the hassle.

Of course, any trip with an overnight out of base will have a company-provided hotel, so figuring out where reserves get used most heavily (guessing DCA and CLT) might be beneficial.

texinc

Reserve time in DCA is shorter than CLT right now by a few months. IF you live within two hours of CLT, reserve might not be too bad because you would be able to wait it out at home. If you bid DCA, you would have to have hotels while on reserve. Once on the line which would happen in DCA pretty quickly, you would have to get there from CLT or GSO and that could occasionally involve hotel rooms before or after trips. The $250 doesn't go too far there. Right now it is taking about 9 months to get a Round 1 line in CLT for FO. About 6-7 months for a Round 2 line. Only taking about 5 months for Round 1 in DCA. I think it depends on if you have cash to spare to spend on hotels etc. I've never flown below guarantee when I was in DCA or CLT even while on reserve. I have spent more than the $250 on hotels, especially when I was on reserve/Round 2 in DCA. You could bid CLT while in training, go DCA for a few months right after, then bid CLT when you get closer to hitting the 9 month point if you want to avoid reserve, though.

Honudiver

Sorry for the stupid question but this is all new to me. What is round 1 and round 2?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

blackhawk88

At PSA, you bid for lines. There may be 80 pilots bidding for 62 lines, so the first 62 guys in seniority order will be awarded a line. That's Round 1.

After Round 1, we can adjust our schedule during the Schedule Adjustment Period (SAP). Look at the SAP thread for details. Some pilots will drop trips, etc.

After SAP, Round 2 bidding opens. Crew Scheduling will make more lines with the trips that were dropped during SAP or from those who had training, vacation, etc. Round 2 is also when you bid for reserve lines.

After Round 2, you can do Seniority Based trades. If there are more reserves than required on the days you don't want to work, you can trade with trips in Open Time. The requests you submitted will be awarded in seniority order.

After Seniority Based trades, First Come First Served trades open. Like the title implies, it's first come first served. Trade approvals also depend on the reserve grid.

Honudiver

Thank you!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Welcome

Do you have to sit at the airport for reserve or can you stay at a place within 2 hour driving distance?

PSA Recruiter

This is not my post, but I suggest reading the first post in the Scheduling and SAP thread for these answers. It is pretty good.