So, please help me understand the financial impact and quality of life during the above timelines.

1- During short call- I need to be within 2 hours of the gate plus show time (45 min?)
2- During the 7 months on short call I will need a crash pad or hotel accommodations. I live in ATL. Is this 100% at my expense?
3- how much can I expect to fly?
4- I can build a line but not able to modify it?
5- can I expect awards that provide time off as I request; 2 and 3 days off between trips, trips not starting before noon, ending before noon, etc?
6- If I get too restrictive will I risk not getting a line and be forced to stay on short call?
7- How much can I expect to fly on long call?

Thank you.

 

Are there any PSA pilots out there who live near Chicago? I'm giving psa a real look because qol is huge for me and SAP seems to be the single best tool out there. I know it's around a 5 hr drive to Dayton and Cinci, and probably an easy commute to those from ORD, but am I nuts to consider psa when I have offers from Envoy/SkyWest/Republic who all have bases at ORD? That stinkin' SAP has me so interested. Tweeking schedules to get max/important days off is huge for me and my fam. Thanks all...

 

Correct, except for TYS which is one hour to the gate. However at TYS from the time you park your car to the gate is about 10-15 minutes, even if you have to go through security.
Crash pad would be at your expense, or take advantage of the commuter hotels which is $250/month that you can spend on hotels.
I don't have exact numbers, but I'd suspect a fair amount. I'll let current reserve guys chime in on that one.
I think you're referred to "build up" lines, which is where the company builds more lines after the SAP which are then awarded in Round 2. Your ability to modify these (or move reserve days around) is at the mercy of the reserve grid.
You can search and sort for all these things in Round 1, 2, or the SAP. The general rule is you can get what your seniority can hold. Expect commutable trips to be senior-ish.
If you're senior enough for a Round 1, you get a Round 1 line, UNLESS you opt to drop to Round 2. In Round 2 you'll see a mixture of build up and SCR and LCR reserve lines. In the Build up lines don't have what you want, you can always bid the reserve lines to get the days off you're looking for.
Probably similar to short call, but I'll let someone else chime in. The big difference between the two is I'd expect a LCR guy to get more 3-4 day trips, vs a SCR guy who will get assigned to cover last minutes changes, sick calls, etc.

You're welcome.

 

I can't speak to Envoy's ability to move their schedule around, but my instinct is to prioritize living in base over schedule flexibility, for the simple fact that you're going to see home a lot more.

My opinion only.

 

I regularly sap my schedule down to 16-18 days off a month. Dayton and CVG will always be our most junior bases for the unforeseeable future noone wants to be there..

 

So with regards to SAP- can you build a schedule across bases? Let's say you're CIN based, can you drop pretty much the whole month and build out a schedule with all CLT trips (or for that matter a mixture of other bases?)

 

No idea where CIN is, but in the SAP you can drop to 65 hours of credit in your base, and pick up to your heart's desire in other bases.

 

That's the only reason I came here. I commute and had offers at those companies.

 

The SAP is the greatest quality of life tool at the regional level. It has been said many times, and is still true.

PSA is not all unicorns and rainbows. Not at all. But, if all you want to do is to go to work, fly a good schedule, get paid pretty good money to do so, and go home - it is pretty darn good.

My wife and I have a trip planned for February. Tickets are purchased (I bought tickets - 20% off through AA so I don't have to worry about non-rev), non-refundable hotel reservations have been made. We even have a couple tours planned. I do not have a vacation in February, and I am not worried in the least about getting those 8 days off. I know I will be able to SAP and get the time off.

 

I guessing Cin is Cvg.