Minimum hours worked
 

I know that all airlines guarantee minimum hours of pay monthly.
If I am a line holder and give away my hours for open time, is there a minimum amount of time I have to work.

3 takeoff and landings.

I can't even drop a last turn, good luck dropping a whole trip.

Become a management pilot or do union work?

What a difference two places can make, usually over here the beginning of the month it's impossible to do anything but by mid month, as guys come off their check rides and get build up reserve lines I can usually drop everything I want and pick up open time at 150-200%

58:36 is min monthly credit at OO. Any lower and you have to use vacation and/or user time. If you don't have any time in your bank, you're responsible for the company's portion of your healthcare plan.

Unless you are top 10 percent or less in your base and seat, though, getting less than 80-ish hours assigned (as a line holder) is next to impossible. Dropping? I've been able to drop three turns in three years. Not three trips. Three turns...

Every regional is short staffed, good luck dropping anything.

What's the difference between trips and turns?

@prex8390

So you are allowed to drop your pay lines and pick lines that worth more money.
Does this rule apply to all regionals or just yours?!

A trip is a whole schedule of what you're flying those days you are on duty. Turns are individual flights within a trip.

Example: if you are based in Calcutta and on the last day of your trip you come back to Calcutta but have to do a Kashmir out and back, you can try to drop that turn so you will get back home to Calcutta at 12pm instead of 6pm on the last day of a trip.

Yes theoretically you can do all sorts of great things with your schedule if there is reserve coverage.

Yeah what you say about dropping is pretty true. I've dropped maybe one trip in the last several years. But dropping a trip needs to be defined, and at OO it means to drop it to open time because there are enough reserves beyond a company set minimum to cover it.

You can also post your trip to open time and hope someone picks it up. I do this all of the time and work only 60 hours or so a month. Conversely some months I pick up a lot from other crew members. -- This month I'm working 10 days for 61 hours credit, next month I was awarded 78, picked up a bunch of stuff and now have 115 credit hours.

Bidding locals and split duties make this possible. With 3-4 day trips it would be nearly impossible. The shorter trips are much easier to give away.