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-   -   Which regional has the best commuting policy? (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/regional/116887-regional-has-best-commuting-policy.html)

Fixnem2Flyinem 09-21-2018 10:27 AM


Originally Posted by word302 (Post 2678534)
I do, which is why I said I'd like to see something in writing. The problem is there are a huge group of pilots who live in places that would require coming in a day early if they need to have 2 flight options. I also understand their perspective as a commuter. My time at home is gold. Like I said before, what happened to you sucks, but it is also far from a normal scenario. You had 2 major things not working in your favor, MH being in the CS department as this went down, and your chief telling you to drive and you decided not to. I completely understand your decisions, but the system we have works pretty damn well for the majority of our pilots.

That is true, and I can see why the guys living in BFE Arkansas commuting to ORD want to keep things the way they are.

As far as the driving issue, that is true BUT the reason I didn’t decide to drive after he instructed me to do so was because I took the train to work. That train ride was 45 mins to my residence where my truck was. Then there was about a 2 hour 45 minutes drive to the airport. If I would have left the second after hanging up with the CP I still would have been late for the CDO. Like I said before I could have rented a car and hauled up there, but money was an issue for me at the time like most new hire FO’s. At that point the decision was made and the rest is history.

rickair7777 09-21-2018 10:40 AM


Originally Posted by word302 (Post 2678534)
I do, which is why I said I'd like to see something in writing. The problem is there are a huge group of pilots who live in places that would require coming in a day early if they need to have 2 flight options. I also understand their perspective as a commuter. My time at home is gold. Like I said before, what happened to you sucks, but it is also far from a normal scenario. You had 2 major things not working in your favor, MH being in the CS department as this went down, and your chief telling you to drive and you decided not to. At that point it became more than just missing a commute, it became not following the instructions of your chief. I completely understand your decisions, but the system we have works pretty damn well for the majority of our pilots.

This was my experience with such policies at other airlines, too many restrictions. Typical requirements (some or all)...

- 2-3 Flights
- At least one hour apart
- Last one arrives at least one hour prior to show
- Must show seats in back
- Must be on a partner carrier (so management can verify seats)

Be careful what you ask for. The other downside is if you do miss a commute you WILL be disciplined if you didn't comply with all of that. I preferred the current system, make a *reasonable* effort under the circumstances and call in honest.

Fixnem2Flyinem 09-21-2018 10:43 AM


Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 2678547)
This was my experience with such policies at other airlines, too many restrictions. Typical requirements (some or all)...

- 2-3 Flights
- At least one hour apart
- Last one arrives at least one hour prior to show
- Must show seats in back
- Must be on a partner carrier (so management can verify seats)

Be careful what you ask for. The other downside is if you do miss a commute you WILL be disciplined if you didn't comply with all of that. I preferred the current system, make a *reasonable* effort under the circumstances and call in honest.

The issue becomes “reasonable” is now determined by your local management. What if they’re having a bad day? I’m sure for senior guys that may have a positive working relationship established with their BCP’s it’s no biggie, but for the new guys who have never met their BCP that term “reasonable” can be varied based on the mood of the man/woman in charge

rickair7777 09-21-2018 10:45 AM


Originally Posted by Fixnem2Flyinem (Post 2678523)
Man o man.. I done trying to explain what happened.. so here is the bullet points

-Hired Oct 2017, made it through training with no issues and well within the footprint.

-Commuted to ORD, LAX then SEA while living in PDX

-Had two sick calls while at SkyWest, one dated in Feb and the next was a week earlier in May, these were legit sick calls that I truly felt that flying a plane wasn’t the right and legal thing to do. How I gauge that is if I bend metal, will I have done explaining to do on my health at the time...

-Mid May, I gave my self not 1, not 2 but 4 options to get from PDX to SEA. See I drove when possible, but on a whopping 1800 a month take home gas money wasn’t abundant. All QX flights were hosed, the OO Delta flight I missed due to a listing issue that is well documented. A flight that had open seat BTW, a situation that management didn’t take into consideration at all. Then another SkyWest CRJ that was late.

-The missed flight was a CDO that I had been given 12 hour call out. I was called at 845am for an 845pm show. I had proof being at the airport by 430 trying to list on that first Delta flight. Doesn’t sound like an unreliability issue to me

-Originally fired, although I didn’t just roll over. I reached out to SAPA and other resources, then was allowed to resign.

Those are the big points... Full story is buried back in another SkyWest Page.

Again, thanks for sharing. Might help somebody else to better understand things.

Also worth noting: Managers (all airlines) have a VERY low tolerance for folks who miss a LCR callout. Commuter policies often explicitly exclude that.

DarkSideMoon 09-21-2018 10:46 AM


Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 2678547)
This was my experience with such policies at other airlines, too many restrictions. Typical requirements (some or all)...

- 2-3 Flights
- At least one hour apart
- Last one arrives at least one hour prior to show
- Must show seats in back
- Must be on a partner carrier (so management can verify seats)

Be careful what you ask for. The other downside is if you do miss a commute you WILL be disciplined if you didn't comply with all of that. I preferred the current system, make a *reasonable* effort under the circumstances and call in honest.

Ours is two options, one getting you there two hours early and one 30 minutes early. No carrier restrictions or time between flights. I’d take that any day over something as vague as “reasonable”.

word302 09-21-2018 10:56 AM


Originally Posted by DarkSideMoon (Post 2678553)
Ours is two options, one getting you there two hours early and one 30 minutes early. No carrier restrictions or time between flights. I’d take that any day over something as vague as “reasonable”.

I don't know, I commute in after my rap starts, to be in position 30 minutes before the end of my 2 hour callout. I change my outgoing message while I'm in the air. If the flights running late I call and get the "ok, we'll track the flight to see when you get there, thanks for letting us know". Your policy would mean gong the night before. Reasonable seems to work pretty good.

DarkSideMoon 09-21-2018 12:08 PM


Originally Posted by word302 (Post 2678560)
I don't know, I commute in after my rap starts, to be in position 30 minutes before the end of my 2 hour callout. I change my outgoing message while I'm in the air. If the flights running late I call and get the "ok, we'll track the flight to see when you get there, thanks for letting us know". Your policy would mean gong the night before. Reasonable seems to work pretty good.

Reasonable assumes an always benevolent overlord. Chief pilots and CEO’s change. Contract language doesn’t without approval.

word302 09-21-2018 12:13 PM


Originally Posted by DarkSideMoon (Post 2678594)
Reasonable assumes an always benevolent overlord. Chief pilots and CEO’s change. Contract language doesn’t without approval.

Been the same deal for over 20 years. While it wouldn't bother me to have something in writing, what we have is working quite well and affording me more time with my family. I take that for as long as I can.

amcnd 09-21-2018 04:57 PM


Originally Posted by bronc (Post 2678480)
Thats one way to say OO has the worst commuter policy because there isnt one and you can be fired for not making a commute

Educate yourself before judging it. Its the best we don’t have one. Why put a number to the time you can’t make it. The one you hear about are 10+ a year issues before disipline..

Regardless the best airline is the one you don’t have to commute too...

bronc 09-21-2018 08:16 PM


Originally Posted by amcnd (Post 2678753)
Educate yourself before judging it. Its the best we don’t have one. Why put a number to the time you can’t make it. The one you hear about are 10+ a year issues before disipline..

Regardless the best airline is the one you don’t have to commute too...

You refuted none of my post


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