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Torn....need advice
So I'm currently on reserve at a regional and am torn about my situation. The reason I chose this particular regional is because I live in domicile and didn't want to commute. During the interview I was told "you'll hold your first choice of base out of training" and of course that isn't the case....been on reserve for about a month now commuting for a "two or three days reserve, followed by two days off" schedule and got the same thing for December. As of the latest vacancy there are no openings in my domicile thru April and I REALLY don't want to commute for the next six months. Advice? Opinions? Flamings? Fire away
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Kinda depends on where you are and what options are available. Is there something else about the outfit making you want to jump ship already, other than the base situation? Are there any reasons to make you want to stay?
I would go with two reasons for not leaving an otherwise decent (if this is the case) regional. 1) Jumping ship so soon looks pretty bad. 2) There is little to no guarantee that you will find greener pastures wherever you go next. Commuting is part of the game and it along with the rest of the regional game sucks. I however have not played the regional game for five or six years so take my .02 for what its worth. |
Originally Posted by flyingsioux
(Post 267619)
So I'm currently on reserve at a regional and am torn about my situation. The reason I chose this particular regional is because I live in domicile and didn't want to commute. During the interview I was told "you'll hold your first choice of base out of training" and of course that isn't the case....been on reserve for about a month now commuting for a "two or three days reserve, followed by two days off" schedule and got the same thing for December. As of the latest vacancy there are no openings in my domicile thru April and I REALLY don't want to commute for the next six months. Advice? Opinions? Flamings? Fire away
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well seeing that you are from UND as well, I hope you used that name to chose a good regional to work for. However, chances are you're from Minnesota and chose Pinnacle(crap) or Mesaba(not too bad). If that is the case enjoy Detroit ;).
It really depends what regional you go to. I know Mesaba has a commuting policy like Expressjet does and at least 11 days off a month. But I never hear many good things about Pinnacle. But then again, what airline are you at? |
Commuting on reserve sucks! Period. You think you have it bad? I have been on reserve for about 7 months, probably will be for another 3-5 months. I have a two leg commute. I get 11 days off a month. I usually bid between 5-7 days off in a row and then hit the road for 2 weeks straight. Then bid a few days off at the end of the month, and then beginning of next month, which will turn into a nice 8-10 days off. Maybe you can do that?
Do you work for 9E? Pinnacle Airlines operated by UND Aerospace :D |
Well yeah you are gonna be sitting reserve in MSP for a while (if that's where you are)...The RJ's going to mesaba are coming straight out of MSP, so theres not much movement there. Also it's my understanding that there's something of a seasonal slowdown over the past few months. I'd recommend TDY to detroit. A good friend of mine has been reserve up there for a while, was hired in May...and just got a TDY line for detroit, much more livable. And just a piece of advice, don't even try complaining in the crew room about reserve, most of the senior people here sat reserve closer to a year in some cases, and at other airlines and majors its even longer. Unfortunately it's part of it. If you really want to not be reserve then go to somewhere else, go through initial new hire training all over again, deal with all the new hire BS involved....again, and be at the bottom of the list...again.
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Originally Posted by CRJDriver
(Post 267656)
Commuting on reserve sucks! Period. You think you have it bad? I have been on reserve for about 7 months, probably will be for another 3-5 months. I have a two leg commute. I get 11 days off a month. I usually bid between 5-7 days off in a row and then hit the road for 2 weeks straight. Then bid a few days off at the end of the month, and then beginning of next month, which will turn into a nice 8-10 days off. Maybe you can do that?
Do you work for 9E? Pinnacle Airlines operated by UND Aerospace :D |
Not if you have a 24 hour block off every 7 days. Could be a layover or could just be one day off in that stretch.
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Originally Posted by GliderCFI
(Post 267663)
Isn't that illegal?
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Flyingsioux...the following is your first post on APC...
Pinnacle or Mesaba? Share your wisdom Have recently received class date offers from both and am trying to decide. I realize they are considered mid-tier regionals at best, but I currently live in MSP and not having to commute is a huge QOL issue for me, so that is why I am considering the two. With that in mind, PCL has practically "guaranteed" that I will hold MSP right out of training, while Mesaba seems to be sending new people to DTW. Im aware that PCL is also working on a new contract and will hopefully close the gap between their payscale and others, so that is a bright spot as well as the hopes of improving scheduling. I guess I'm looking for some feedback...which would you go to if you were in my shoes. Like I said, not commuting is huge and I'm just looking to fly, move up and go from there....while trying not to get involved with all the negativity that seems to follow every regional. Appreciate ANY input guys.....good or bad, lets have it Back for more advice that you won't use? (hey you said flame away!:)) |
Lol, I knew he was from Minnesota! I bet you took the job at Pinnacle too. Well let me set it straight for you buddy. I'm from Minnesota too, but I went with Expressjet with a bunch of other smart ones from UND. Some of my other buddies have been with Pinnacle for over a year and their QOL is not near what ours is at XJT, and I've only been flying for 2 months. Never to late for you to switch.
You do realize that it was 20 degrees F this morning. I can't wait until I can get out of here for thanksgiving and get back to LA. As for you commuting to DTW or MEM from MSP, I do LAX-EWR which is a hella lot longer. Grow some balls man, you did go to the cold tundra called UND didn't ya? |
Originally Posted by tpersuit
(Post 267681)
Lol, I knew he was from Minnesota! I bet you took the job at Pinnacle too. Well let me set it straight for you buddy. I'm from Minnesota too, but I went with Expressjet with a bunch of other smart ones from UND. Some of my other buddies have been with Pinnacle for over a year and their QOL is not near what ours is at XJT, and I've only been flying for 2 months. Never to late for you to switch.
You do realize that it was 20 degrees F this morning. I can't wait until I can get out of here for thanksgiving and get back to LA. As for you commuting to DTW or MEM from MSP, I do LAX-EWR which is a hella lot longer. Grow some balls man, you did go to the cold tundra called UND didn't ya? |
Commuting on reserve for me at XJT wasn't too bad. Utilized the aggressive pickup window to get trips, back when there actually WAS open time. Made sure to get the commutable stuff, and learned how to sleep in a 737 jump seat without snoring. Did this for SFO to CLE, EWR and IAH... get's old after a while, but before you know it- you're off reserve and enjoying the privileges of being a lineholder.
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dam....a whole month of reserve.....
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FlyingSouix,
First of all, six months is a very short amount of time so I'd say just wait for MSP to open up. I can understand wanting to live in a specific location if your spouse has a job there, but you won't be at your regional forever, and last I checked only one Major is based out of MSP so eventually you will either have to move or commute. Why not move to where you are domiciled and stay for a few years. If you can't get into MSP to fly reserves now, it'll probably be a very long time before you can hold a decent line or upgrade. Perhaps you need to re-evaluate your priorities and see if living in MSP really comes out on top. Have a sense of adventure in your young years and settle down later. By the way, if you haven't yet realized this, pilot are gypsies so you better get used to the lifestyle. We just dress nicer and our trailer taking us from gig to gig is a jumpseat. |
Originally Posted by TSioux55
(Post 267730)
Is that you GILLY????
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How close are you to holding a line in DTW? The ability to trade trips and make a better schedule will help improve your QOL greatly until you can transfer to MSP. Commuting to reserve really sucks.
P.S. You won't get much sympathy about your month of reserve with one more on the way. I would guess that most on here sat reserve much longer than two months. |
Originally Posted by flyingsioux
(Post 267619)
PCL has practically "guaranteed" that I will hold MSP right out of training,
Suck it up. You'll be able to hold a line in DTW shortly, in six months you can be in MSP. PCL may not have the best QOL, but a year from now, you'll be living in base, probably holding a line. Why go somewhere else just to commute? That said, job hopping, even this early in your tenure, will NOT reflect badly on you. Lots of pilots do it. Ask former FOs from Piedmont, PSA, Mesa, and for that matter, PCL. |
Don't make a lateral. Yes your situation sucks a little. I'm a commuter myself. Just stick with it. The second you either get your home base or get a line everything will change for the better.
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Originally Posted by flyingsioux
(Post 267619)
So I'm currently on reserve at a regional and am torn about my situation. The reason I chose this particular regional is because I live in domicile and didn't want to commute. During the interview I was told "you'll hold your first choice of base out of training" and of course that isn't the case....been on reserve for about a month now commuting for a "two or three days reserve, followed by two days off" schedule and got the same thing for December. As of the latest vacancy there are no openings in my domicile thru April and I REALLY don't want to commute for the next six months. Advice? Opinions? Flamings? Fire away
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Originally Posted by TSioux55
(Post 267730)
Is that you GILLY????
Originally Posted by tpersuit
(Post 267776)
nope, is there another one of us that has made the trek out to the warmer weather in SoCal?
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Originally Posted by tpersuit
(Post 267776)
nope, is there another one of us that has made the trek out to the warmer weather in SoCal?
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stick it out, things can only get better?
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Originally Posted by flyingsioux
(Post 267619)
So I'm currently on reserve at a regional and am torn about my situation. The reason I chose this particular regional is because I live in domicile and didn't want to commute. During the interview I was told "you'll hold your first choice of base out of training" and of course that isn't the case....been on reserve for about a month now commuting for a "two or three days reserve, followed by two days off" schedule and got the same thing for December. As of the latest vacancy there are no openings in my domicile thru April and I REALLY don't want to commute for the next six months. Advice? Opinions? Flamings? Fire away
That sucks but if you don't want to commute, you should not be a pilot because you may be in for a lifetime of disappointment. It's part of the game, unfortunately. I wouldn't be jumping around from airline to airline because you are on reserve for 6 months. You'll find yourself 48 years old and a junior FO at some scumbag company hating life. Also, there's a bunch of lines that start and end out of where I live but guys senior to me keep bidding them even though they don't live where I live. I'd really like to get those lines and drive to work instead of commuting. What a bunch of crap! Will I get any sympathy? Nope....cuz that the way it goes. Not to be rude, but you are not likely to get much sympathy if you only have been on reserve for a month. |
Originally Posted by TSioux55
(Post 267847)
Yeah I have a couple friends that migrated out that direction a few months ago; one in LAX and one in ONT.
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Originally Posted by flyingsioux
(Post 267619)
During the interview I was told "you'll hold your first choice of base out of training" and of course that isn't the case....
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Look on the bright side, you might be able to hold a line in DTW before you move to MSP, then your commute will be much easier. Plus, you will likely be on reserve in MSP for a long time.
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Originally Posted by tpersuit
(Post 267863)
What is your guy's grad years? started in '02 and finished in Fall '05.
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