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Reserve - how does it work

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Reserve - how does it work

Old 03-18-2014, 10:31 AM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by soakingpilot View Post
Ok sorry to go back to this again. But if seniority is just the ability to bid certain trips etc. Do you bid up to your 75 hours per month? Following that then there is no real difference between holding a line and being on reserve other than the fact that if you hold a line you have the ability to bid for better work periods and you have more control over what they will be instead of the table scraps that are left over? Please correct me if I'm wrong here.
For a reserve (at least at my company) seniority just determines how good of a reserve line you get. Long call reserve goes senior. Reserve lines with weekends off will go more senior. If you're at the bottom of the list you typically get short call on weekends. Once you're senior enough to actually start holding trips you become a lineholder or a composite line holder (half trips half reserve).
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Old 03-18-2014, 10:52 AM
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And when you "hold trips" are they basically yours forever until either a. the schedule changes or b. someone more senior outbids you for it? Oh man I think I almost have it.. Thanks
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Old 03-18-2014, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by soakingpilot View Post
And when you "hold trips" are they basically yours forever until either a. the schedule changes or b. someone more senior outbids you for it? Oh man I think I almost have it.. Thanks
No.. They are yours for that month. Next month if 15 people senior to you transfer into base you go back to reserve. The trips change every month and you bid for what trips you want. The bidding system then disregards your whole bid and assigns you some BS.
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Old 03-18-2014, 12:07 PM
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To the OP, you've pretty much got the general idea of how reserve works. But keep in mind, ALL contracts are different. Especially as it results to the response time, 1.5 hrs in some cases, 2.0 in others, etc. Some have different rules for airport standby, mostly how long. Also, the long call provisions, etc.

Originally Posted by full of luv View Post
2 hr notice is rare. At many companies it's 12 hrs + notice unless assigned shortcall which is then reasonably available ie approx 2 hrs but many times short call still get 8 hrs notice etc. shortcall is assigned a few times a month depending on your contract.
Since this is in the regionals, reference the above. 2 hr notice is quite common. And although some regionals have long call, it's NOT like some legacies where ALL pilots are LC starting off. It's usually a limited number of slots. However, like a legacy, a LC pilot can be converted to SC. However, the LC notification usually applies, and sometimes there's a restriction on how many times the pilot can be converted in the bid period. And with 117, I believe that at a pax carrier, it would now be 10 hrs notice at a minimum for the "release to show to include the rest period before starting the FDP", etc.
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Old 03-18-2014, 12:20 PM
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I'm on a 2hr shortcall 4am-6pm. Usually I'll get my call at about 04:05 telling me I'm airport reserve 8-4pm. I did just get a 4 day trip call at 04:10 with a 6:15 duty on but that's about as close to 2 hours it's got for me.
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Old 03-18-2014, 12:31 PM
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Back in the 90's I worked for an airline that had hot reserve. 'hot' being that you actually sat at the airport instead of at home.

I used to bid reserve on purpose. I did that for a year back in the 90's so I could day trade at home.

Sometimes you will be on reserve say for 12 hours, and then in hour number 11 of sitting around you get the call for a trip that makes your day a few hours longer.
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Old 03-18-2014, 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by tom11011 View Post
Back in the 90's I worked for an airline that had hot reserve. 'hot' being that you actually sat at the airport instead of at home.
I believe that AE has entire reserve lines for the month that are hot/airport standby lines. Most, if not al regionals still have it. Although the time length of the period varies greatly, the credit, etc. As well as how many times, if they can assign it consecutively, etc.

And if you were way back in the 90's, remember before the change to the rule that for domestic for reserves? IE; a reserve period/RAP WASN'T considered "duty", even hot reserve. So, get to the airport at 6 am for a 12 hour period, THEN get called at 17:55 to fly 3-4-5 legs till midnight into a reduced rest overnight, uggghhhhh..........
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Old 03-18-2014, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by full of luv View Post
2 hr notice is rare. At many companies it's 12 hrs + notice unless assigned shortcall which is then reasonably available ie approx 2 hrs but many times short call still get 8 hrs notice etc. shortcall is assigned a few times a month depending on your contract.
I assume you're talking about a legacy? At the regionals Our reserve call out is 1.5-2 hours, and not only that but we have no limit on the amount of times they can put you on airport standby in a month. Almost every reserve call you get ends with 2-6 hours of airport standby. At my airline it's common for them to call reserves at least once a week and put them on just 8 hours of airport standby with no flying assigned.

Legacy contracts don't seem so bad now eh?
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Old 03-18-2014, 04:36 PM
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At 9e we have 75 hour guarantee, and every month they seem to use me for 70-74.5hr so I never break guarantee. I can count on being called every day, and very rarely have it be an overnight so most nights I am in the Crashpad. 3-9 times a month I will get an 8hr airport reserve (contractually limited to around 10 times a month, iirc), otherwise it's a 14hr reserve with a 1:45 callout. We have provisions for long call in our contract, however they are only triggered at a high staffing level, so we haven't had long call in years.
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Old 03-18-2014, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by FlyJB View Post
correct me if my assumption is wrong. because im not 100% sure how reserve works but i think i have a good idea.

Here goes... when on reserve you sit around and wait for the airline to call you and tell you they need you to make a flight, you dont have a regular schedule to stick to and it is unpredictable but you have to be able to report to work within 2 hours (typically). Most pilots sit on reserve for anywhere between 6 months to 6 years or more depending on the company. right? The pay for being on reserve is for 70 - 75 "credit hours"... Does that mean you are paid for 70 - 75 hours per month regardless of whether you get the chance to fly them or not??

also if anyone is on reserve, how many actual flight hours do you get to spend in the air on average per month?

thanks
There is one important thing to know about reserve. If you do not fly that means you are responsible for your sleeping arrangements if you don't live in base. That means living in a crash pad or paying your own hotel.
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