When bidding lines, how many weeks does a bid period cover? One month? One something different?

 

the experience is immaterial in your example, if their seniority will hold a capt slot but your's wont then they can take the upgrade and you have to wait till it gets down to your seniority, regardless of any other factors
i'm surprised mac is non-union, that explains your inquiries

like PU said, its technically possible, but extremely difficult, there is very little open flying (usually)
we're restricted in how many changes we can make during the 48hr period
and then there's the 117 issues

a bid period normally covers a calendar month, except for jan/feb/mar where the last day of jan, and first day of mar are part of the feb bid month

 

Hard lines average 12-13 days off a month right now. They do try to build a variety of lines, especially in the larger bases like ROA and MDT so it may be possible to get a decent stretch off a few months after completing SOE. The bases are relatively small though so the open flying is hard to swap with because there's so little to choose from. Being the junior guy on the totem pole you would be the last to get your request. If you really need to have those long stretches off 121 is probably not for you, I'd look into some corporate operators 91k that do 7onoff schedules.

 

Is there bidding for preferred start and end times? For example, can you bid for a schedule with starts later in the day and finish earlier in the day?

 

Thanks Dash,
No, MAC was not union. Likewise, a feeder pilot was about the last one to get hired by Fedex.

I think you and I are, not intentionally of course, talking at cross purposes. Wouldn't experience matter if for instance the higher seniority person does not have the required 121 experience and the guy behind him does. A captain bid goes out reaching to the depth of their seniority numbers. The former would not be qualified if he doesn't have his ATP and/or 1000 121 hours. Correct?

That situation may not be happening right now, but as someone else pointed out, it might as you bring on the jets requiring 10 new crew members (more or less) per plane.

Nonetheless, PDT sounds like a decent (as regionals go) place to work. I have two new questions:
1. Realistically, what can you get as take home pay considering salary, per diem, and maybe one or two extra trips per month?
2. Can you use travel benefits to go overseas, for instance to Ireland.

Thanks.

 

Certainly I'm considering that and in fact have a job offer. But I like 121 flying. I'm just gathering info to make the correct decision. And if I make the incorrect one, I'll go somewhere else. I haven't feared changing jobs for close to 15 years.

 

First year pay, probably about 2.5k a month take home, maybe a little more if you pickup extra trips. We have the best travel benefits in the regionals. Same benefits as a mainline pilot and we don't pay for it like some other regionals since we're wholly owned, standby list is based on check in time not seniority so you could get on before a 330 captain if you check in before him, even on his own metal etc.

This place has turned upside down in the last year, training department under new management much much more chill, flow thru, lots of expansion in the near future talking approx 80 or more jets overall, not trying to start rumors but apparently that's realistically what they're looking at. Good contract, good vacation, hub basing on the way but schedules and hourly rate still leave much to be desired.

 

How many new hires has Piedmont had so far this year?

 

And for all these reasons, it sounds like the place to be right now. Reminds me of the way people talked about other airlines right before their expansion push. I expect a call from recruiting in the next day or two. I'll see what they have to say.

Btw, I appreciate that this thread is generally civil. It's a credit to the PDT folks.

 

I wouldn't have said this a year ago but it's undoubtedly the place to be right now. The package pdt offers right now is far and above what I think you'll get elsewhere. But take the training very seriously it's still very tough and even though the people running it are great, they're still very strict and have high standards. Read the material, don't just assume the instructors will teach you what you need to know, they give you manuals for a reason.

Most of us are civilized but I don't blame anyone who is still here and hates this place, our ceo has driven this place into the ground but he's almost gone and his replacement has already gotten a lot of high praise, he's a pilot and he's excited about pdt and wants really good things for this place.