if you can get a feel for things you can start working the system to get a lil more QOL however like evh347 says it isn't necessarily advisable.

i tend to get ready reserve a lot and i am the first called out if i'm on a 2 hr call out i also commute in...so this is how i think i beat the system...

if i have to do the early ready reserve on day 1 i commute in on the first flight that day...the shift starts at 7am the flight gets in at 710 am...sometimes it gets in earlier and i sign in and i'm okay if not i just don't sign in and call scheduling and say hey i'm just getting thru security can you sign me in...

as far as getting out on the last day...they can't use us for PM ready reserve on the last day so if i am on the AM and it goes til 3pm i just leave around 1pm bc generally they won't use me b/c i'm not good for anything...i just don't call to get released...

if i am on the 2 hr call out on the last day which goes til 7pm i still take a 3pm flight bc i am generally useless...

i just keep an eye on whats open...what the weather is...how many more flights have to go out...did the crew come with the plane...will they time out soon and is everything at the outstations well staffed...if this is the case i sneak out early and just hold my breath...

 

So at Mesaba, if on a 1.5 or 2.0 hour call out, they can't call you 5 minutes before the end of your shift and tell you that you have to do a flight in 1.5 or 2.0 hours for an overnight somewhere? Basically if they don't call you in your callout time prior to your duty off time they can't use you anymore?

Just asking because at my prior airline they would call you up to a minute before your duty off time and extend your reserve shift to whatever they needed to get you to do a flight, up to a total of 16 hours on reserve of course...

 

No they can't because are Reserve periods are 14 hours long and our contract limits scheduling to schedule us for 14 hours or less unless you specifically request it in wich case you can go to 15... therefore if you are at the end of your reserve shift you are on the end of your legal usability. You have 1.5 to get to the airport plus another .5 to get the the a/c and then another .5 to close the door so anything past the last 3.5-4 hours or so is pretty much a wash because most of our flights block > than 1.0 ...

 

generally i've noticed that on the last day they won't use you towards the end of your duty time unless they really need too...weather, running out of reserves etc...

i'm also an american seagull so i don't know what mesaba's scheduling is like...

 

How many days does the company give you for move days after IOE?

 

"if i am on the 2 hr call out on the last day which goes til 7pm i still take a 3pm flight bc i am generally useless..."

From a former XJ'er. This is practiced alot, and as this one said you will have to get a feel for whats going on. HOWEVER, there was a time I was needed to reposition an aircraft for whatever reason and was unable to do it because I was getting on a plane headed to ORD. Thankfully I had a good friend in CS who covered it. Now im not sure as to what they can do contractually for reposition taxis these days(used to code it as flight 9999 i believe). Just watch yer butt, you dont want Joe or Dan chewin on it. Although getting a "cup o joe" from Hop was always fun too.

 

Was Hop a CP back in the day? He does like coffee!

 

I cant remember if he was assistant with Fran. Thats going back about 9 years ago for me. But yeah, it was fun. I was DTW based, but when we linked through, I usually got called on the carpet for no wearing the hat, or something like that. Then you get called in and he didnt remember what he called me in for Then get the ol' "lets grab a cup o joe". No problem since my nickname from one other DTW'er was "coffee in a mug"

Miss them days!!

 

Let's face it. The Comair contract looks better on paper. That's all I know. A 2:1 duty rig and 3 high-speed in a row max would really help out. Then again, if Mesaba didn't have the "competitive" contract that they have, they probably wouldn't be getting the extra airplanes. So, what are contract carriers to do? Look for better contracts or be competitive? I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. Too good of a contract and you won't get the flying. Too poor and... I'll skip that part.

 

we may not have a duty rig but the 4 hour min pay per duty period is pretty close. I just got 4 hours pay for 3:50 duty for a AZO turn. Better than having a duty rig. Sometimes the duty rig would be better but usually for our schedules it isn't. It's really rare that you'd get less than 4 hours flying in an 8 hour duty day. As for highspeeds, yea sucks to have that 4th one in a row. But if I remember right we are both now 11 days off min after the bankruptcy concessions. At least we dont' have to lug around those dang hats. That's gotta be worth something. Plus we get a good chunck of pay back December 1st. I'm looking at just under $6/hr raise. Now I will say when it comes to the employee bus at CVG compared to any of the Mesaba bases you've got us obliterated there.......