what is reserve like?
 

I am a part 135 cargo pilot working 5 nights a week and back at home each day and weekends. I am thinking of going the part 121 regional pilot route. My question is, what kind of time do you get off when your on reserve? 10-12 days off a month seems to be the normal answer, but are these days off consecutive, and do you know an advance when they will be? I ask because I am wondering if it is possible to jumpseat home on a regular basis when on reserve for a regional airline.

Totally depends. Commuting to RSV almost always sucks. Playing with the RSV schedule and stacking days off together depends largely on the staffing and "humane-ness" of an airline's scheduling team. Also, a good CBA doesn't hurt either.

You know the aristocrats joke?

It's a lot like the family

Oh, and I was on RSV at comair for one year before i got furloughed
6 days working 1 day off, 6 days working 1 day off..was the norm.

I will highly suggest you live in base, I literally LIVED at my crash pad..was there 20 nights a month sometimes.

You work 4-5 days(12 or more hours each and away from base) and have two or three off, non consecutively. So one week you might be off on a Tues and Wed, next trip on a Sun and Monday. Once you have a line qol becomes better because you know your schedule.

Reserve qol is non existent. I suppose you can make it work if your base is an hour flight away but not more than that. Plan on moving to your base.

It sucks. Been on reserve at SKYW for a year and a half now and its no fun. Our crew schedulers never seem to leave you alone. They'll call you on your days off, or if you're on AM reserve you may be getting calls before 4am so they can give you a 'heads up'

Also you only get 10 days off but could end up working every day you're on reserve and not even break guarantee.

Our ready reserve policy is horrendous too. You'll get done with a trip and get to sit around in one of our 'lavish' crew rooms for usually between 4-6hrs.

RSV sucks. You are the company's beyotch and you'll be on probation, so you can't even tell them to pack sand.

Good to do the research by asking, but now is not the time to be getting a job sitting reserve to fly an ERJ or CRJ. Unless you get into a company with decent work rules (are there any) or into a company where you won't be on reserve very long it is a crappy gig.

Long days, few days off, etc.

Did you say Skywest? It can't be. Don't you guys have like 22 days off and make 50K plus benefits your 1st year?

It's like getting punched in the stomach.

At pinnacle reserve guys spend their days off and vacation days in hell. It is much nicer there this time of year.

Rule #1 of being an airline pilot: NEVER ANSWER THE PHONE IF SCHEDULING CALLS ON YOUR DAY OFF!

Another thing...

Yes, you'll be able to jumpseat. But probably only on your days off. RSV days are very rarely commutable. You'll have 2-3 days off and if you have 3 off you'll commute in the night before and commute home on your first day off. Your days off will be half eaten by commuting.

What do you fly now? Is it turbine?

If you are building turbine M/E time I would strongly consider staying there until the right job comes along. Going 121 is important if the airlines are your goal, but right now is a very, very difficult time in the airlines. PIC turbine time is critical to your career and if you are building that right now and home every night that doesn't sound bad at all.

If you live in base... i have no problem with rsv...

if you commute... it sucks...period... end of story.

If you want to know what rsv is like visit hell. That would be the best way to convey to you what it's like.

A typical schedule goes like this. 6 on 2 off sometimes 3 off just depends. Be prepared to spend 260+ days away from home a year. 4 a.m. phone calls from scheduling commanding you to waste your life on ready rsv or some 6 leg day including 2 deadheads. If you commute it will take you one who day to gain some sleep back and wash your uniform. The next day you will pack your bags and catch some flt that your destined to get bumped off of and finally catch a flight sitting in a jump seat all night getting to your reporting airport for a 5:25 a.m. show. Just remember your off 2 days but there's a good chance you're going home on one of them or returning on the other. You will be making below the poverty line and you will get hit the most for expenses. Being on reserve you make A LOT less than a line pilot. Seeing that you have no idea were you will be sleeping or showing up or leaving work you will be forced to buy crash pads and hotels. If you have any student loans which the overwhelming majority of us do. You will not be able to keep your head above water and begin digging yourself further in debt. Seeing that your on reserve you are also junior. EXPECT to be displaced at least twice to more expensive cities and being forced to commute as you can't break leases that easily. Your social life will be COMPLETELY depleted. You will be home during the day while your peers are at work. You will have absolutely NO quality of life. I've seen my co-workers who are in marriages or relationships and they all are in trouble or failed. Don't forget to start saving for a triple bypass surgery when you hit 60 because it's almost impossible to eat healthy (believe me I'm a health nut) and the stress of the job and hardly being able to sleep will take a huge toll on your body. It is very unfortunate that this is the way the industry is. It is no longer a respectable job thanks to ME. Don't let anybody sugar coat it. This is how it is. I would be the person to ask.

I have about 2-3 months left of my sentence on reserve before I'm paroled. I've never been in prison but they are probably about on the same level. Actually I think I'd rather be in prison.

Rule #2 of being an airline pilot: NEVER ANSWER THE PHONE ON YOUR DUTY DAYS UNTIL YOU ARE ON DUTY!

Rule #3 of being an airline pilot: IF YOUR PHONE RINGS, REVIEW RULE #1 AND RULE #2!

It's like...

Wanna find my baby wanna hold her tight,
lookin' for an afternoon delight,
my motto's always been when it's right, it's right,
why wait until the middle of a cold dark night?

Well, everything's a little brighter in the light of day.
Well, it doesn't seem to really matter anyway.

"I don't know, Ron, sounds a little crazy."

The good news is that as an airline pilot you are free to talk about Fight Club, so we have that going for us.

Call in fatigued for having your rest interrupted.

The short answer is, unlike the drama queens above me who answer their phones on their days off, if you have 11 or 12 days off the other 20 you are working. Working may mean sitting in a crashpad if you live out of base, it may mean sitting airport standby, it may mean working a crappy low value trip.

It will most likely be a combination of 4 on/3 off, or 4 on/2 off (it's impossible to work 6 on/2 off all month long, and if you ever do you should be getting your day off restored or at least pay on top of your guarantee for the day you worked).

Reserve does suck everywhere, because you spend a lot of your 20 days a month feeling like you aren't quite working but you're not quite off work either....you have to wait by the phone or sit at the airport. But if you dont work at a ****hole company you can at least enjoy having rolled days off restored, a good fatigue policy, an extra day off or two over the crappiest companies, trading days off, etc.

Reserve sucks! At ASA you get 11 days off/mo. Two sets of 3 "Golden Days". These are days that are unchangeable. The rest are hit and miss. The company owns you outside of your golden days. Home each day and weekends off hu? You might consider staying for a while IMHO as the regionals are stagnant and you would likely be on reserve for a long time. Or you could get lucky and hit it at a good time and things could start moving again. If you do go 121 and end up on reserve, you need to be sure and get the number for the suicide hotline programmed into your speed dial. You'll need it after the first year or so.

Or a punch in the yarbles. That is, if ya got any yarbles.

As has been covered, rev sucks just about anywhere you go. There can be exceptions. When I was on reserve in EWR and commuting. I had 12 days "off" one month. But do to the scheduling, and the FACT that it was EWR, I was home for 8 days of that month.

Also, as has been covered, it can depend on the CBA. Especially if there is a long call reserve, and the strength of that long call language in the CBA. When I was LAX based I also commuted. I spent half of my month on my couch at home waiting on a 12 hour notification. Had plenty of time to suit up, head to the the airport, and get into position and show for the trip. XJT's longcall reserve has some drawbacks, as does ASA's or so I hear. I believe that AWAC's is pretty darn good and that it can actually go senior.

The other half of the month I spent in domicile at the crashpad. Being on reserve in crashpad sucks. HOWEVER, there can be exceptions. Like who your cp roommates are, and/or CP location. That other half of the month I spent on Manhattan/Hermosa/Redondo beach. Beer in hand, checking out some KILLER scenery, waiting on the 12 hour notification. No regrets what so ever bidding a long call reserve month in that case. Of course, that was subject to where I lived, domicile, and cp location.

If I was based in some of the other locations I've been, or PHL for example, it would have sucked no matter how it sliced.

I enjoy reserve, my reserve period is from 7 pm -12 and i live in base. I am free all morning and afternoon and can cook for the wife when she gets home from work. Usually have everything cleaned up and wait for the phone to ring. usually it does not ring and i spend my time watching tv and doing whatever i want. During the day i golf, bike, fish or do anything i want, reserve in base aint that bad!

Generally speaking reserve sucks!

In the best senario the company is growing fast and you won't spend more than 2 or 3 months on reserve (not happening these days). Also, in the best case scenario you and your family live in your domicle and reserves aren't used much. That way you spend time around home with your family doing stuff you like to do, waiting for a call. If you are a half hour from the airport and have a 2 hour call out, then you have an hour and a half to stop what you're doing and get ready for work.

Worst case scenario is being stuck on reserve 2 or 3 years (typical now-a-days) and being assigned to crew domiclies away from your home.

One company I worked for reserves got 10 days off per month and you knew your days off for the month ahead of time. You also knew your reserve time slot for the days you worked a month ahead of time. Generally speaking you had the same time slot for the entire month. Ready reserve (sitting on call at the airport) was very rare, as well. By contract only very few reserves could be made to sit ready reserve at the airport.

At another company I worked for reserves had 11 days off per month, but you didn't know what time you were on call for the next day until 9pm the night before. You had to bid reserve slots every day instead of monthly. It was very typical that I would find out about 9pm that I had to sit ready reserve at the airport at 4am that coming morning. That system really sucked! There was no way to plan anything even for at least part of your days. You could never get on a normal sleep pattern either because the time of days you were on call/called up kept changing. You might be sitting ready reserve from 4am-noon one day, then 6pm-midnight the next, etc., not knowing what time until the night before.

Most new airline pilots, or people who aren't airline pilots, pooh pooh reserve like it doesn't sound that horrible. Ask anyone who has done it for a few months, though, and I've never heard of anyone who enjoys it. You have no control over anything in your life. You are totally at the mercy of crew schedulers. And 99% of the time sitting ready reserve is like watching paint dry.

If the world was fair I think every pilot on the seniority list would pull a couple days of reserve per month to spread things out. If you have been flying your butt off a couple days of sitting reserve might even seem like a nice change of pace anyways.

Are you kidding? Reserve is great! :D

At Comair you are guaranteed 11 days off, a block of 3, a block of 4, and the rest wherever they feel like putting them. But, who cares? It will be a long long time before they hire (if ever).

The best part of reserve is your phone ringing at 5am, waking you up, and a screw scheduler on the phone telling you that you have a flight in exactly 1.5 hours and having the nerve to ask if you can "get to the airport ASAP"

I switched to PM reserve time because I got so sick of it. Haven't had too much of a problem as of late. But I don't doubt that it's still going on.

Anyway I was just offering my opinion not asking for help or anything.

Usually true, but it can cut both ways...

If they call you early AM before you duty on, it might be for a trip that starts early...which could get you done early (nice if it's your last day).

Or they could tell you to duty off for 8 hours so they can give a later show with an even later finish...long after your normal bedtime.

If you live in base and have a few people junior to you, it's not too bad most months. I've had a few months of reserve when I've only flown once or twice. On the other hand, I've had months where I was almost never home. If you commute it's never any fun. It also depends a lot on the company's staffing. If they are short you will be used constanty.

Reserve can be a life altering experience. Living in base helps and having good reserve rules can make things livable, but it's definately something few bid for by choice. Some carriers that are fat can find guys bidding rsv and not flying but it seems most carriers have their staffing tight so nobody gets paid for not working. Your attitude and qol that you are currently accustomed to have an influence in your opinions. It's better than furloughed, but takes some thought before jumping in a lateral move.

say what you want about reserve...i learned more from sitting around on airport reserve in the crew room than any other part of my career. yeah its boring. yeah youre away from home. but use it to learn. use it to make friends. use it to do other things.

Must be nice to still be able to hold P3.... That was nice while it lasted for me too.

This goes to Rule #4: Let CS leave a message, log on a computer and see what it is they are about to tell you, then call them back. It will prepare you so there are no surprises when you talk to them, and sometimes it actually works to your favor to get notified of a trip.

ahhh you beat me to it... that's what voice mail is for. :D

You guys need to check out the 135 charter business. On call 24/7, 365 days a year.

I agree, I held P3 (7pm-midnight) for a month and it was great! I had all day to do whatever I wanted to and I was only called in twice that month. 75 hours of pay for about 15 hours of flying that month. All the other months were ok, I was about the middle of res guys and I live in base. I was also getting CA pay so it was enough to pay the bills. Commuting for res is something I wouldn't do.

I've never seen a Part 135 FO getting paid $18k a year either. Most Part 135 Charter guys I know live near their airport and hang out at home until they get a call.

I spent 2 years in 135, 1 in charter 1 in air ambulance. Neither was 24/7 or 365. And charter paid better than 1st year 121 FO. The air amb captain paid better than our Saab but not as much as the CRJ.