Question for reserve pilots...
 

Hey guys,

Can you commute and still work reserve? I ask becuase I noticed that some airlines want you to report for work in a short amount of time, how is this possible if you dont live where your based??

Crash pad.....

Commuting on reserve is hard; I’m not going to lie. I use to work for Mesa out of CLT on the erj145 and lived in San Diego. Just the way Mesa works on screwing you over I happened to be on reserve for most of my 22-month stint with them. At Mesa it’s 13 28-day bids for each bid on reserve you get 8 days off, not much. Usually 5-6 days on with 2-3 off. What I would do on day 6 call crew tracking and asked to be released on the last flight out to the west either PHX or LAS, and do a two leg commute home arriving around 10pm. Then have 2 full days off at home when I had 3 days off dew to having to catch the red-eye out of SAN getting into CLT at 6 a.m. for my R1 12:00pm reserve shift. It’s doable but highly stressful and straining not for the faint of heart, that is a 5-8hr commute to work. But family is worth every once of frustration that I carried. Recommend getting a SkyGuide cost about 100 bucks a year but gives you every flight out of the U.S. and to all major airports internationally, like a magazine get a new one every month. Best of luck! And hope you have CASS…

Reserve at XJT
 

At Express Jet, we had two types of reserve, long and short call. Short call would be impossible to commute to, as it was a two hour call out, so you have to either live in base or have a crash pad. Long call is a 12-hour call out designed for commuters. The long calls are the first called, but at least you can spend your reserve days not used (if you get any) at home.

Commuting On Reserve
 

I did it for 5 months and it was when ASA was not using their reserve FO's. I sat around all day; gym only used up 2 hours. I personally did not care for it. Maybe there is something to it or a little luck but I bid my golden days off as Fri-Mon and and I had every weekend off. Then there is the hassle of commuting home on the weekend; sometimes easy and sometimes tough; get the jumpseat when I can. Good Luck. :D

Everything is relative, and your experience on long call reserve may have been different than mine when I bid it. It was commuter friendly on day 1 and day 5 only, the middle 3 days were a bear.

Example: Day 1, arc sit from 1700-2200, don't fly.
Get called at the end of the arc sit for a 10:15 show day trip the next day that ends at 1800.
Fly the day trip, scheduling calls just before duty off at 18:00 to inform me of a 2 day trip the next day with a 06:15 show time.

In both cases sheduling met the 12 hour notification as well as giving me the 11 hours domicile rest.

Still needed a crash pad, it wasn't really designed for commuters. All it is is a 12 hour notification, you are on 24 hour call.

Your mileage may vary.

sorry
 

back when i was on reserve, i was fortunate enough to a.) be cleveland based and b.) get several days off... now, we're so short staffed i think everyone on reserve is getting used

Don't commute on reserve. it blows

For the sake of your sanity
 

Commuting sucks! For the sake of your sanity, your marriage, you life, your happiness, and your overall pleasure of your job, try not to commute!

I cannot AGREE MORE! Regional airline life is about 4 days on and 3 days off, most of the time. Yes you can get schedules that will allow you to commute safely in in the morning and leave in the afternoon of the fourth day, but typically those go more senior. Trying to commute will cost you at least one to 1 1/2 days of your off time, (unless you have a very short commute), leaving you with almost no time at home.

I know one of the big attractions to an airline life and job is being able to "live where you want". And maybe at the major's you can still do that. But at the regionals, with our schedules, it really hurts to commute. It's much more like any other professional first job out of college. If you are a lawyer or doctor or IT professional or what ever, you will move to the city or town you are employed in.

I could not believe the change in my QOL when I moved to my base. I worked ten years in corporate America and never saw three days off in a row unless it was a holiday. Now I get it every week...usually three and 1/2 days off.