Out and back ??
 

How many of you guys that live in base are out and back the same day and if so how long is your day from start to finish? Or is it a few day trip going different places every time? I am guessing that this all depends on seniority and what airline you are at. Just wondering for example if you fly for Air Wisconsin out of ORF do you leave orf go to X, Y, and Z then come back and park the plane at ORF?

you will almost always be on multi-day trips. Possibly some day trips out there, but most will be pretty tough 12+ hours. Very rare though. If you want to be home as many days as possible, plan on highspeeds (if they're still around after August-rest rules) or 2 day trips out of domicile if you live there.

What are highspeeds? Thanks for the reply

Its a term for Continuous Duty Overnights. You basically work third shift. You fly the last flight of the night to an outstation, go sit at a hotel for a couple of hours and then fly the first flight back in the morning.

to answer your question without really answering it.......

When I first started with my airline it was mostly 4 day trips. Then it became nothing but 2 weeks of 1 day trips a month followerd by 2 weeks of highspeeds/cdo's. That lasted about a year or so. Then it was 2-2 day trips back to back. Then it was mostly 4 day trips. Then back to 2 -2 day trips. Now we are back to mostly 4 day trips with a handful of 3 days and a sprinkling of 2 day trips and CDO's......that is for my base at least.

so there really is no set answer...

At Colgan on the Dash 8 in Newark, 20% of all the trips are day trips. Followed by 21% continuous duty overnights, 49% 4 days, 6% 3 days and 4% 2 day trips.

I flew day trips last week (I am a commuter and hate them). They were long days worth decent money. Show at 0930 or so and fly a round trip somewhere then sit for 3 hours which turns into 4+ and then do another turn, get delayed trying to get back and end around 2300 or so. Scheduled they would have been done at 2130 for a 12 hour day.

Last Updated May 18, 2011 16:35:38 EDT
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Block 80.27
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YTD 356.33
Days Off 18


Thats my schedule for this Month.
I bid 2 out of 45 and live in base.

about half the trips are Out and backs 9 hours of duty 6+ of flying.
The other a 4 leg 6+ of flying with 11 hours of duty

I live in base and about 3 years ago I was doing mostly local trips that showed around 7 to 8 am and finished around 2 to 4 pm with 2 to 4 legs a day. I did this long enough that my overnight bag actually got dusty! I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty good except for sitting in rush hour traffic every day. But I was home so much that my wife started asking me when I was going to go on a trip.(I guess she missed her boyfriend) Even major airline guys in the jumpseat would see my schedule and think it was pretty good. THEN the economy took a dump, the flying decreased and trips changed. Now most local trips start around 10 am and get done around 7 to 9 pm with 4 to 6 legs. Not really worth it if you ask me so I do mostly two day trips with an occasional local trip.

9K GUM ops all flights are out and back 0905 show 2220 sign out

CDO's are the devil !!!!!! Or highspeeds , call them what you want they are a sh*t show no matter how you look at it

Just started reserve at Air Wisconsin. Mostly out and backs so far.

Back at Comair in the earlier 2000's I lived in base and could pick almost anything from a month of out-n-backs to 4 day trips...I liked doing 2+2...

Best feeling in the world not having to pack a suitcase, riding motorcycle to work, parking in long term across for trailer and getting home a few hours later.....

Only bad part was having M.Roberts chase ya around for the stupid hat more often outside the turnstiles(sp?)....

Can anyone "easily" explain the bid system to me or is it a long discussion?

Is there a web site that has all the available flights for next month and you check off what you want to fly? Does it roll down with the senior guy bidding one day, then the next senior guy the next etc... or can someone senior to you go in an bump you after you bid? Just wondering how it works.

Basic idea of how it works here is a system we have called "line bidding"

We get somewhere around the first or second week of each month a "bid packet" which will have somewhere around 100 pre-built lines. Each line is made up of trips or pairings or whatever you want to call them. After the lines are the "pairings" or what each pairing actually is. In the lines you will see something like N1234. If you scroll down and find N1234 it will tell you exactly what that means, such as a 4 day with overnights in X, Y and Z and it starts at this time and ends at that time.

All the lines tell you is which days you will work, how many days off, how many hours away from base, how much you will fly and what it will pay you. It is the pairings below that tells you exactly what it is.

We have until around the 15th or so of each month to make our choices and arrange those lines in order of how we would like it to turn out.

As a new guy you can assure nothing. You will of course make all your choices like everyone else but will end up with whatever nobody wanted by the time they reach your seniority. As a junior pilot you will have no control over what you fly each month and it will usually be reserve.

If you are number one, you simply look at the lines, pick out exactly what you want and bid for it. You are guaranteed that line being number 1. It gets trickier as you work down the seniority.

So you don't bid individual flights/days but more of a package of flights? Are these packages of flights scheduled for the week/month? So what if you wanted a certain day off? Is it more of a put in for it and hope for the best? Just trying to get my head around how it all works. I guess unless you are number one on the list there really is no knowing for sure till you get it.

Correct, unless you are relatively senior there is no way of knowing or guaranteeing any days off.

You bid for an entire month the month in advance. Always hope for the best, prepare for the worst. If it is a weekday off you are looking for you can frontload your bids by bidding only lines that have that certain day off. If you are lucky there will be 30 lines with that day off and you are say, number 30 in base. If that were the case you could at least guarantee that day off. If you are junior and its a weekend it is next to impossible to get it off.

As a junior pilot there is no planning of days off per week or certain days off. You will get whatever the company gives you.

C5
 

At C5 in CLE it is mostly 3 And 4 day trips. Most trips start before 9 AM on the first day and generally end after 7 PM on the last day. A typical scenario would be a 4 day with a 14.5 or 15 hour scheduled duty day the first day, 2 really light days of only 9 or 10 hour duty days ending with an 8 hour 10 minute overnight for the last night and a 14.5 to 15 hour duty day with from 7. 7.95 hours scheduled flying for the last day....You should come here...its great!