Shuttle Reserve
 

Anybody can spread some light on reserve life on the S5 cert. at Republic? I'm sure it isn't the greatest QOL, but I would like to get some insight on their scheduling practices etc etc

thanks!

Through some simple searching you will find what you need...

Highlights:

Worst in industry
90minute call out.
Availability period is 3am-3pm

On the plus side, they can't touch your days off and there is no junior manning.

That said, days off are not necessarily awarded in accordance with seniority. For example; you are number 1 on reserve and you don't get the first weekend of the month off, but the number 2 guy gets it because it would set you up for a sequence of days on that is not useful to the company.

Also be prepared for the 3am wakeup call to put you back on rest for a 2:30pm showtime to have you work well into the night.

Full disclosure, I'm at YX (republic), but it is all the same contract.

Tendencies include but are not limited to:

-Only staff 3-3 res, so when something comes up last minute during the day, schedulers can call you to put you back on "rest" to work late into the day...(essentially extending your day into the wee hours of the night)
-not call in reverse order of seniority in violation of CBA (they call based in the name of reserve conservation)
-will abuse reserves and keep them out of base for the max allowed days
-will call on days off to rope you into a trip outside of your reserve window to circumvent the rule that requires 24 hour notice of res schedule change.
-will blow up your last day of reserve due to lack of rest protection in the name of saving other valuable reserves
-no dropping or swapping of reserve days unless you swap with open time
-abuse will continue until 74.8 hours is achieved
-Dead heading everywhere to plug the hole to double DH back to base

Essentially there are more protections using the FAR's than our CBA. Hope that helps....if anyone else thinks I missed anything please help add to the S5 play book. Oh...and learn who the idiots are. Backrash to name one. Hopefully with all the movement you won't be subjected to reserve as long as I have.

90 min. Callout for a 45 min show time before departure.

No practical way of knowing who else is on reserve the same day as you, so hard to keep track if they are assigning flying in inverse seniority. Most of the time they assign whatever they feel is best for the company.

Greater of 4 hours credit or block when called out for a trip.

Reserve period is from 3am to 3pm. You cannot bid anything else. When they need coverage they will change your reserve to 10am to 10pm. They can't do this within 24 hours of your reserve period starting.

On last day of reserve before a day off you may ask to be released 4 hours early. Depending on the scheduler and how they feel, you may be released or you may not.

With that said, my experience as a reserve has been mostly positive. I'm a commuter so I'm interested in flying and getting overnights to not sit in a crash pad.

Unlike my previous airline, this place doesn't staff properly so as a reserve I end up flying almost every single day on reserve. Without even asking for flying. I broke guarantee 4 out of the last 5 months without even trying to. That said, you should budget on guarantee, just in case.

Additionally, because they don't staff properly, I found that I always knew at least a day in advance of what and where I was flying. I only had to do the 90 minute call out on average once a month.

As far as the last day, I was refused early release as I was the only reserve available in base more often than I was released early. However, due to the 3am to 3pm reserve, I was still able to get home that night. Sometimes you get assigned a trip on your last day that gets back to base late, so you get stuck one more night and commute on your day off. Fun.

Finally, this place only seems to keep between 3 to 15 reserves in base a month. For example in November 2012 out of 75 FO in LGA, there were 4 reserves. December 2012 there were 5 reserves. January 2013 there were 7 reserves. February 2013 we have a whopping 12 reserves! With the movement expected from the recent announcement, you won't sit reserve at S5 for more than a few months as senior FOs upgrade. It varies by base, ATL is most senior (small base). CMH has the most junior lineholders followed by LGA and IND. ORD the junior lineholder is a 2011 hire.

Nobody in 121 has to do this BS anymore (if you don't want to). This is a clear fatigue risk since in keeping with your professional obligations you adjusted your sleep cycle to support the 0300-1500 duty window since that was your assigned schedule.

Call in fatigued wherever you happen to be at around 1900.

You may THINK the company can get away with this crap, but after Colgan the FAA is all over fatigue especially at regionals. Do an ASAP/ASRS every time you call in fatigued...the FAA pays attention.

If you're getting pressure about making fatigue calls, drop a dime to the POI.

Year 6 of longevity (FO). I'm back on RSV this month. I fully expect to deadhead a minimum of 25 hours, I'll probably fly 30 hours.

My first RSV day in the last 6 months and they are already assigning a FAR illegal trip for me tomorrow. I expect my phone to be blowing up here in a few minutes and will likely get 5-10 calls today on my day off.

This is, by far, the worst part of our CBA, if you are on RSV, you can expect to be involved in company business all but a few days a month, as they'll call you on your days off EVERY week.

On the upside, if you are called out, it counts 4 hours towards guarantee. On the downside, you will almost never break guarantee, unless you use your days off to pick up open-time. The last time I broke guarantee, a mysterious accounting error prevented me getting paid for the time. Still not corrected 8 months later.

No one on RSV "enjoys" it, you are really abused and your time is wasted. I would avoid RSV here at (nearly) all costs.

One guy I know got this last week...DHD from DEN-LAS Limo from LAS-IFP, Overnight, then fly one leg, overnight, limo 4 hours to another Podunk RAH base, overnight, sit out of base RSV for 10 hours, double deadhead home. This is happening almost every day now that we have this charter stuff on the Republic side. Four days, one leg. I frequently get the four days 3 legs, but this is a new low.

Not to call out people, this type of attitude is what scheduling preys on, and uses to their advantage. They know that you would rather be getting an overnight hotel rather than staying in the crash pad. So if it means setting up a pairing that is outside someone's res schedule they will do it or making you work something suspect, so be it. It is creating a culture of acceptance contrary to what little CBA we have to protect us. It has a damaging affect on new people coming thru the door, and SC will chalk it up to past practices.

Just like the "put back on rest" deal. We have fought hard here to put that one on ice even though we lost the arbitration on that case with the company. Until people start standing up to CS we will still have them calling us on our day's off to do crap that will end up screwing the next guy. It is a collective effort. There are no "positive" experiences at this company on reserve. Sorry to say.:mad:

Dont answer your phone on your day off.

Thanks for assuming I accept assignments that are illegal per the CBA. I do not. However, at my last company you would barely fly on reserve. Additionally, there is absolutely nothing worse than Hot Reserve for 5 days in a row.

I also have not yet experienced the call and put to rest at Shuttle. I hear scheduling here is much nicer than Republic or Chautauqua.