American Eagle Reserve Situation
 

Yes, I did a search, and the most recent thread on this dedicated subject is 5 years old. So..as a potential new hire (waiting for background check to finish), what is the most recent lowdown on AE reserve rules, good/bad domiciles, etc...

I'm going on 2 years on reserve here, however RSV times should drop dramatically once people leave. That being said its not 100% bad all the time. On the days you work you'll be assigned 1 of 3 possible things: an actual trip, airport standby, or a two hour call out starting at either 4am or 10am (RAP). The day before you work you'll proffer (bid) for any of the above and is awarded based on seniority. If you want fly go to ORD or DFW. NY and MIA rsvs don't fly as often. That's essentially a brief over view.

New York (JFK/LGA) is a 3 hour callout on RAP (Reserve Availability Period). And also the best staffed it seems. I've had no trouble swapping or dropping a tonnn of days.

You guys can drop reserve days? daaaamn...

How's the QOL on reserve for someone living/based in DFW? If you proffer for airport standby can you be home many nights in between reserve days? Or will you typically end up being gone most nights?

Most jr gets AR all month 8hr shift

The current reserve situation will not last. I did reserve for a long time at Eagle, during short staffed periods. I almost quit. It was gawd awful and sure to experience another cycle of that soon.

Do they fly very much?

Hit \ miss if they can't get a reg reserve pilot with in 2 hrs they will use u .

I was junior guy in DFW this month. I'll probably finish with 50 hours of actual flying.

Thanks for the info. How many nights did you spend away from base?

...don't come here, reapply elsewhere while you have not invested any of your time at eagle. read the latest union letter in regards to management proposal

I'm not sure how many nights. Maybe 8. Total time away from base so far, excluding ready reserve at the airport, probably about 110 hrs.

If you live in base, reserve is not terrible. In fact if you do not care about going over guarantee, it tends to be more of a part time job. I usually fly 30-45 hours a month with the "good" months being as low as 9 and the "bad" months being up to 60. I find I am home more nights on reserve than I would with a 4 day trip line and 15 days off a month. Last month was "extra" good in that I didn't spend a single night in a hotel, got called all for turns or didnt get called at all. This all changes with staffing though.

The ability to "proffer" offers a certain level of control not available at other airlines. Although if you are junior, you'll rarely get what you want.

People say that time on reserve "should" drop but never believe anything that "should" happen at the airlines, only what IS happening.

FYI, this is only FO side I am talking about. CA's are being abused daily and continuously. They usually start the day with 0 reserve captains and 10 unstaffed trips. I've had several legs cancel due to no captains.

As a first year FO you will want to live on pbj and get as much per-diem on overnights as possible to make up for low pay (if you need the dough, that is). You don't get any doing Ready RSV. It can be around $500 extra in your paycheck. Oh, and crew sched will like you better (not). I know per-diem is for food and not income but you do what you have to do to get started.

Actually you do get per diem when on a RR shift. As for rsv times I've been here 2 years and 4 months and still on rsv however that's partly because I'm on the CRJ which is generally more senior. I would have a line in most ERJ bases.

Eagle reserve isn't too bad living in base. It's actually a better system than the mainline AA side.
DFW FOs currently overstaffed and not flying much. Those things are always fluid and can/will change.
Personally I hated reserve for the most part. I just like to know what I'm doing.
It's lower pay too. I wouldn't base my decision on what reserve is like though.
Not sure if I would come to Eagle right now. The airline is going to shrink a lot.. there will be a lot of people leaving for AA and other airlines but it's just too hard to tell what the future here holds.

Are you able to fly on your "days off" and get extra credit?

Yes, if OT is unblocked which rarely is or if is, you do not have the day off. I've been interested in trying to pick up some OT for the past few months. It's never unblocked on a day off, or if it is creates a 7 day conflict or nothing that would work (IE only 3 day trips open and I only have 2 days off). OT on reserve is pretty difficult (but not impossible).

You do realize you can pick up partial trips for OT.

I think picking up OT will keep you in rsv longer. But do what you got to do to pay rent.

It has been my observation (can't say experience because I've been a nAAtive for so long they'll be forcing me out soon)... So, my observation of decades has been that when it comes to regionals; don't chase or exclude a company solely on their current state.
For example; we all know there actually really is a pilot shortage this time. It will only be felt at the regional levels. So, upgrade times now will be mostly irrelevant soon.... Because they'll all be quick as majors and nationals strip regionals if their Captains and senior FO's. movement will be even faster at the few wholly owned's that have flow through agreements... So target those jobs first. Therefore, compensation and work rules become very important. The best advice to making that job tolerable would be to live in base.
So pick something close to home as the primary focus... for now.

Hahaha fast upgrade times. Will never be such a thing again it seems.