Hey all,

Can anybody shed some light on what a roster at American Eagle looks like? Number of days off, days grouped together, number of overnights. Is it possible to commute from the west coast?

regards

 

I wasn't sure what you meant by a Roster until you described what you were wondering about. They are called Lines at AE and most other places.

Lines vary widely depending on equipment, base, and seniority.

If I could describe a "typical" line, it might be like this: 4 days on (hence, 3 overnights), 3 days off. Repeat this cycle 4 times. So, an average line might have 12-14 days off per month.

Commutable? Well, from a major city to the East coast is possible and IS done by a number of people, but it takes a lot out of you eventually.

Personally, I commute to ORD from LAX and am not fond of it; to the East coast would be even less fun.

 

it will be a new animal with pbs.

 

like, 2 days off between trips

FTDT Regulations, 1500 rule attrition will create serious staffing issues, or at least that will be the excuse, for seriously awful lines once PBS kicks in.

 

Coach usually puts me in as the cleanup hitter. Can't complain.

 

Rosters is a term used for schedules at most foreign carriers.

 

We used it in the military. Had a list of officers. From the CO down.

 

Yep, sorry. Just shows how "not from around here" I am.

I am trying my hand at airline work here in the US for the first time having flown only in Asia and Australia before. I think I have the newest ATP in the country.....

Lines is what I was after.

Thanks for the input thus far.

I have actually used PBS before and found it to be valuable. Best roste....lines I have seen out of 5 different airlines.

But it depends on how the airline will implement it.

 

If you are thinking of heading over, you might want to know how reserve works - I think we have some of the better reserve rules but you decide that.

When you are on reserve, you have a monthly schedule with only 11 days off, the rest of your days are just "Reserve." The way a reserve day works is the day PRIOR to a reserve day, you do something called "proffering." You can look at a list of open flying ranging from a single turn, to full 4 day trips. You then list which, if any trips, you want. Then by 5PM, scheduling will go through the reserve list in seniority order and assign trips. Once your trip is confirmed at 5PM, you are untouchable till sign in - this makes it good for commuters. Pick up that trip that starts at 4 or 5 the next day, you have time to commute in.

If you do not get a trip you want (or do not list) you get what is called a Reserve Availability Period (or RAP). This is a 2 hour call out window that. We have 2, RAP1 which is from 4AM till 7PM and RAP2 which is 10AM to 1AM. During this time, they will call you out in seniority order with a minimum of 2 hours to sign in.

There is also airport standby - you are at the airport from 5:30AM to 1:30PM or 2:00p to 10:00pm. You can also be called out from a RAP (see above) to finish a standby if they had to use the standby, but no longer is it just an arbitrary 8 hour period - you can ONLY be called out to finish a standby. I HAVE been called out to sit standby for an hour and a half.

You can only have up to 1 thing added to you, but it could be anything. For instance, you could be called out from a RAP and given a turn. Then they can add a turn or an overnight - or they could add a full 4 day trip to you (assuming you are good for it).

As a person who lives in base and am near the top of the reserve list where staffing is OK - I never list trips and just get some sort of RAP. It means some days I get to sit at home and not get called. Some days you can look at the list and know that by a certain point you are completely free - this often works to your advantage. At the same time, sometimes sh!t hits the fan, and you get that lovely 4AM wake up call. It's a gamble but I would say I've come out on top more than the house.

Proffering definitely helps, especially with commuters but also having some semblance of control over things on reserve - you are not ALWAYS at the whim of the company. Just often

 

Snippercr

thanks very much for the info.

So does a new pilot get a reserve line each month with no trips assigned at all until seniority enables a move to a flying line or is reserve dispersed amongst regular trips throughout the month?

If so, how long does a flying line take to achieve and does it depend on base. Does a new pilot get a base choice?

Again, thanks for any input.