Taking Time Off
 

I have found many reasons to leave my desk job and make the jump to the regionals. One benefit that will be sorely lost is paid time off for the holidays and four weeks paid vacation.

I imagine each regional has its nuances for taking time off, but how has it been for you requesting time off? Should I plan to kiss it good-bye for a while? Would it be realistic to plan a week with the family after 9-12 months?

Thank you.

Republic has 2 weeks paid vacation for your first year. Your paid days off accrual increases slightly each year. Vacations are bid twice a year for the next six months. So like everything else, your seniority will determine how likely you are to get vacation on the week(s) that you desire. Other than that, we have golden days off (GDOs). These are basically a mechanism to lock in a group of three days off before the regular month bid is run. You can use them twice a year. They don't get you additional days off that month, they just make it much easier to get a few days off that you really want. Between GDOs and regular days off, I was able to string together a week-long stretch of time off without using vacation last year. That was with about six months on property.

I plan on taking at least 7-10 days off in a row every month without touching my vacation time. The vacations are saved for summer where I can take 15+ days off in a row.

A good contract with good schedule flexibility will let you do that.

Awesome. But can a 3-month FO do that?

In DAY and CVG you can do that about 3 months after finishing IOE. Possibly sooner if not as soon as finishing IOE with as much hiring as we are doing now. CLT could take closer to 6 months.

Ive been with my regional for 2 years and Ive had a total of 4 days vacation.

Working for Envoy, living in base and bidding reserve can eventually get you lots of time at home. Reserve utilization is done in reverse seniority order, which enables senior people to sit at home A LOT. Granted you have to show up at the airport at minimum 2 hours after receiving a call.

Why are you still at Mesa then ?😆😅😆😄😃😂😁😀😆😅😄😃😂😁

OP, this is a very difficult question for anyone to answer here..every airline is different, it's all based off seniority/contract...

I'm at RAH, and I can tell you, I'm home more than I'm gone. I'm sitting reserve in Pittsburgh and flew only 5 days last month, but usually I fly a little more than that. If I wanted a line, I would be gone a lot more obviously.

What WILL change is the fact that you don't know your schedule more than a month in advance which makes it difficult to plan some life events..you can obviously bid the days you want off but nothing is guaranteed especially when you're junior. As for vacations, at my company you get 2 weeks but you have to take the full 7 days at a time twice a year-you can't split your vacation days up really and the dates you request are all based on what you can hold seniority wise.

Overall, between my experience and my friends at other airlines, you should have more free time than someone with a 9-5 m-f job, and for the most part people that don't are choosing to work extra. Do I get burned out some months, yes, but I know I have a lot better schedule than someone that sits in a cubicle all week-even if I had a line. Usually given 2-4 days off at a time, and those are your full days off-don't have to bring work home with you! Good luck!

I have some responsibilities that require a days travel each way, what should I look for in a contract to make the situation tenable? I probably need to make a trip once every three months, 5 days total may be doable, 7 - 10 would be magic... short notice and flexibility is fine, but trips are too far to cut short. Won't be forever.