wrong - you need to have an operational autopilot but it doesn’t need to be engaged - at least not according to FAR

You guys kind of missed the point of that sentence I think. But regardless, to the OPs original post, line awards for March just came out. With about 2.5 years as an FO in COS I got a 77 hr line with 18 days off. I bid for less than I normally do though, because March’s bid package was unusually low on locals and 2-days. With another 2 day to bring it up to 87 hours (target average this month) it would have been 16 days off. I generally fly mostly locals with some 2 days and maybe one 3 day a month. 14-16 days off so about as many days off as days at work. 3-6 nights sleeping in a hotel, but that doesn’t include nights I get home after the kids are in bed. I was at about 1.5-2 years seniority before I could hold a significant number of locals, but I still can’t hold nothing but locals if that’s a deal breaker for you. Of course, whether any of this is predictive of what will happen 2 years from now is anyone’s guess. Again I hope that helps.

In the spirit of DEN / COS...Can one volunteer/bid for either base? Let's say we hold Colorado Springs; and feel like picking up a line but nothing is available at Colorado Springs, can we look at Denver? Is this frowned upon? By operations? By the Pilot group?

You can pick up wherever you want.. tons of guys do it. SLC captain is senior. So FO’s that live in SLC upgrade to MSP/ORD and then pick up SLC trips...

How do you "pick up" SLC trips? Can you bid for lines outside your domicile?

You only bid for a line in your domicile. After the awards are posted you can try to modify your schedule. TRY being the key word. Picking up trips on days off, even in other domiciles, posting your own trips hoping someone picks it up, dropping a trip into open time if there is adequate reserve staffing (there almost never is). Additionally, if you get displaced off a trip and nothing is assigned in it's place you can pick up trips over the days and get paid for both.

Thanks for all the info. It's great when someone reads and answers questions instead of just telling you whatever they want!

I've been a duty-standing SAR pilot for 12 years now, will probably do it another 4-5 years before retiring. It's rewarding, yes, but doesn't excite me like it used to. I'm also ready for something safer: it seems like good pilots fly helicopters in to the ground nearly every month, and I have several friends who are good pilots that have passed away flying. EMS is definitely a good option, and would be a great fit if I can get a base in a location I'd like to live, but from a safety perspective I'm not excited about flying a helicopter single pilot. Gulf of Mexico flying is also considered, but that's even more boring than an airline gig, and with commute days I'd be looking at 16 away / 12 home forever.

I'm interested in the same question. Can I get an update? How doable are day turns and 2/3 day trips at Skywest, and which bases are the best for that?

I'm now deciding between Envoy and Skywest... The QOL (which I also define by the number of nights I get to spend at home) is way more important to me than pay. But I really don't want to go to ORD neither for Envoy nor for Skywest.

Thanks

If you wNt to be home every night, go to DEN ERJ and get in the training department..

This has to be a joke? Have you even seen Envoys proposed pay rates? Why anyone comes to this dump is beyond me anymore. We don't have anymore 1/2 day trips. Not unless you're the top 5% seniority anyway. It's just garbage min credit back to back 3 days (so, 6 days) and also mediocre 4 days. Youll be guranteed to work 90+ hours credit a month with only the minimum 11 days off. Go to Envoy and never look back. Only the wholly owned regionals with mainline backed funding will survive. Skywest is a dying model and management thus far has refused to adapt. We've been told by our own "representatives " that we need to "temper our expectations " for the next pay package coming up.