Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Kazansky
As a Houston resident, XJT seems like a great place (especially being able to live on base).
This brings up 2 questions:
1) I know this is a touchy subject... but what are yall's thoughts on upgrade time with base in IAH? I'm considering Skywest or Envoy to upgrade quicker than the current 9 year upgrades (at the sacrifice of commuting)
2) a family friend is a 15-yr FO at Delta and lives on base so he can pick up last minute trips that are 1/5, double, and even sometimes triple pay.... is that common at the regionals? or would I already be flying at the legal limit (because this could significantly change one's take home pay)
thanks yall!
1. The CPP program will hopefully begin to reduce upgrade time. Some of the most senior guys will leave, go to UAL, open up slots for mor junior guys. Once we get through about 100-150 guys, upgrade times will probably be closer to 4-5 years tops. If we keep a healthy movement after that, it will continue to drop. Obviously this depends on fleet size staying constant and contracts getting renewed etc... Also SKW is not the best choice of you're thinking IAH/not commuting. Lots of shrinkage and poor line quality lately, so SKW would definetly have to be a commute as well.
2. We used to see 200% premium pay, now 150% premium pay is common, but not an every day occurance, staffing levels aren't that bad, yet. Living in base allows you the most flexibility when it comes to picking up premium flying. I can tell you as a commuter, if they announce 150% pay for flying tomorrow, I'm not jumping up and down to sign up. As far as whether you are legal or not, that's just going to depend on how much you fly. Some guys manage to credit over 110+ hours a month with soft time, premium pay, and a good understanding of the work rules.