MtnFlying

No, not about reserve time and and how long you'll be on reserve - think that's been beat to death already...and it's Sunday and I'm bored....

Question is about the mechanics of it and how you pack. When you're on ready reserve (or short call at home), do you pack like you're going to get called out for a 4 day trip and it's just a bonus if it's a shorter trip? Do each of the domiciles have dedicated OO crew rooms or a place to hang out during the wait at the airport? Secure place to store your stuff if you head out for food or to take a walk?

Last question for today...how big are each of the CRJ domiciles. Tracking you can see the seniority via the website when it's updated.

Thanks!

threeighteen

You pack like it's a 5 day trip with the 4th night being a "baggage claim camping trip" because Crew Support is going to leave you stranded out of base without a hotel room on your last day.

Yes, the domiciles have places like this, however, some aren't accessible unless you're based at that domicile, some really are no more than a glorified closet to store your bag, and some hubs that you might see a lot of "airport appreciation time" at such as IAD do not have any place to store a bag.

some have several hundreds of pilots, some don't even have fifty pilots.

Allegheny

What the poster above says, and then.

1. Reserve Sucks -

2. Embrace the suck, learn to play the game; learn the system. At first you will not get as much home time as you think but then you can learn how the airline actually works and make it work better for you.

3. How are reserves allocated and used? Who are the other guys in your seniority at the base, who are on reserve? You should all be talking and have each others email and phone. Are you working under a collective bargaining agreement? Even if you are a new hire, the company may have to use specific procedures in calling reserves.

4. Does the company dead-head reserves or are they required to use in base
reserves first by contract.

5. Watch out for bad weather systems, it causes commuters to not make it into base and that means your phone starts ringing.

Reserve rules vary and are intricate, as are line holder scheduling rules. It's a learning curve, embrace the suck at first and don't get on the **** list right from the start.

Utah

Always bring your overnight bag. Even if they call you for just a round trip. And bring some food, it might be really tough to get something to eat at times.

MtnFlying

Meh, there are worse things out there other than sitting on reserve duty. I'll be fine...

It would definitely suck if I was a commuter, but the plan is to move to whatever base we get. We are hoping it's Denver or Chicago coming out of training, possibly SLC or Dallas, but understand the DFW base is more senior at this time for FO's.

Do they go over all of this during Indoc?

Utah

During Indoc? I doubt it. But it's been so long for me I have no idea. What you can do, once you have access to the SkyWest Online website is use several different resources to give you an idea what's going on. #1 the seniority list. You can pull up each domicile and each position to look at staffing and what seniority numbers are there. #2 the PBS section. Under bid information it shows how many regular and reserve lines are at each domicile/position. The bid transparency section also shows what sort of lines everyone is holding, and(once you have some) where your seniority would fall in that base/position. You can also see the pairings for each domicile there. #3, the standing bid list. You can see who has a bid in for each domicile, etc... And what has been awarded. And #4 the Domicile Vacancy Report which is usually updated around the 20th of the month, which will show staffing/openings at each domicile. And it's really only a rough estimate. What isn't shown are positions that need to be filled when someone moves out for whatever reason. Bids are closed and processed at the end of every month.

The SAPA website also has some stuff.

It's a really good idea to read through the Pilot Policy Manual as well. I don't think they spend much time on it during training. SAPA and another pilot have put out a reserve survival guide with a bunch of useful info also.

MtnFlying

Thank you! Great info and I'll do all that once I have access. Still to far out from training, but it'll be here before I know it. This year has flown by, so the last few months will probably go by just as quick.

Are those last few items open source? Didn't see anything with a quick search so my assumption is you need to be in the system first.

herewego

Understanding reserve is something that takes months to understand. It is only something that can be learned from living the dream, which with reserve can quickly turn into a nightmare.
The basic info you'll get from your check airman and in discussions during breaks that you initiate, but nothing is formally taught.
Know that your reserve shift (RAP or Reserve Availability Period) is actually a time you must be able to answer the phone or acknowledge a call out within 10 minutes, to be at the airplane within two hours (short call). It is not the only time you may be required to fly. you can be on a 5AM-5PM call out and get called to fly until 11PM on day 1 then return to base at 2AM on the morning after your last RAP. They can not force you to be to the plane in less than 2 hours (short call), but will try to convince you to do so. NEVER say you will be there in less than two hours, Let me repeat, NEVER say you will be there in less than two hours. you can say "I'll get there as soon as possible, but I need my full two hours."
An AM reserve shift does not mean you will fly only day legs, and a PM reserve can be called at 8:59PM to show at 7AM the next morning to do day flying.
There is much more in the Reserve Survival Guide that is in the SAPA Section on the company issued iPad you will get in training. Don't worry about that until you are through with IOE. Sure you can peruse it when you're bored waiting for IOE, but it's not testable, it's not relevant to operating the plane, and it should be the last thing to waste brain cells on until you're done with training.

KirillTheThrill

As of right now you will get Denver, fastest upgrade as well.

MtnFlying

That would work, but the question is will that still be accurate in December/January....