It's in TFP. But it really doesn't matter. That's just the multiplier.


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Thanks, ZB, for taking the time to put up a good gouge. Don't ever let me hear of anybody telling you that you "don't have the big picture."

I assume the numbers being tossed around are "trip pay", and that to get the hourly pay as posted on APC profile, use conversion factor ~ 0.87. That would translate the 6.5 daily minimum pay to ~ 5.5 hours.

 

Gotcha. Just confusing for outsiders.

 

Confusing for insiders too. Best bet is forgetting that there is a unit of time known as an "hour" and instead imagine a universe where the unit of time is "TFP"

The only time you really need to convert is during contract negotiations or if you are comparing pay with a buddy.

Here are some pay scales in TFP and converted to hourly.




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If you look at the truly senior lines in any base, there is a lot of variety. What will generally, as a rule, go senior are:
Turn lines (all single day trips)
Two days
Desirable 20-24 hour intl layovers (PUJ, AUA, SJD, LIR)
Weekdays

The turns and two day trips are usually bid to give away to another pilot so that the bidder can clear their board and fly premium (1.5x) low blocking open time instead. On the FO side they are often bid by Lance Captains (captain qualified FOs) who give them away and fly captain trips instead.

Other than that, I would reiterate what Zap said. There are a huge variety of trips here that fit within the Southwest productivity model. There aren't any 30 hour layovers or stand up red eyes (yet) but there is just about everything in between.

This job isn't some sort of paradise. There are many things that I would love to see changed, but the opportunity to either make a boatload of money or have a lot of days off exists here depending on what you want to do.

 

I'd also add that the conversion rate from TFP to hourly rates vary on each leg so those numbers posted on APC are a very, VERY conservative 'wag.' Out of curiosity (and boredom) in the past I've made the conversion on every leg I flew in a month, and without any rigs, overfly, 'soft pay' etc. involved, the true conversion from TFP to hourly rate is nine times out ten considerably higher than what's posted here on APC.

 

This is especially true with long stage lengths. The longer the distance, the more likely you are to get more tfp for less block.

 

Sorry. I don't buy it. Average days off at a major (at least at mine) is 15 off/28 days in the April bidpack. Average BLG is 75 hours. So you mean to tell me that your lines average 20 days off and credit 120? That's not what my buds at SWA show me. Their raw lines look like they average about 85-90 TFP and work about the same amount of days (13-17). I know... then they start their part-time job of schedule adjustment, which seems like it's a full time job sometimes. Always checking their phone, always trading trips. Even when they have a good schedule, with days off, they are always flying extra. The big question is "what do you block in a year?" That average line I was talking about (15 days off/75 CH) blocks about 38 hours. You guys like to say that you work hard but get more days off, but I just don't see it looking at what my friends' schedules look like. My I have a small population for my data. Four.

 

Hey, fwiw you may want to tell your friends to call SWAPA. Min days off here is 15 and 90tfp AND that is for a reserve (lowest initial credit with most working days).

Additionally, there is no way your "friends" are working 17 days with a credit of 85-90. If you work 17 days here my guess is the credit is somewhere in the 140-160tfp if not more.

I guess they were right, flying the back side of the clock can get to you...

Four?

 

Maybe you're right. I probably shouldn't have said "raw" lines. All I know is that they are always on their phones working at adjusting their schedule, and at the end of it, they are working the same if not more than I am for about the same (maybe more money) but a lot more block.

I don't wan to get into a you know what measuring contest, and I hope my post didn't come off like that. You guys are great, and you do work hard. My two best buds are SWA Captains and love (luv?) it there.

And I get what the OP is saying. The FedEx equivalent to SWA's "five legs a day" trope is "all FedEx guys do is fly at night and they all look like they're 80." I know it gets kind of old trying explain what it's really like and dispelling the suppositions.

Carry on...