Reserve Question from an FNG
 

Realizing a 2 hour callout..... If someone is holding an AM reserve, at about what point in time can you start to make an assumption they won't be calling you? I know this is subjective but just looking for say.... if it's started at 3 am, whats your experience for getting that late call on reserve here?

I know there's a 2 hour window to get to the airport as well.

Thanks.

Kap

You need to answer the phone during the whole RAP. They could call at the end of your RAP to assign you for the next day.

They can typically use you for 15 hours from the start of the RAP. (8.E.5.a)

As far as when your safe for that day, take the time you need to get to the airport, time to prep for the flight, the block time for the shortest leg they could assign you, and 30 minutes post flight. That all has to fit within the max duty day for a reserve, which is usually limited to 15 hours.

So I usually figure 2:00 + 1:00 + 00:45 + 00:30. So 4:15 total, if your RAP starts at 03:05am, 6:05pm is the max duty, so they'd need to call you by 1:50pm to make that work.

They can DH you also past your 15hr day. I think up to 1 hr. Also they aren't assuming that you'll take 2 hrs to get to lounge plus 30 min to prepare plus 30 min to push plus 30 min debrief.
I'd say within 2 hrs left on rap you've got a chance you're not working that day but I have had then call me with 5 min left to tell me about an assignment for the next day which you need to answer.
As far as commuting home I usually called them and asked to be released slightly early to make flight. They'll usually do that.

Getting released early was something that didn't happen to me very often. In my experience, with the 3:05 AM reserve slots, if I didn't get called by the time I woke up I wasn't getting called. They usually know what's going on a bit ahead of time. I have had 03:06 phone calls though..... or 05:00. But the longer it goes past the first morning wave the less likely you're going out.

That said, as others mentioned, you need to be available during the entirety of your RAP.

Learn how to use CWA to prioritize your callout priority and see where you are on the list and check open time. There were a number of times I could see on the last day of my reserve sequence that I was 99.99% certain I wasn't getting used and I started driving home (a 3 hour drive) knowing I wasn't getting used and giving myself the ability to turn around if need be. The very minute I was no longer required to be available my stress levels dropped quite a bit!

This may not work as well on AM reserve, but if you're on PM reserve, keep an eye on the "crew on a flight' report for flights departing your base. Shows you if the flight is on time, if the crew has been notified of their assignment and whether or not they've checked in. There's still the chance of a sick/fatigue call, but the odds of you getting called start decreasing once everyone has checked in for the last round of flights departing your station.

Another reason your odds of getting called late on a PM are low because the PM RAP usually starts too early to really cover late night disasters. They'll typically reroute/JA someone who came on duty later to cover late nigh flying.

Yup. Almost pumpkined out while sitting at the gate before my 1 and only leg of the day...last flight out and we took off within 1 minute of my LWU time

As an AM Reserve, your chances of getting called for the current day decrease significantly at 11 AM when the PM Reserves go on call. I’ll second the “Crew on a flight” list as a good place to look for delayed flights and crew whom haven’t checked in.

And while Scheduling can expect you to be at the airport in under 2 hours, you are by no means required to do so. With that being said I would agree with 2pm ish timeframe of not being used for the current day. Also, they can only deadhead you 1 hour past the 15 hour limit during irregular ops, which is a very general term at this company.

And I will throw this out there: while the Reserve pay was fixed with this current contract the Reserve work rules are still severely lacking. If you can somehow not commute while on Reserve your QOL increases dramatically. I know, Captain Obvious..........

One more thing for FNG's on reserve.

If Scheduling calls you right at the start of your RAP for a trip that's supposed to leave in an hour, remember it's on you to know the contract. You are entitled to close-in parking, but unless Scheduling puts SWMP on your board, you're on the hook for making push and for parking, and you're not a bad boy for asking them to do that.

For example, if you're on PM reserve when Scheduling calls you at 1100 and tells you there's a flight on your board that leaves at 1300, tell them you'll do your best, and ask them for close-in parking. If you see SWMP on your board, that means Scheduling assumes responsibility for on-time push, and it also gets you reimbursed for parking during that pairing.

Remember, it's 2 hours to the airport property, not to push. To make it even simpler, anything less than 3 hours notice to push equals free parking if you ask Scheduling for it.

What RJS said above. And if that short call out trip shows up on your schedule the night before, do *not* acknowledge it. If you do, you buy it as is. Wait for the phone call, and ask for close-in parking.