The commuter thread
04-21-2023 | 11:58 AM
#141
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,553
Likes: 396
Unpopular opinion, but....
As someone who used to elitt my entire line, I can tell you that if you're willing to put some effort into it, you can have a great schedule with just about any line. Obviously your starting
point matters, and it is much easier to deal with a 12 day line of weekday stuff than it is to deal with 4 days, weekends, and wicked overlap, but anyone who complains about working every weekend is either on reserve or isn't trying hard enough.
Linetuner is your friend. Yeah, it takes maybe 10 minutes every month to set up and you may get some spurious alerts and get frustrated from time to time, but you can sculpt your schedule into something much better than what you bid.
Elitt isn't perfect, but it is the greatest tool you have to increase your quality of life and or pay.
As someone who used to elitt my entire line, I can tell you that if you're willing to put some effort into it, you can have a great schedule with just about any line. Obviously your starting
point matters, and it is much easier to deal with a 12 day line of weekday stuff than it is to deal with 4 days, weekends, and wicked overlap, but anyone who complains about working every weekend is either on reserve or isn't trying hard enough.
Linetuner is your friend. Yeah, it takes maybe 10 minutes every month to set up and you may get some spurious alerts and get frustrated from time to time, but you can sculpt your schedule into something much better than what you bid.
Elitt isn't perfect, but it is the greatest tool you have to increase your quality of life and or pay.
04-21-2023 | 09:14 PM
#142
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,033
Likes: 0
Unpopular opinion, but....
As someone who used to elitt my entire line, I can tell you that if you're willing to put some effort into it, you can have a great schedule with just about any line. Obviously your starting
point matters, and it is much easier to deal with a 12 day line of weekday stuff than it is to deal with 4 days, weekends, and wicked overlap, but anyone who complains about working every weekend is either on reserve or isn't trying hard enough.
Linetuner is your friend. Yeah, it takes maybe 10 minutes every month to set up and you may get some spurious alerts and get frustrated from time to time, but you can sculpt your schedule into something much better than what you bid.
Elitt isn't perfect, but it is the greatest tool you have to increase your quality of life and or pay.
As someone who used to elitt my entire line, I can tell you that if you're willing to put some effort into it, you can have a great schedule with just about any line. Obviously your starting
point matters, and it is much easier to deal with a 12 day line of weekday stuff than it is to deal with 4 days, weekends, and wicked overlap, but anyone who complains about working every weekend is either on reserve or isn't trying hard enough.
Linetuner is your friend. Yeah, it takes maybe 10 minutes every month to set up and you may get some spurious alerts and get frustrated from time to time, but you can sculpt your schedule into something much better than what you bid.
Elitt isn't perfect, but it is the greatest tool you have to increase your quality of life and or pay.
The biggest issue limiting flexibility are DTC (red and yellow) days.
Typically, every single Friday and Saturday will be red at the opening, and if not, will be in short order. Thursdays and Sundays also often go red, but will just as often go positive later. Avoiding Friday and Saturday starts like the plague will go a long way in giving you more flexibility.
The second issue that affects flexibility is number of workdays on your board. The less you have to begin with, the more flexibility you'll have to move stuff around and rebuild an acceptable line either through open time or TTGA. I rarely even look at individual trips when bidding my monthly lines.
I look for lines with the fewest weekday workdays, in the shortest increments (11 or 12 day, weekday turn lines are my #1 choice but I rarely get them). I also look at month to month overlap, which, when done right, are a good way to get a few days pulled from the next month. The scheds software is getting better at limiting end of month overlap lines though, at least in the 11-13 day lines, but 3-4 day overlap trips are typically one of my first targets in ELITT. I put all or most of my trips into giveaway every month, which, if I get rid of a few, lets me cherry pick what little PM premium open time pops up, and if that doesn't work, I'll pick up easy weekday trips from giveaway.
Obviously, seniority plays a big part in this stuff, but even if you're junior it doesn't hurt to start messing around with ELITT and TTGA.
04-22-2023 | 02:55 PM
#143
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,553
Likes: 396
I agree completely. ELITT is a great tool if you put a little effort into it, although it was FAR better before SWApA caved to the company and DTC became a thing.
The biggest issue limiting flexibility are DTC (red and yellow) days.
Typically, every single Friday and Saturday will be red at the opening, and if not, will be in short order. Thursdays and Sundays also often go red, but will just as often go positive later. Avoiding Friday and Saturday starts like the plague will go a long way in giving you more flexibility.
The second issue that affects flexibility is number of workdays on your board. The less you have to begin with, the more flexibility you'll have to move stuff around and rebuild an acceptable line either through open time or TTGA. I rarely even look at individual trips when bidding my monthly lines.
I look for lines with the fewest weekday workdays, in the shortest increments (11 or 12 day, weekday turn lines are my #1 choice but I rarely get them). I also look at month to month overlap, which, when done right, are a good way to get a few days pulled from the next month. The scheds software is getting better at limiting end of month overlap lines though, at least in the 11-13 day lines, but 3-4 day overlap trips are typically one of my first targets in ELITT. I put all or most of my trips into giveaway every month, which, if I get rid of a few, lets me cherry pick what little PM premium open time pops up, and if that doesn't work, I'll pick up easy weekday trips from giveaway.
Obviously, seniority plays a big part in this stuff, but even if you're junior it doesn't hurt to start messing around with ELITT and TTGA.
The biggest issue limiting flexibility are DTC (red and yellow) days.
Typically, every single Friday and Saturday will be red at the opening, and if not, will be in short order. Thursdays and Sundays also often go red, but will just as often go positive later. Avoiding Friday and Saturday starts like the plague will go a long way in giving you more flexibility.
The second issue that affects flexibility is number of workdays on your board. The less you have to begin with, the more flexibility you'll have to move stuff around and rebuild an acceptable line either through open time or TTGA. I rarely even look at individual trips when bidding my monthly lines.
I look for lines with the fewest weekday workdays, in the shortest increments (11 or 12 day, weekday turn lines are my #1 choice but I rarely get them). I also look at month to month overlap, which, when done right, are a good way to get a few days pulled from the next month. The scheds software is getting better at limiting end of month overlap lines though, at least in the 11-13 day lines, but 3-4 day overlap trips are typically one of my first targets in ELITT. I put all or most of my trips into giveaway every month, which, if I get rid of a few, lets me cherry pick what little PM premium open time pops up, and if that doesn't work, I'll pick up easy weekday trips from giveaway.
Obviously, seniority plays a big part in this stuff, but even if you're junior it doesn't hurt to start messing around with ELITT and TTGA.
04-23-2023 | 07:20 AM
#144
On Reserve
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 47
Likes: 7
From: *NO relief on scope*
I did a long drive commute for 18 years. After (ironically), 117 changed the rules I often built 6 day blocks (typically 3+3 but occasionally 4+2). Before that changed, it was nearly impossible to do with our schedules.
I would bid 3 days with Sunday or Monday starts (not always easy without some seniority horsepower), and then ELITT 2 of them into Thurs or Friday starts, which is relatively easy to do.
I'd typically have a week to 10 days or so off between my 6 day blocks, which would FLY by. In the end, I was counting the minutes from the time I got home until I had to leave again.
While eliminating 2 commutes per month was nice, working 6 in a row absolutely sucked, and was, among other things, why I finally moved closer to domicile. My only regret was not doing it a decade sooner.
I would bid 3 days with Sunday or Monday starts (not always easy without some seniority horsepower), and then ELITT 2 of them into Thurs or Friday starts, which is relatively easy to do.
I'd typically have a week to 10 days or so off between my 6 day blocks, which would FLY by. In the end, I was counting the minutes from the time I got home until I had to leave again.
While eliminating 2 commutes per month was nice, working 6 in a row absolutely sucked, and was, among other things, why I finally moved closer to domicile. My only regret was not doing it a decade sooner.
04-23-2023 | 09:37 AM
#145
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,033
Likes: 0
Yeah, DTC can be a serious buzzkill. My advice to new guys bidding a weekend line (fri or sat starts) is to immediately trade what you can off of those start days right at elitt open. Worry about the details later. Most of the good stuff in elitt happens after opening day, but you have to be able to get off of those DTC yellow and red days in order to play.
For the first time in a while, I have been flying with new hires in MCO, and have been preaching this exact thing. Heck, even some old timers are somewhat clueless about how to maximize ELITT's utility.
If a friday or saturday goes positive, dump them for the same (or less, if the stars align and NZ hits a positive) number of days on any other, but preferably not red or yellow day, regardless of AM/PM etc., layover preferences etc. The positive DTC will not last long on F or S, and, in any case you can always trade back onto those days later. There will inevitably be trips on them because they're red. In the meanwhile, you will be able to trade the new trips for even better stuff that comes along, which you'd not be able to do if it was still on a red day.
04-23-2023 | 09:49 AM
#146
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,033
Likes: 0
3-5 hours going to work during the day, and 2:45 coming home late at night. Due to the ridiculous amount of unfettered development in FL, without commensurate road and other infrastructure to support it, the drive to work was trending closer to 4 hours (and getting worse) the last few years I did it.
That was one of many factors in our decision to punch out of our home of 30+ years and move to a domicile.
The straw that broke the camel's back occured in 2018 when I had to call in sick twice in a 30 day period, because, due to lack of infrastructure (IE: no alternate routes), I physically could not get out of the county in time to make it to work. Both times I was in my car for over 2 hours and never got more than 6 miles from home. That had never occurred in the 17 years prior that I did that commute. During the last year before we moved, I would leave the night before and get a hotel anytime I had a report time before 1300 or so.
It's gotten exponentially worse in the last 4 years, so we made the right move, although, we should've done it a decade earlier. Live and learn.
I highly recommend moving to within an hour's drive of a domicile. It's a completely different job. I can't imagine doing that commute today on top of the complete goatrope that this job has become.
That was one of many factors in our decision to punch out of our home of 30+ years and move to a domicile.
The straw that broke the camel's back occured in 2018 when I had to call in sick twice in a 30 day period, because, due to lack of infrastructure (IE: no alternate routes), I physically could not get out of the county in time to make it to work. Both times I was in my car for over 2 hours and never got more than 6 miles from home. That had never occurred in the 17 years prior that I did that commute. During the last year before we moved, I would leave the night before and get a hotel anytime I had a report time before 1300 or so.
It's gotten exponentially worse in the last 4 years, so we made the right move, although, we should've done it a decade earlier. Live and learn.
I highly recommend moving to within an hour's drive of a domicile. It's a completely different job. I can't imagine doing that commute today on top of the complete goatrope that this job has become.
04-23-2023 | 03:23 PM
#147
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,553
Likes: 396
3-5 hours going to work during the day, and 2:45 coming home late at night. Due to the ridiculous amount of unfettered development in FL, without commensurate road and other infrastructure to support it, the drive to work was trending closer to 4 hours (and getting worse) the last few years I did it.
That was one of many factors in our decision to punch out of our home of 30+ years and move to a domicile.
The straw that broke the camel's back occured in 2018 when I had to call in sick twice in a 30 day period, because, due to lack of infrastructure (IE: no alternate routes), I physically could not get out of the county in time to make it to work. Both times I was in my car for over 2 hours and never got more than 6 miles from home. That had never occurred in the 17 years prior that I did that commute. During the last year before we moved, I would leave the night before and get a hotel anytime I had a report time before 1300 or so.
It's gotten exponentially worse in the last 4 years, so we made the right move, although, we should've done it a decade earlier. Live and learn.
I highly recommend moving to within an hour's drive of a domicile. It's a completely different job. I can't imagine doing that commute today on top of the complete goatrope that this job has become.
That was one of many factors in our decision to punch out of our home of 30+ years and move to a domicile.
The straw that broke the camel's back occured in 2018 when I had to call in sick twice in a 30 day period, because, due to lack of infrastructure (IE: no alternate routes), I physically could not get out of the county in time to make it to work. Both times I was in my car for over 2 hours and never got more than 6 miles from home. That had never occurred in the 17 years prior that I did that commute. During the last year before we moved, I would leave the night before and get a hotel anytime I had a report time before 1300 or so.
It's gotten exponentially worse in the last 4 years, so we made the right move, although, we should've done it a decade earlier. Live and learn.
I highly recommend moving to within an hour's drive of a domicile. It's a completely different job. I can't imagine doing that commute today on top of the complete goatrope that this job has become.
04-24-2023 | 01:28 AM
#150
Furloughed Again?!
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,948
Likes: 109
From: Boeing 737
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