Like FNGFO said, count on guarantee minus taxes for first year. 2nd year, if you can hold a line (no promises) ALV for July/LAS was 83 hours. What you get still depends on what the senior people bid so count on min credit window 76-83hrs.

X list is your friend. Blocked 65 and my take home was over $10k recently. I fly with FO's who are regularly nearing this as well. Be flexible and reap the benefits.

That's great to hear! First year I will want to credit as much as I can as I need the $$ for my fancy and expensive lifestyle. I've also heard about the X/Y list and for the Y list I can offer to cover other airports than just ACY.

Take-home pay
 

Honestly don’t count on it if you’re doing a serious budget. It’s feast or famine with the X/Y list. Some months the phone won’t stop ringing and some you never hear a peep. They also usually only call when you have stuff going on. When you want them to call it’s usually crickets.


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I'm flexible, I can survive on first year but it'll be tight without dipping into savings (I have plenty). But I'd like as much as possible, even if it's not every month.

Best advice on here. Every time I list it’s crickets but I do know folks who get called a lot, but don’t plan on it.


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It's not impossible. I'm on reserve and a commuter. This month i'm already at 100+ with just 1 X list. I also did 100+ last June-August as a reserve.

You'll be fine as long as you live in domicile. The X list generally doesn't work that well for commuters.

Be careful with Y list. If they get a hold of you for Y list, you cannot decline the assignment. Just let it go to voicemail and decide from there.

X list has very much been a hit and miss, and not something I would factor into first year pay.

Some experiences:

I had a meaty 4 day trip premium trip that made for a nicer paycheck the next month, but I was also used often and inefficiently most of the rest of my reserve days (double deadheads to operate one short leg then deadhead home etc) and didn’t break guarantee so the remaining 8 days off sort of made it all a wash.

I accepted a short red eye turn X list call. I live a couple hours from base, so between commute both ways, gas, parking (the employee parking/shuttle is whole other discussion) taxes, delays etc etc, the net $300 wasn’t worth the time off I gave up to do it.

Had a last day red eye trans con home, the plane next to us was delayed with a tech issue and we were offered 2 hours credit to give up our plane, take a 3-4 hour delay and ferry that plane home. The captain was all for it as his commute didn’t leave till later that day and it was another $500. I would have gladly given my measly $100 to just go home. ($114 technically, but I doubled tipped some van drivers as the skipper said it wasn’t something “he did”)

I’m not bashing premium pay events, and they can definitely be a nice kicker when your paychecks aren’t so impressive, but on first year pay the juice isn’t always worth the squeeze.