How do I maximize time off?
 

I’m new guy with United at a junior base on the 73.

What I want to know is: outside of Covid, what is considered normal for days off and nights home per month? How can I maximize my time off and my nights at home, especially as a junior guy? My SWA buddies on average work 20% fewer days (13 days per month) and are only gone 8-10 nights per month. I think my wife would be happy with a schedule like that. Is this realistic at all and can I control my line to get right around MPG? The bid packets I’ve seen have mostly 14 off days, with very few getting 17 or more days off. The average nights away seems to be 12, which is the biggest issue for my wife. I told my wife that January would be better, and then I got another 89 hour line with only 13 days off. (For now, let’s take WB off the table. I sleep like crap and can’t take a nap to save my life.). I was always led to believe that it was normal to fly 12-14 days per month and have 16-18 days off per month, but my experience is that those numbers have been flipped. I’m not sure if that is COVID, United, or something else.

Being new, I would pay for a bid service. They can be effective if you can tell them what you want, AND if your seniority can hold it. You’re not going to have the amount of days off you’re looking for at first. You have to find a base with fast movement and stay FO on a NB, that is how you will be able to hold more days off faster. Good luck though, hope this lifestyle works out for you two.

Well for starters you could use a SET command to minimize your line credit as well as maximize your average credit per day. The possible downside is you can cause your bid group to fail by using SET commands so you have to be careful. Watch the PBS tutorials to get a better grip on it.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

It’s United/.PBS...lineholders can estimate 5hrs of productivity per day ...15 days of flying for 75hrs... 16 for 80
If your senior maybe better... I believe
SW has higher daily productivity and many domicile options that allow you to be home at the end of a work day...United has fewer hub/ domiciles and frequent 3 and 4 day domestic trips

If show times, release times, red eyes and airport sit time are not an issue for you there may be some highly productive trips attainable for a junior pilot...

SET commands are absolute so back the bid groups up with lesser constraints... It’s easy to go into failure mode as a junior pilot with low line credit set commands ... used correctly credit per day award statements will serve you better..

Great, now junior guys are entitled to 18 days off. Might want to adjust your expectations. You're not going to get a lot of productive trips so the only way to maximize days off is a low line value. Then try personal drops. Then get more senior.

as of right now, as a junior guy, expect it to be the norm. While I understand where your coming from, realize how lucky you have it as well. I spent 2+ years on reserve as a new hire and not by choice. Even then, that was considered very lucky when guys before me were coming back from years of furlough. If you feel like southwest is a better fit, by all means I encourage you to go, however you are in an incredibly lucky spot here and you will gain seniority very fast and when things settle down, enjoy many years having 16-17 days off if you make good choices.

I’ll play the opposite side on this one. Say if one is a hustla, how easy is it to pick up extra flights and premium reserve days? Maybe you have a 3 day and want to pick up 2 days on the end of it.

I’ve always looked at minimum guarantee as the mashed potatoes. They’re dry and flavorless. Now all the overtime and premium you pick up is that delicious, thick gravy on top. Now the mashed potatoes have the gravy and you’re in for a good meal (month).

Do you live in base? That is the number one way to maximize time at home. If you don’t live in base, you should move to a base.

Reserve doesn’t work that way, but it’s too long of an explanation if you don’t work here.

I think every regional airline does that. Basically advertise for reserve days or trips in open time. Is there any extra gravy on the buffet line at United?