I'm on perpetural reserve at my airline and I'm always looking at open time to see what I might be assigned and what I can request from scheduling.

Hah!! You're so right...

I set alerts, but they're very few. Best part of having a line is you can choose to only pick up or trade for what you want. You don't have to swing at every pitch. Very easy to get 80% of what you want and very hard to optomize for that final 20%.

The issue with reserve is you are told when to take something. I find it's infinitely more stress sitting at home ready to take a call. Very tempted to try a VEC line next month because I know I'll not fly much but is my mental peace worth it?

Not fly much? I'm a VEC this month and have racked up 57 hours in twelve days already, and have been doing my best not to work. That might work in your category, though.

57 hours on reserve in the first 12 days of the bid period is crazy. Whats your base/seat/fleet?

It sure is. So far it seems like if your goal is to not work a ton, VEC and LCL should be avoided in BES's that usually have a lot of open time. Esspecially with blocks that start Thursday - Saturday.

^^^ NB fleet your going to get abused no matter what RSV type you choose… if you live in base VEC can make you some money for sure on all the fleets… LCL reserve is definitely good for a commuter so you don’t have to get a room to sit SC… but you’ll always get a trip if one is open.

As a commuter, I am making the decision to go back to TRV after a month of LCL....sure I didn't have to pay for hotels for SC's but I have flown nearly every single day of reserve this month......would much rather suck up 6 hotel rooms a month for SC than fly every single day I'm available.

similar story here. The “who gets called first” hierarchy kinda sucks.

I’m just always amazed at how many trips are in open time, how deep red the pool display is, and how there are apparently no more captain spots to be had in the base.

at this point, just give everyone a line and staff trips with premium pay. Flying 4 on, 2 off (throw in 3 off here and there), especially as a commuter, is a quick path to burnout.

final point: I know commuting is a choice, but have any other commuters found that it has been excruciatingly difficult the past 3-4 months? I’m not even talking summer loads. It seems like 90% of the flights are massively delayed or straight up canceled. And this is other airlines, too. I don’t ever remember it being this bad. I think I’ve had one on-time commute in the past three months.

Yep, and the entire concept of assigning trips to LCL before giving a TRV (who wants to fly) a chance to pick it up doesn't sit well with me. Had multiple TRV's want to pick up a trip last week but they gave it to me on LCL well before the APU window.

They'll never change. Back in the day CAL had an LCL (before they figured out that they could just convert everyone to SC before the month even started) and they always assigned the long call pilots first because they knew that one cloud in eastern PA would cause EWR to melt. In that case, the LCLs were of no use to the crisis recovery mode.

With the everything shaking out how it is, I don't see guys taking LCL very often after these first few trial months. It offers no pay advantage and if you end up working 18 days a month, that's not a great deal at all.

As for VEC, I guess guys will have to report in on whether the pay bump was worth it.

How many as a % of reserve lines are being offered? I’m on the WB and for my base we don’t even have VEC (pretty sure) and very few lcl from what I’ve heard. I’m more of a traditional kinda guy 🤣

if you look at the g line document (now called Bidding Parameters), it shows you exactly how many of each are offered for the month.

LCL ranges anywhere from 1 to 34, depending on BES. The contract has the formula for the number.

If that’s the case, I would just bid LCL to have Forest crack at the trips

guppy fo ord

Weather has been harsh this year on top of the crowd strike issue ontop of the company flying the paint off of birds without much slack for mx issues…

Whats VEC?
I know LCL is long call line, and I assume TRV is traditional reserve line and SC= short call

voluntary early check in. You can start early your first day.

I am not a fan of it either… Especially for those trying to fly but can’t hold LCL…. I sat on the sideline this bid period as a TRV to see how the first month went…

From the sounds and looks of my BES and the allocation of VECs and LCLs, looks like I might have a good chance at a LCL… Seems like all of the VECs were allocated…

I say this as I drove up half-way to base to position myself on the last day of reserve to sit SC….

I still can’t get over how many 1 day short calls get built. They’re determined to get that pound of flesh on the last day.

LCL is not the strategy if your desired outcome to squeeze out a couple of more days at home.

unless you are like brand new to this industry out of the military or something ......I'm a little surprised that you are surprised.

maybe SWAkid you will get lucky for September and hold LCL.....but you gonna be workin.

I am ok with working and not new to the industry…. What I despise is the unpredictable SC conversions….

Like today on last day of reserve going into a HDO, I have to sit SC from 0900-1400…..lol. I can see it if I was going into a FDO were they can have to opportunity to disrupt a day off and extend me if they have no takers for from linehikders to pick up the the 50 percent PPU…

Once I commute to be base, I want to work. If I am not in base, I don’t want to work.. Hence is why I am okay with the prospects of LCL as a commuter.

It’s like a beverage, I either want it hot (tea) or cold (beer, water, etc). Nothing lukewarm… Once I am in base, I looking for any and all flying assignments. But I get home, yeah I rather just be home. None of the i between.

what is your b/s/e?
You want to be at home or at least in your own hotel room paid for by the company, fair desire. For the record, I live within 32 min drive.....and try to grab all the short call I can even on the last day...part of this is of course I am genetically pre programmed to grab all the ADD pay available (a la Free Holiday Inn Express breakfast) but also I find great pride in the my altruistic pursuit of keeping one less person from commuting in or driving by long distance for covering short call.

I live within 35 mins of my primary airport for my domecile. I am also genetically pre programmed to grab all available ADD pay ( think regional pilot at Holiday INN Express Breakfast). Im sure I seem like a jerk with all my negativity, but everytime I pick up an SC........it gives me great pride to know thats one less commuter that has to commute in or drive in from over 2.5 hours.

Feels and sounds like qol went down with this contract. As a line holder I am constantly reassigned due to reserve gaps. Short call times have been altered. 2am now. And reserve lines sound like fsby now

Im very surprised by the amount of reassignments I've seen so far. Over half my trips in the past two months I've been reassigned multiple times. Already more reassignments than I received at my last airline where I spent over two years.

I'm a fan of LCL so far due to no conversions and the 18 hour callout but that's only because I'm trying to fly to build block. Once I meet my block goal hopefully TRV will provide some relief.

Not used to hearing that one at a legacy!

New and wants to upgrade I imagine.

I’m VEC this month and was extended. The add pay was nice, but I was hoping to get released early. When I called CS, they said that due to the new reserve rules and call outs, I was the only one that can do the trip. CS said that this never happens, but I think it’ll start happening a bit more often if I had to guess

Doing the Lord’s work. Appreciate it!

CA pay starting at 350 hours for many new hires this year...

So, is the final opinion that reserve still sucks, but perhaps just sucks less for commuters? Or is it working out better than a line for some? By better I mean less work in, more money out?

Depends on the B/E/S. I love reserve on widebody

Meh, so far it hasn’t been terrible as a commuter… But I generally just APU trips on my reserve days and I am in a BES where there has been plenty of options. I’ve had occasional SC conversions on days where there wasn’t a a trip to APU for or if I just didn’t bother to APU in order to not work the last day of work. (SC in the day before leading into my last day).

The things that drive me nuts is scheduling creating 1 day SCs in order to maintain a leash on reserves looking at a 6am release going into a HDO….

I don’t have an issue with the 1-days and tagging folks looking at a 1500 release going into FDOs. Ido have issues with it, but contractually, that’s what scheduling is going to do….

I got myself a LCL for next month. So I am looking forward to that and not worrying about SC conversions at all as a commuter.

At the end of the day, YMMV. So guys will hate it, some guys will love it. Some folks are indifferent. I am in the indifferent category. I am jr in my seat, so reserve comes with the territory.

I appreciate all of my in-base guys efforts. But it prevent scheduling from creating more SCs to get leashes in more folks…

Keep taking any and all opportunities for add-pay, if I was in your shoes, i would be doing the same thing.

Tell me how that’s possible…. I just looked at my blended rate (6yr 737 CA) and it’s $343

350 hours. Not dollars. As in, once the new hire captains (those who got captain in indoc), hit 350 hours with United, they start getting captain pay.

Captain pay starts for some of them after 350 hours of time logged at UAL not $350/hr. But, for what it’s worth, second year captain pay is currently 332.81/hr. 345 and change starting in January.

Probably, so. The lineholder flexibility has decreased from what it once was. Notsomuch from the new contract, but the lack of controls on min level manipulation. I think it was 5 years ago when bad day/worse day was programmed and now scheduling has finally cracked the code on how to manipulate min levels in a manner that preclude most BDWD trade-ability. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.