Traditional reserve is a good blend of both LCL and VEC. It’s the most amount of pay for the least amount of work. My best on TRV has been 12 days of being used and crediting 90+ hours. A bit of a rarity, but still possible with reroutes.

On a more practical note. You’re week is will generally look like this (assuming a 5 day stretch of reserve):

Day 1: SC1700
Day 2: Commute home
Day 3: 3 day trip assigned

If you get a 2 day trip, you’ll go home Day 5 and start your days off early.

Personally, I try to bid 3 or 4 day trips. I’ll APU a trip that is 1 less than my reserve stretch so I get an additional day off.

Worth noting, you can’t be assigned anything before 10 am on Day 1 of a reserve stretch. If you pick up something that starts before 10 am, you get 2 hours of additional pay (trip) or 1 hour of additional for a SC.

Some people try to pick up commutable both ends so they can fly in, sit all day, then go home at the end of the day if they go unused. You can also tell CS that you’re not contactable for the first 2.5 hours of a SC while you commute in. It’s a nice perk to have. Lastly, SC is 2.5 hour call out, but after 9 hours, you go to 12 hour call out until your RAP is done then you’re back to 18 hours. Meaning, after 9 hours, you get to go home since you’re almost unusable.

When I’m on reserve, I sit TRV from Florida. It’s definitely doable.

 

let’s clear something up about my least favorite part of the contract. After 9 hours, you’re released. BUT, they can still contact you until the end of the 14th hour and give you a trip the next day.

I got called at 11pm for a noon show the next day. And, to top it off, that counts as a used SC, so you don’t even get the hour of MPG.

Commute home after 9 hours at your own risk.

 

I’m not a huge fan of the verbiage in the contract regarding this. After 9 hours, you’re not technically released from your RAP. You're just converted to a 12
hour callout until the RAP is done. That’s why it counts as a used SC. It does get tricky like in your case, but I’d say that’s not the norm

 

right. That’s basically what I said. Your example of commuting home has threats involved. Yes, you can go home. But can you make it back if they do that to you?

it doesn’t happen much, as far as I know, but it can and does happen.

 

Short answer: The commuter policy only mentions reporting.

The whole thing with JB and their gates starts in '27 and you can expect those flights to be transcons on the 321XLR. That thing will be half premium seats becuase UA is trying capture more business travel passengers out of NYC. Assuming you are out of BOS there are plenty of JS options. But... I'm guessing the XLR trips will go senior so don't bid 320 becuase of what might happen in 2 years.

UA trips out of LGA leave later in the day (good for commuters) and go to hubs. Guys that I know doing those trips get reassigned alot. They replaced the 320 with the 737 at LGA to get more premium seats a few months ago. That is unlikely to change anytime soon.

 

If you're a pure numbers guy you'd know we've hired like 6,000 pilots since that junior BOS CA was hired. And to get to that level you're looking at around 15 years of retirements.

In no way shape or form is a 5 year NB CA senior at AA.

Keep in mind AA has hired a boatload of pilots in the past five years, with thousands retiring between when that Jr BOS CA was hired and today.

That CA is around 50% on the seniority list (8000/16000) and it would take you around 15 years to reach that level if hired today. That 12-15 upgrade into BOS isn't that far off. By 2040 AA will have retired 8000 pilots, so if hired in Jan 2026 you'd reach 50% at age 51.

Of course this assumes little relative growth over that time frame, so take it or leave it.

 

United and Delta have the same retirements over the next 30 years.

American today, has a NB BOS base with unparalleled retirement movement. Delta has a 330 base and will more than likely have a 320/220 base in the next 1-2 years which will be funneled by the numerous 320/220’s still on order + DL expected to gain more gates after the A-B connector is finished.

Either way, the day you could hold BOS at AA or DL you will forever regret not driving to work as you hop on your commute to EWR (which you just said gave you PTSD). At AA or DL you can book the jump-seat to DTW or MSP in the meantime, RJ commute to NYC (can’t book JS on RJ’s), or take advantage of the massive amount of BOS overnights on the 320 or 220.
Short answer: out of 3 majors, one will never have a BOS base.

 

I’d use the phrase less likely. Not saying you are wrong, it’s just there is already an FA base there. With more integration with JetBlue coming…Boston is the most conducive US airport for narrow body transatlantic…….and that’s only going to get more common.

 

No, you’re assuming zero growth. If American still has 16,000 pilots in 2030, let alone 2035-2040, something would have gone very wrong.

 

We need to get the contract changed on this. At the very least If there is a rest reset given during the SC, it’s unused and pays the mpg. Really all SCs should pay or at least all non apu’d