I didn't know that. Thanks.

So as a guy sitting short call, would you have to be able to get to all 3 airports in less than 2 hours? That seems like it could be tough in DC.

Yep. Almost all of the flying is out of IAD but there's a few flights out of DCA and BWI. As far as I remember (it's been quite a while), all DCA and BWI flying has the same crews flying in and out of those cities - in other words, I don't think that any trips originate or terminate in DCA or BWI.

However, my caution - there are times where 1) the FO gets sick, which is why you're covering those bases, and 2) when they're very short on crews, they'll piece together trips with multiple crews.

I've gone one way between IAD and DCA very easily with public transportation. I've gone one way between IAD and BWI (both ways) by renting a cheap one way rental car - I don't know how easy that will be to find, but you can check. And ask in the chief pilot's office how they'd recommend getting to/from BWI.

As far as the short call, let's hope that crew scheduling gives you a reasonable amount of time to get there. If you can't make it when they tell you they need you, just say, 'I'll do my best to get there at that time'.

DC is not a great place to be on reserve for the Bus or 737 if you commute. The short call rules make allowances for cities with bad traffic such as DC and NYC, but it is conceivable to fly out of any of the three airports. BWI is sort of the odd man out when it comes to sitting reserve. You can get between DCA and IAD but there is really no convenient way of getting to BWI without a car.

Just to add on to what Andy said above, there are a small number of trips that originate and end out of DCA or BWI. When I was on the guppy, I would always try to get trips out of BWI then DCA then IAD as a last resort.

Yeah, a car in DC would probably be nice when sitting reserve, but a car in DC is also miserable sometimes. I'm going to be commuting from down in Virginia Beach, which is a 3.5 drive from Dulles. Getting in between DCA and IAD doesn't seem too bad on the Metro, but the posibility of having to go to BWI might make me think about driving.

On that note, is there employee parking at most airports or do we need to pay for it?

I think they give you a parking pass for IAD and then reimburse you for any parking at DCA or BWI but check with the chief pilot's office.

Company covers parking.

I've been sitting reserve on the bus in dc since December, and commute. Some trips do originate in BWI and DCA, but short call gives you 2 1/2 hours to show. Train between IAD and DCA is 2 hours at the WORST, more like 1:15 or 1:30. Public transit from IAD to BWI is awful. I've tried it twice. The quick trip was 3 1/2 hours. BUT, company pays extra per diem for BWI trips cause they know it's a pain in the butt to get to. You get an additional $138 tacked on to your per diem for any BWI trip, and that will cover a super shuttle from IAD and hotel. Reserve sucks, but the three airports are doable. Also, I've yet to have a short call assignment that sends me up to BWI, fwiw...

Can someone post the drop?

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In seniority order top to bottom.