FTv3 , 01-29-2022 05:03 AM
Social Media retired.
The deal with junior commuters is they either bid reserve which is almost always in commutable blocks or take the base trip-like lines and then OT trade / trip board drop into a more commutable schedule but often at the sacrifice of preferred days off and other things. When I was the plug I was able to trade my entire base trip line for a single, pretty cozy International which was a duty day or two less than my base trip line. Then I got displaced from it for training…life doesn’t always suck at the bottom. Other times I had to pick up extra days just to get a trade approved (I always put that extra flying on the trip board - sometimes people grab the small stuff). Other times you’re just going to have to burn a day in domicile. Once you get a bit of seniority you can start trying for VTO’s which are blank lines initially; you eventually bid on a created subset of lines from vacation people, trips dropped from training conflicts, people medicalling out, all that leftover stuff. Build a little more seniority and you can start working on preferred days off, start and end days that favor your commute, etc. Hit the halfway point of the list and you can really start playing (effectively) with conflict bidding. Move up closer to the top third and you can try bidding with training captains in hopes of getting displaced on a regular basis. Get in the top percentages and you can play all the cards: get extra days off with conflict bidding, get displaced for training, then maximize vacation rules - you’re hardly working. Anyway, don’t stress too much about bottom schedules and commuting - there’s always a way to make it work and if it doesn’t, you won’t be at the bottom very long.