Reserves and Your Airline

Minuteman

Minuteman

I HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTING!
When a pilat is sitting reserve and gets called to a flight, does that crew member cover one flight leg (or maybe an out-and-back) and then return to reserve, or do they continue for the remainder of the pairing?

I suspect this one of those per-airline behaviors out there.
 
sometimes they'll build a day trip to cover one flying leg, other times you’ll pick up the rest of a trip and be gone for days, or they'll cobble together flying and keep changing your schedule every time you land somewhere new. depends on airline, fleet, reserve coverage in a specific seat, and contracts
 
At Brown it depends on reserve staffing. I've seen them burn a reserve for a week long trip and other times just have the reserve do the first couple days and create a separate pairing for the rest of the week hoping someone will pick it up out of open time.
 
Crew scheduling be like

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At AA, we have trip ownership and are assigned trips based on buckets of days available. If you have 3 days of availability, you're in the 3 day bucket and will get a 3 day trip if your number gets called. They can assign outside of the bucket, but that's only if everyone in that bucket was already cleared out. Once you get the trip, it's yours. If you get re-assigned for any portion of that trip that you are qualified, legal, and available for, you get paid premium for that portion.

They can breakup a trip that hits open time however they want and turn a 4 day into whatever they want, but this isn't that efficient.
 
roundout said:
Crew scheduling be like

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Oh my God, it's just a bigger SkyWest!

(yup)

My least favorite part of being on reserve at that place was regular pilots resuming pairings they'd interrupted via sick or unable-to-commute. Spirit actually had that language for sick recovery too now that I think about it. "Here's a 4-day. Just kidding, sucker."

Minuteman said:
I suspect this one of those per-airline behaviors out there.
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Correct, and it can even come down to how the open flying became open. Rules aside, how you get used on reserve is going to vary widely based on your equipment type and the 'normal' schedule your category operates.

My favorite RES trips are actually the "weird" stuff — grab this empty airplane, take it there, fly that other airplane to this station for reasons not apparent to you, etc. — but for the most part here I have flown full, bid package rotations, as a reserve pilot. That was not the case at my regional, nor was it the case at Spirit—much more cover turns that they'd peeled off for legalities and the like.

It's noteworthy that once you're on a rotation here, you have many of the same rights and privileges as a regular pilot regarding being rerouted and such.
 
Autothrust Blue said:
Oh my God, it's just a bigger SkyWest!

(yup)

My least favorite part of being on reserve at that place was regular pilots resuming pairings they'd interrupted via sick or unable-to-commute. Spirit actually had that language for sick recovery too now that I think about it. "Here's a 4-day. Just kidding, sucker."
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Me with a 6 day reserve block of 5am short call…

Day 1: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in LNK) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna put you on ready then back to AM short call tomorrow.

Day 2: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in LSE) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna put you on ready then back to AM short call tomorrow.

Day 3: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in GFK) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna send you to IAH and have you sit out of base reserve.

Days 4-5: <crickets while I sit at a hotel that’s near nothing but a Popeye’s with bullet proof glass between the counter and lobby>

Day 6: We’re gonna put you on RDY in IAH and not release you until after the last flight home so you have to either pay for your own hotel in IAH or take the DH back to MSP and sleep in your crash pad.

TFAYD!
 
n156499000 said:
Me with a 6 day reserve block of 5am short call…

Day 1: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in LNK) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna put you on ready then back to AM short call tomorrow.

Day 2: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in LSE) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna put you on ready then back to AM short call tomorrow.

Day 3: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in GFK) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna send you to IAH and have you sit out of base reserve.

Days 4-5: <crickets while I sit at a hotel that’s near nothing but a Popeye’s with bullet proof glass between the counter and lobby>

Day 6: We’re gonna put you on RDY in IAH and not release you until after the last flight home so you have to either pay for your own hotel in IAH or take the DH back to MSP and sleep in your crash pad.

TFAYD!
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I had ideas on how to try to stop that, but tell a lineholder who was UTCP that they're going to sit short call if they do happen to come in, and watch the squealing start.
 
DE727UPS said:
At Brown it depends on reserve staffing. I've seen them burn a reserve for a week long trip and other times just have the reserve do the first couple days and create a separate pairing for the rest of the week hoping someone will pick it up out of open time.
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This, of course, but in addition, Brown can (and quite often will) extend you two days at zero penalty to them. Thus, unless in times of extreme (and predictable) overstaffing, reserve tends to go junior. I don't touch the stuff, would rather have a VTO or crappy line that I can at least trade with.
 
At SJI we also use the days of availability grouping. So if you have 4 days you can get a 4 day, 3 days you get a 3 day, and so on. With the 4 day example they can still give you a 3 or 2 day trip, or even a day turn, but everyone with 3, 2, and 1 day of availability respectively needs to have been used first. You can also preference to be assigned a trip the length of your available days, or one day less.

So to give an example today I started a 6 day block of reserve days. Yesterday they notified me that I had been converted to short call for today. I did not get used today and got assigned a 4 day trip reporting tomorrow because it has a layover that I have a standing preference in for. In that preference request I said that I was willing to take one day less than my availability. It can get complicated but if you understand the rules it's a great deal (unless you commute). I personally love it. Don't have a choice now but did it most of the months as an FO as well, and will likely be doing it by choice for most of my career even when I'm no longer forced into it.
 
n156499000 said:
Me with a 6 day reserve block of 5am short call…

Day 1: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in LNK) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna put you on ready then back to AM short call tomorrow.

Day 2: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in LSE) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna put you on ready then back to AM short call tomorrow.

Day 3: Here’s a 4 day trip (land in GFK) only kidding, the line holder made their commute so when you get back to MSP we’re gonna send you to IAH and have you sit out of base reserve.

Days 4-5: <crickets while I sit at a hotel that’s near nothing but a Popeye’s with bullet proof glass between the counter and lobby>

Day 6: We’re gonna put you on RDY in IAH and not release you until after the last flight home so you have to either pay for your own hotel in IAH or take the DH back to MSP and sleep in your crash pad.

TFAYD!
Click to expand...



Me, on a 5-day reserve block Mon-Fri


Mon - No call, at home

Tues - No call, at home

Wed - No call, at home

Thurs - No call, at home

Fri - No call, at home


By Friday night. Wife - "Are you sure you're still employed?"
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
Me, on a 5-day reserve block Mon-Fri


Mon - No call, at home

Tues - No call, at home

Wed - No call, at home

Thurs - No call, at home

Fri - No call, at home


By Friday night. Wife - "Are you sure you're still employed?"
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So the disparities between your reserve experience and the other notorious member here is simply your base?
 
The love line’s reserve is either three or four day blocks that are am/pm coverage. With the new contract there have been some changes that are driving down reserve utilization but you can be assigned anything in that block that fits your RAP.

Once assigned a trip it becomes your pairing and any changes will trigger the same overrides as a line holder.

There are several more nuances in there but that is the gist of it. And no long call, two hours to report is the minimum.
 
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