Typical Schedules
07-07-2017, 01:15 PM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: CRJ
Posts: 109
Typical Schedules
Would you all mind posting some info on what typical schedules look like over at Alaska these days? What could someone junior, mid, and senior hold in regards to days off, commutability, trip length, etc. Also how low can you drop your credit? Is it even possible to drop trips? Thanks for the info, couldn't find anything recent.
07-08-2017, 07:15 AM
#3
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2016
Posts: 237
Would you all mind posting some info on what typical schedules look like over at Alaska these days? What could someone junior, mid, and senior hold in regards to days off, commutability, trip length, etc. Also how low can you drop your credit? Is it even possible to drop trips? Thanks for the info, couldn't find anything recent.
07-08-2017, 08:12 AM
#4
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jun 2017
Posts: 27
No PBS yet, just line bidding for now. PBS in the hands of this management group could further corrode the QOL of this pilot group but I digress already.
Lines range anywhere from 18-13(?) days off. If you are in the middle of the pack, plan on around 15 days off with about 83 hours of credit on an average. There are 1 to 4 day trips. Lines can range any where from 75 to 93(?) hours of credit depending on if it's a flex up month. Per the contract, there can only be so many flex up months. The efficient 4 day trips can pay upwards of 25 hours and the crappy ones just shy of 20 hours. The pairings and lines are nothing to write home about. Most of them are mediocre at best. Then there are 3 days trips that pay just over 11 hours and they are usually commutable on both ends. The efficient 25+ hour 4 days, which goes pretty senior, start early and end late meaning that if you are a commuter, it can easily turn into be a 6 day trip unless you enjoy sleeping in the pilot ghetto lounge. Most lines are a hodge podge of turd, just like open flying lines. The optimizer builds lines like how an inexperience PBS bidder would bid. They are all over the map. With the exception of few very senior lines, a typical line consists of both early and late checkins, hardly any pure weekend off lines.....basically, no consistency whatsoever. Also, be prepared to fly your share of allnighters and redeyes. There's quite of few of those.
Trip trading is pretty much nonexistent due to a multitude of MOUs and lack of reserve coverage. The company took a MOU (+/- 4 hour rule) that was intended to free up trip trading and made it into a rule thereby giving crew scheduling more power to deny trip trades. Crew scheduling in turn blame Crew Access and claim no fault. Sorry, I digress once again. Anyway, expect to fly your line if you are junior and even lucky enough to hold a line. Get ready to immerse yourself in Crew Access, world's crappiest scheduling tool. Think caveman era! If you are on reserve, plan on flying on most of the days you are on call if you are based in SEA. Advice: Never do crew scheduling a favor because they will never repay you. Also, know the contract, especially section 25 so that you won't get screwed. They do mess with new hires by lying to you to move airplanes. I can't emphasize enough how important knowing the contract is! My friends at LAX are not abused as much, so I've been told. Summer and holiday seasons are obviously the worst times to be on reserve. You get 12 days off guaranteed on reserve, 79 hours pay guarantee (short call) and 75 (long call). Crew scheduling may sound nice over the phone but they will violate the contract to move airplanes. Prepare to "fly 'n grieve". You've been warned.
You can drop trips, contractually, to the monthly minimum for that month. Again, due to a plethora of convoluted MOUs and lack of reserve coverage, you'll most likely not be able to drop any of your trips, especially on weekends. I've been here almost 2 years and I haven't been able to drop a single trip. You can drop trips below the monthly minimum by giving away your trips to another pilot. That's about the only way to drop trips around here.
I believe more people commute than live in base, at least that's what I've been told. I've commuted all my life when I was at the regionals. I can't blame people for commuting to work since we have one of the highest cost of living here on the west coast. Being junior with crappy schedules, plan on being gone away from a home quite a bit. I hear LAX is a great base with a great group of pilots and reserves don't fly as much as SEA. Either way, it sucks to commute especially on reserve. Perhaps Alaska is a place that you can enjoy and plant your roots. I'll be departing here soon and you'll move up a number which is always a good thing. Good luck and have fun with a great pilot group!
Lines range anywhere from 18-13(?) days off. If you are in the middle of the pack, plan on around 15 days off with about 83 hours of credit on an average. There are 1 to 4 day trips. Lines can range any where from 75 to 93(?) hours of credit depending on if it's a flex up month. Per the contract, there can only be so many flex up months. The efficient 4 day trips can pay upwards of 25 hours and the crappy ones just shy of 20 hours. The pairings and lines are nothing to write home about. Most of them are mediocre at best. Then there are 3 days trips that pay just over 11 hours and they are usually commutable on both ends. The efficient 25+ hour 4 days, which goes pretty senior, start early and end late meaning that if you are a commuter, it can easily turn into be a 6 day trip unless you enjoy sleeping in the pilot ghetto lounge. Most lines are a hodge podge of turd, just like open flying lines. The optimizer builds lines like how an inexperience PBS bidder would bid. They are all over the map. With the exception of few very senior lines, a typical line consists of both early and late checkins, hardly any pure weekend off lines.....basically, no consistency whatsoever. Also, be prepared to fly your share of allnighters and redeyes. There's quite of few of those.
Trip trading is pretty much nonexistent due to a multitude of MOUs and lack of reserve coverage. The company took a MOU (+/- 4 hour rule) that was intended to free up trip trading and made it into a rule thereby giving crew scheduling more power to deny trip trades. Crew scheduling in turn blame Crew Access and claim no fault. Sorry, I digress once again. Anyway, expect to fly your line if you are junior and even lucky enough to hold a line. Get ready to immerse yourself in Crew Access, world's crappiest scheduling tool. Think caveman era! If you are on reserve, plan on flying on most of the days you are on call if you are based in SEA. Advice: Never do crew scheduling a favor because they will never repay you. Also, know the contract, especially section 25 so that you won't get screwed. They do mess with new hires by lying to you to move airplanes. I can't emphasize enough how important knowing the contract is! My friends at LAX are not abused as much, so I've been told. Summer and holiday seasons are obviously the worst times to be on reserve. You get 12 days off guaranteed on reserve, 79 hours pay guarantee (short call) and 75 (long call). Crew scheduling may sound nice over the phone but they will violate the contract to move airplanes. Prepare to "fly 'n grieve". You've been warned.
You can drop trips, contractually, to the monthly minimum for that month. Again, due to a plethora of convoluted MOUs and lack of reserve coverage, you'll most likely not be able to drop any of your trips, especially on weekends. I've been here almost 2 years and I haven't been able to drop a single trip. You can drop trips below the monthly minimum by giving away your trips to another pilot. That's about the only way to drop trips around here.
I believe more people commute than live in base, at least that's what I've been told. I've commuted all my life when I was at the regionals. I can't blame people for commuting to work since we have one of the highest cost of living here on the west coast. Being junior with crappy schedules, plan on being gone away from a home quite a bit. I hear LAX is a great base with a great group of pilots and reserves don't fly as much as SEA. Either way, it sucks to commute especially on reserve. Perhaps Alaska is a place that you can enjoy and plant your roots. I'll be departing here soon and you'll move up a number which is always a good thing. Good luck and have fun with a great pilot group!
07-08-2017, 09:01 AM
#6
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jun 2017
Posts: 27
I'm fairly new and thus far, I'm quite unimpressed as you can tell. I'm not smart or experienced enough to give any sound advice but I do know that this place isn't for me. I've said it several times, it breaks my heart to see a once great airline crumble piece by piece due to lack of vision and leadership of this management. They posses the power, money, intelligence, and the tools to make this airline great once again but I'm afraid their greed and narcissism is blinding them. They lack the slightest hint of leadership. I've never seen anything like it. When will they learn that managing a corporation can't be done solely through spreadsheets and data? Clearly, they are too busy counting their stock and money. I understand that they too are BOD's puppets but aren't we all human beings with a soul? My faith in God keeps me in check and we as human beings are held accountable for our actions thereby no one will be exempt. It's disheartening to see that corporate America can do whatever they wish in the name of business. I get a good laugh when these guys preach the "Alaska family" mentality. Hey BT, BM, TK, JH, CZ et al, you can't just talk the talk but have to walk the walk also. The walking dead.....truly pathetic!
07-08-2017, 11:56 AM
#8
missionary
Joined APC: Jun 2013
Position: Right seat 787 or missionary
Posts: 98
ASA and QX same management for all intents and purposes
Commit to Compete aka race to the bottom
It's no wonder QX has a shortage of pilots willing to work @QX
07-08-2017, 01:57 PM
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
It really boils down to this..We are a small regional airline..That flies around the clock..Once you leave the north/south structure we just dont have a route map that allows decent schedule building. We mostly go once a day to the midcon and east coast destinations. Couple that to very weak schedule language, no min day credit and low value east west flying and you get what we have. PBS will not help because we have nothing to build pairings out of....simple math
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