word302

You keep saying you’re being personally attacked. I do not think that means what you think it means.

MinRest

I am 78% in base as a CA, when I bid al ine I never fly a weekend trip, never fly a red eye. I bid reserve on purpose when I really don't want to work (I have flown 11 hours this month) and I will get paid 84 hours for it. I walk my dogs around the lake every day, go fly my GA airplane, and most of all, enjoy life with my wife and kids but if work calls I can be there without stress no matter what I am doing. I know exactly how many days I work a month and how much I get paid to do it. I am not complaining at all. I feel like I fall under the "junior CA" and life is pretty darn great for me. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I upgraded because I did my homework.

rickair7777

I would agree to the extent that they should have:

1) Reasonable days off.
2) Reasonable reserve duty limits.

But somebody still has to fly nights, weekends, and holidays and cover last-minute sick calls and operational disruptions. The good news is that you really only *have* to do that once as a junior new hire. You can make a very good living (by college grad standards) as an FO and delay upgrade until you're senior enough for whatever QOL you desire.

Pensions aside, our 401k DC is a big game changer compared to corporate America what with their vesting, graduated employer contributions, and matching requirements. To say nothing of the 18% which is a very large number in that context. Especially if you're young, you can easily sock away 25% for decades without even breaking a sweat.

MinRest

Dude, you didn't KNOW anything. That is what everyone takes issue with you on. You didn't know literally anything. You are guessing. I am not mad at all and this is nothing more than your feelings and emotions being projected onto others which you have done to such embarrassment on JC, that you have come here to do it now lol.

MinRest

I am not arguing because I agree, but what is "reasonable"? Now I am totally on board for reducing reserve days and I really wish we would have done that instead of increasing hours for short call. 16 days on instead of 18 would be so much better and way more attractive from an industry wide "sitting on reserve" standpoint.

This is not a knock on the new generation coming in, quite the opposite and it is freaking awesome that they get to come into this industry holding all the cards. But to bang through an R-ATP or ATP super quick, have all the regional recruiters breathing down their necks and salivating at the idea of giving them hiring bonuses so they can go spend a year or two in an RJ before every major and legacy sends them a CJO, is freaking crazy and unprecedented. Nobody who has been in this industry 10+ years has seen anything remotely like that. That career track can't compute a stagnation, a reduction bid, a furlough, a downgrade, a merger, a shutdown and sitting reserve for 2 years or sitting at the bottom as a line holder isn't something they are used to. I think the reality is that we still need to come towards the middle a little bit. We still need to further improve things for junior pilots but we also have to temper and manage expectations a little bit too.

rickair7777

Resaonable days off seems like 15-16 to me, given the way reserves get beat like rented mules. Maybe fewer days off with much stronger work rules for duty days, ie not flying 80/month crammed with red-eyes and circadian swaps, with deadheads on both ends to cover other bases that they're too cheap to staff.

So some give and take between hard days off and on-duty lifestyle.

MinRest

Yea I would like to see it go to 16 or less for sure. When flying gets real busy, it is brutal on the reserve folks.

GoodJet

Just spent an hour listening to the all pilot call. Managment clearly said there is no expectation of hiring in 2025. Possibly for Q4 2025 because that gets pilot on the line for summer 2025. Only if the BA issues get fixed and we can get aircraft. Hopefully, you've realized that this strike is probably going to drag on for 10 billion dollars with of Boeing stock, possibly 25 billion.

Also I find it amazing that as an SFO captain you've heard from every FO I've flown with that I complain all the time. Most of the FOs I'm flying with are senior to me and have a line in SEA. In fact I can not recall a time I've flown with an FO junior to me in the last few months.

ShyGuy

Because you are an extremely junior CA in SEA. Over 700 FOs skipped that opportunity.

GoodJet

Right. But it makes MinRest's claims pretty weak when at most he's flown with 1-2% of the pilots I've flown with.