BOS base
03-01-2024, 05:43 PM
#81
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2023
Posts: 51
You’ll be totally fine, don’t worry. The two commutes are practically the same either way and not having to try to two leg it to LGA from the west coast is a favor to you. The 5am reports out of EWR absolutely suck if you’re coming from a crashpad in Queens. You’re not missing anything.
Have fun in the BOS base for now and you’ll be able to commute to LAX or DFW 737 in no time. I really wouldn’t worry about it. Although LAX 737 is a small base, one of the bottom FOs was holding a line every month because so many bid SC.
The only thing you’re missing on the west coast on the Airbus is PHX which remains senior in both seats either way.
As a former Airbus driver forced to the 737, I have learned to love it. It’ll take about 250 hours and then the Stockholm syndrome will set in.
Have fun in the BOS base for now and you’ll be able to commute to LAX or DFW 737 in no time. I really wouldn’t worry about it. Although LAX 737 is a small base, one of the bottom FOs was holding a line every month because so many bid SC.
The only thing you’re missing on the west coast on the Airbus is PHX which remains senior in both seats either way.
As a former Airbus driver forced to the 737, I have learned to love it. It’ll take about 250 hours and then the Stockholm syndrome will set in.
I guess right now my dilemma is trying to figure out about how senior I’d need to be in any base. I’ve commuted at my previous airlines, so that’s not foreign. It’s just been a while, and the pain is lessened if I can commute to a line, even the worst line. 3xp shows I’m above the bottom in several bases already, but then I see a base with let’s say 100 lines and 40 reserves, but there’s 300 people on the 3xp list. At previous jobs the vacancy bids were much more immediate, for example Skywest the bid was effective the next month rather than biding now for September. I’d hate to finally finish training and OE and let’s say get a line in August, just to go to LAX and be at the bottom again. More than happy to be the plug in PHX when/if can bid over next year though.
Not quite mid 30s. We had a wide range, like 55 to 25 y/o. I’d say average age was about 10 years old than me. Early to mid 40s?
03-01-2024, 06:46 PM
#82
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2023
Posts: 51
You will hold a line almost immediately in LAX if previous months serve historically accurate. This is all based on info from my close friend who is a PHX LAX commuter. He never sat reserve in LAX even when he was the plug.
Another buddy, same story but commutes to DFW for now while waiting on his withhold to come up to move to the Airbus in PHX.
Maybe the PHX 737 rumor will come true by then… lol.
Another buddy, same story but commutes to DFW for now while waiting on his withhold to come up to move to the Airbus in PHX.
Maybe the PHX 737 rumor will come true by then… lol.
And yeah of course. Mark your calendars for when my lock expires! PHX 737 announcement will follow soon.
03-02-2024, 06:42 AM
#83
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2016
Posts: 297
Congratulations.
Boston is small and could be great. You will be flying with very experienced and knowledgeable pilots.
Look into mutual base exchange. That would enable you to swap with someone trying to get to Boston.
I am sure you could get NYC on this first bid that just posted yesterday.
Enjoy.
Boston is small and could be great. You will be flying with very experienced and knowledgeable pilots.
Look into mutual base exchange. That would enable you to swap with someone trying to get to Boston.
I am sure you could get NYC on this first bid that just posted yesterday.
Enjoy.
03-02-2024, 07:30 AM
#84
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2008
Position: CRJ-700 FO
Posts: 225
03-02-2024, 08:03 AM
#85
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,556
Oh no way. That is just so foreign to me, I guess. Last two companies, name of the game was get off reserve ASAP even if you had to commute to a crummy base (before you could get home, if home base was an option). I’m sure the Boston flying is decent, not as many commute options but it’s mostly on us and hopefully that’s not a heavy Jumpseat/commute route.
And yeah of course. Mark your calendars for when my lock expires! PHX 737 announcement will follow soon.
And yeah of course. Mark your calendars for when my lock expires! PHX 737 announcement will follow soon.
In the meantime, the good news for you is that AA is pretty commuter friendly. Only one flight required, and you can reserve the JS 8 days out. I think I read somewhere that the company is on the verge of incorporating the JS reservation into Travel Planner, which is easier to deal with than that phone system.
Now that you've found the scheduling tools on the APA site make sure your bids are in for LAX/DFW and see what happens. If you need help with that process you can always ask (AAPilots > AA Bidding Tools > Reference Material > My Preferences/Displacements) or download the APA app to your company iPad, let all the documents in the 'Papyrus' section populate, then find the relevant Compass Document that walks you through the process.
For all of everyone's complaints about APA (a topic for another time) one thing they've done very well are the Compass Documents. There's something for just about everything.
03-02-2024, 03:39 PM
#86
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2023
Posts: 51
Living 20 min from the parking lot and bidding reserve has worked really well for me in CLT; you should try it in PHX when you have the chance.
In the meantime, the good news for you is that AA is pretty commuter friendly. Only one flight required, and you can reserve the JS 8 days out. I think I read somewhere that the company is on the verge of incorporating the JS reservation into Travel Planner, which is easier to deal with than that phone system.
In the meantime, the good news for you is that AA is pretty commuter friendly. Only one flight required, and you can reserve the JS 8 days out. I think I read somewhere that the company is on the verge of incorporating the JS reservation into Travel Planner, which is easier to deal with than that phone system.
Great, that would be awesome. The reservation is a new perk for me. And time of checkin versus seniority for nonrev, that’s new for me as well.
appreciate the insight, all. I’d still prefer commuting to a line, even the worst line, rather than being on reserve for a few months and transferring and being on reserve somewhere else. Debating rolling the dice on bidding/exchanging DFW LAX and maybe even ORD.
03-02-2024, 04:38 PM
#87
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,089
Hello, recent newhire that got BOS 737 in training. Long story short, we were furnished the wrong weekly class drop list so my attempt to do some research was for naught. Hoped for Airbus to be able to transfer home eventually but, here we are. By the time it got to me, options were Boston and New York and my split-second decision was to avoid having to be responsible for covering many airports as a probationary reserve. Re-reading this thread and seeing mixed signals, sometimes going junior and other times stagnation. Starting to wonder if I should have gone with LGA, especially as we are still awaiting any ground school dates and sounds like it could be a while…
Anyway so how’s things in Boston these days? As another commenter mentioned, I too am getting accustomed to all the apps and sites. At previous companies I’ve had access to pairings at each base and equipment, as well as lists that show the final run of PBS and allowed you to compare your relative seniority (kind of like an expanded 3xp but overlaid on the awards so you could see if you had a shot at a line, or deep into reserve territory, or couldn’t even get in). Do we have stuff like that?
Poking around open time I can see plenty of early start/late finish trips. Still pretty typical of the base? An earlier comment said reserve went senior sometimes and possibilities of junior lineholders. Still the case? Worth sticking around for a bit to be a junior lineholder, or should I try to bid/MBE elsewhere? I’ll be a West Coast commuter for a year seatlock, so first priority is minimizing the pain by trying to get a line, if at all possible.
hmm maybe this answers one of my questions. Where exactly can I find TASC, still not 100% what all I’m looking at.
Anyway so how’s things in Boston these days? As another commenter mentioned, I too am getting accustomed to all the apps and sites. At previous companies I’ve had access to pairings at each base and equipment, as well as lists that show the final run of PBS and allowed you to compare your relative seniority (kind of like an expanded 3xp but overlaid on the awards so you could see if you had a shot at a line, or deep into reserve territory, or couldn’t even get in). Do we have stuff like that?
Poking around open time I can see plenty of early start/late finish trips. Still pretty typical of the base? An earlier comment said reserve went senior sometimes and possibilities of junior lineholders. Still the case? Worth sticking around for a bit to be a junior lineholder, or should I try to bid/MBE elsewhere? I’ll be a West Coast commuter for a year seatlock, so first priority is minimizing the pain by trying to get a line, if at all possible.
hmm maybe this answers one of my questions. Where exactly can I find TASC, still not 100% what all I’m looking at.
There is no seat lock to change bases.
I assume you live in PHX. You should be able to get LAX/737, or at the very least, something closer like DFW or ORD on the first bid.(it just came out yesterday).
I commuted to LAX from BOS for ~6 months when I was first hired. BOS was senior back then. It's doable for the short term. the APA website has the PBS awards you're looking for. It's formatted by seniority the same way 3XP is.
The most junior non-training pilot was awarded a line for March. If you want a line you should be able to get it. Be sure to use "avoid reserve" in PBS. If you're lucky you'll even get a hybrid line. There are some early/late trips but there also plenty that are commutable on one end. Try to focus on commutable at the end. I hated the NY base covering different airports. YMMV but my advice is to stay in BOS. The CAs here are excellent and the flying is easy.
03-03-2024, 08:45 AM
#89
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2023
Posts: 51
The most junior non-training pilot was awarded a line for March. If you want a line you should be able to get it. Be sure to use "avoid reserve" in PBS. If you're lucky you'll even get a hybrid line. There are some early/late trips but there also plenty that are commutable on one end. Try to focus on commutable at the end. I hated the NY base covering different airports. YMMV but my advice is to stay in BOS. The CAs here are excellent and the flying is easy.
I’m commuting here till September at the very least, so I hope I have enough movement over the next 6 months to avoid reserve if I can transfer closer to home.
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