FixTheMess

Oops, wrong quote ^

Everyone better get used to it. Expect every line to look like this once the new rest rules go into effect. 350 hrs away from home each month, and min days off. Good times. . .

porqueno

any update on the new chief? I heard we would know by the end of the week

BSOuthisplace

So who got their rejection letter from airways recently?

DASH8AV8R

Got mine yesterday!!

flightmedic01

Got mine yesterday as well

JaxUAviator

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but here goes:

So I'm curious...how's the schedule at PDT for someone who lives in base? What is the length of most trips (how many days)? Are there a lot of days where you start and end in base? How much flexibility do you have in your scheduling (i.e. how hard is it to drop trips on days you don't want to fly and pick up trips on your days off)? How long does one generally stay on reserve? How is the schedule for a typical reserve guy (again how easy or hard is it to drop/pick up reserve days)?

I know these are a lot of questions, but I'm trying to get a good feel for what the QOL is like in regards to the typical pilot's schedule.

Thanks!

Meccathor

On reserve, you will get 10 days off. Mostly 6 on, 2 off with one stretch of 4 days off called your golden days. Scheduling will deny nearly all schedule swap requests, but they are allowed to force move days off without your consent if it benefits them (Pretty rare that they do this, but always a possibility). The golden days mentioned above cannot be touched without your permision though.

It varies wildly how much you get used on reserve, some months you might get called in 3-4 days total, and some they might bring you in every single day (but don't expect to break guarantee in either case). If you have less than ATP mins, they will be using you first before any fo's that don't have the mins yet. It's a crapshoot if you will stay on reserve for awhile or not, but supposedly new hire classes will start in Feb. again and there should be some upgrade based on attrition that should get the ball rolling.

Typical lineholder schedule is 12-14 days off with a mix 1, 2, 3, and 4 day trips. There's usually a couple lines that have only 1 and 2 days and a couple with only 3 and 4 days, but again, it varies. As far as swapping trips with a line, if you have someone else that wants to switch with you and you aren't going to be close to 30/7, they will generally approve it. Picking up a trip from open time and dropping your trip into open time is nearly impossible unless you do it during the 48 hour period after the initial bid awards come out.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend Peidmont for commuters, the low number of average days off and out-station basing makes most commuters miserable. If you can live in base, you will get to fly a great airplane with some great crews. Also keep in mind that we have quite an outdated contract and not much progress after 3+ years of negotiations and an older fleet that is nearing its retirenment age and no replacements in sight, so there's that unknown as well.

rocketman3746

Take this part seriously! Piedmont is one of the worst airlines for commuters being that they are all outstation based. From my experience in the airlines, I'd say that commuting is a significant factor in your QOL. If you decide to work at Piedmont, move to where you are based and you will love life a lot more! Or look elsewhere for work. You'll be glad you did, either way!

FixTheMess

+1 for most of what Meccathor said. However, you will rarely get the golden days you ask for. I don't think there will be much movement based on attrition. We have 3 aircraft timing out this year with no replacements. This is a continuing trend. (When I got hired we had over 80 aircraft, now only 44) The three aircraft this year equates to 24 pilots, and we are fat on pilots right now. I think we will see a couple upgrades, but the bottom of the list is a revolving door of timebuilding fo's looking to go to a better regional soon after getting a little 121 experience. The schedules are extremely inefficient, and have gotten much worse in the last 5 years. I don't want to sound like a gloomy gus, but there are too many other regionals hiring right now with a much brighter future, and better morale. Piedmont does have better first year pay than some, but without breaking guarantee, its still pretty terrible. They will also hire less experienced pilots, but that will change slightly with the new ATP requirement. Good luck with whatever decision you make!

thrustset100

On reserve it blows. Having a line blows. Scheduling is not going to let you swap, trade, or anything, you'll be on reserve for a few months as it is probably still a rotating door above you. They'll let you pick up as much reserve as you can humanly handle, good luck with the so called union members about that.

Seriously, why on earth would you consider working at that toilet of an outfit?