Vacation
08-20-2022, 08:13 AM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2008
Posts: 341
First of all, I start my SWA pilot training this fall. I know NOTHING about the vacation time and bidding, except what I've read here. My longtime neighbor passed away and his widow wants us to visit her in Thailand when she moves back, preferably in my first year of employment. I'd love to put together 3 weeks to go out or at least give her a reasonable expectation of when we would be able. With international travel advance purchase timing and the bidding program, is there any way I could reasonably expect to do this?
I’d recommend going to visit in January-March 2024. You’ll have a full two weeks vacation. Mid January to February vacation is easy to get. You’ll be a line holder by then and be able to make more money on the trip pulls and more time off. The weather in Thailand is great that time of year.
Good luck
08-20-2022, 12:54 PM
#12
On Reserve
Joined APC: Sep 2021
Position: P-3 Captain
Posts: 19
Vacation
Welcome to SWA. I’m sorry for your loss. You will get less than a week of vacation next year. Because it’s less than a week you won’t bid for it, scheduling will put it on your board.
I’d recommend going to visit in January-March 2024. You’ll have a full two weeks vacation. Mid January to February vacation is easy to get. You’ll be a line holder by then and be able to make more money on the trip pulls and more time off. The weather in Thailand is great that time of year.
Good luck
I’d recommend going to visit in January-March 2024. You’ll have a full two weeks vacation. Mid January to February vacation is easy to get. You’ll be a line holder by then and be able to make more money on the trip pulls and more time off. The weather in Thailand is great that time of year.
Good luck
08-21-2022, 12:07 AM
#13
Strike averted!
Joined APC: Mar 2015
Position: B737
Posts: 3,789
Hey just food for thought, but don’t give up on it just because of a lack of vacation.
You may be able to bid, trade, move, give away, or need a sick call to feel better and arrange trips in a manner that could give you a reasonable amount of time off.
Sometimes people can arrange their trips to where a block of time exists at the end of one month and a block at the beginning of the next month, and so on.
Obviously it’s harder on reserve or during the summer, and you have to keep in mind that your recurrent training will be likely around the ten month mark or so (they change mine every year).
You may be able to bid, trade, move, give away, or need a sick call to feel better and arrange trips in a manner that could give you a reasonable amount of time off.
Sometimes people can arrange their trips to where a block of time exists at the end of one month and a block at the beginning of the next month, and so on.
Obviously it’s harder on reserve or during the summer, and you have to keep in mind that your recurrent training will be likely around the ten month mark or so (they change mine every year).
08-21-2022, 04:51 AM
#14
On Reserve
Joined APC: Sep 2021
Position: P-3 Captain
Posts: 19
Vacation
Hey just food for thought, but don’t give up on it just because of a lack of vacation.
You may be able to bid, trade, move, give away, or need a sick call to feel better and arrange trips in a manner that could give you a reasonable amount of time off.
Sometimes people can arrange their trips to where a block of time exists at the end of one month and a block at the beginning of the next month, and so on.
Obviously it’s harder on reserve or during the summer, and you have to keep in mind that your recurrent training will be likely around the ten month mark or so (they change mine every year).
You may be able to bid, trade, move, give away, or need a sick call to feel better and arrange trips in a manner that could give you a reasonable amount of time off.
Sometimes people can arrange their trips to where a block of time exists at the end of one month and a block at the beginning of the next month, and so on.
Obviously it’s harder on reserve or during the summer, and you have to keep in mind that your recurrent training will be likely around the ten month mark or so (they change mine every year).
Yeah. I wondered about that, but I'd have to get lucky on a reasonably priced ticket very close to my travel date. I'll put some alerts on my route with the airfare sites. Thank you for the input.
08-21-2022, 05:11 AM
#15
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2008
Posts: 341
Keep in mind you can also nonrev over there. I don’t know of any direct flights from CONUS to Thailand. But, there are several ways to connect in Asia. Your family’s nonrev benefits begin 6 months after your start date at SWA.
08-21-2022, 07:44 AM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,778
Does spouse and immediate family have to wait the 6 months as well?
08-25-2022, 10:41 AM
#20
Line Holder
Joined APC: Aug 2009
Position: Right 737
Posts: 85
Select "Drop All" with your vacation preferences.
Then bid east coast weekend AMs ... haha, those suck as a west coast PMer.
There are a couple pay to play bidding programs around, you'll find them pretty quick. Use them, drop 2 x 4-day trips per vacation week. A Single week easily is about 2 weeks off (nominally, about 12~13 days). When you are bidding vacation drop, work the stuff outside the vacation week, not max block inside, long winded reason why ... but that's the way to do it to maximize pay per time off.
When you get 2 or more vaca weeks, trade with someone else to separate your weeks (e.g., week 1 & 3 in a month, vice touching weeks 2&3, etc...). Now those 2 weeks will drops "about" the entire month (your pay will blow, but you will have a ton of time off). 2 weeks spread across a month with 4x4-day trips, can easily drop the entire month; often, the lower "vacation drop" lines leave a little something somewhere, like a missed overlap trip (lead in / lead out), 5 x 3-day lines, ...
Don't be afraid of the Blank lines here. Blanks are not filled with just sick / mil pull pilots, but the vacation guys senior to you! Then you get to reap the rewards of the senior guy bidding vacation pull.
3 weeks separated across a month will get you "P" status ("P"aper bidder, or "P"ay only, doesn't matter, results are the same); now, sort your lines for the highest pay (make sure they touch the weekends). I did this years ago. 3 vacation weeks was 6 (or 7) weeks off, full months of "p"ay (off June 24th - August 7th, if memory is correct). Got lost on a self guided safari tour throughout Africa when the kids were younger.
The only thing wrong with our vacation, is we don't have 6, 7, 8 or more weeks off per year, or get them more junior!
Yut!
I'm just waiting for ELITT to open in an hour and half ... then the fun begins!
Then bid east coast weekend AMs ... haha, those suck as a west coast PMer.
There are a couple pay to play bidding programs around, you'll find them pretty quick. Use them, drop 2 x 4-day trips per vacation week. A Single week easily is about 2 weeks off (nominally, about 12~13 days). When you are bidding vacation drop, work the stuff outside the vacation week, not max block inside, long winded reason why ... but that's the way to do it to maximize pay per time off.
When you get 2 or more vaca weeks, trade with someone else to separate your weeks (e.g., week 1 & 3 in a month, vice touching weeks 2&3, etc...). Now those 2 weeks will drops "about" the entire month (your pay will blow, but you will have a ton of time off). 2 weeks spread across a month with 4x4-day trips, can easily drop the entire month; often, the lower "vacation drop" lines leave a little something somewhere, like a missed overlap trip (lead in / lead out), 5 x 3-day lines, ...
Don't be afraid of the Blank lines here. Blanks are not filled with just sick / mil pull pilots, but the vacation guys senior to you! Then you get to reap the rewards of the senior guy bidding vacation pull.
3 weeks separated across a month will get you "P" status ("P"aper bidder, or "P"ay only, doesn't matter, results are the same); now, sort your lines for the highest pay (make sure they touch the weekends). I did this years ago. 3 vacation weeks was 6 (or 7) weeks off, full months of "p"ay (off June 24th - August 7th, if memory is correct). Got lost on a self guided safari tour throughout Africa when the kids were younger.
The only thing wrong with our vacation, is we don't have 6, 7, 8 or more weeks off per year, or get them more junior!
Yut!
I'm just waiting for ELITT to open in an hour and half ... then the fun begins!
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