Southwest or Delta
04-20-2022, 12:35 PM
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Posts: 677
Might want to read ^^this^^ book. Biggest takeaway: a good night's sleep is even more important for our longterm health than most of us ever imagined. Then decide if long-haul international flying really is for you. Then recall that SWA has that much-maligned (or loved) AM/PM schedule thing....and no red-eyes....and that there are many SWA pilots (like this one) that have honestly not set an alarm clock for virtually my entire 20+ year career here. But this also may not be important to you.
04-20-2022, 04:03 PM
#17
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Aug 2021
Posts: 15
I will have to give that a read. I do value sleep a great amount. Can you explain the AM/PM schedule and how that works? Does seniority come into play with that?
Might want to read ^^this^^ book. Biggest takeaway: a good night's sleep is even more important for our longterm health than most of us ever imagined. Then decide if long-haul international flying really is for you. Then recall that SWA has that much-maligned (or loved) AM/PM schedule thing....and no red-eyes....and that there are many SWA pilots (like this one) that have honestly not set an alarm clock for virtually my entire 20+ year career here. But this also may not be important to you.
Might want to read ^^this^^ book. Biggest takeaway: a good night's sleep is even more important for our longterm health than most of us ever imagined. Then decide if long-haul international flying really is for you. Then recall that SWA has that much-maligned (or loved) AM/PM schedule thing....and no red-eyes....and that there are many SWA pilots (like this one) that have honestly not set an alarm clock for virtually my entire 20+ year career here. But this also may not be important to you.
04-20-2022, 04:48 PM
#18
Line Holder
Joined APC: Dec 2013
Posts: 36
With some exceptions, your entire month consists of trips that start and end at roughly the same time window. PM start 1400 end 2400 AM start 0500 end 1500. +/- 1 hour. I love the AM/PM construct since I live in base and don’t have to mess with my circadian rhythm each trip; commuters don’t like them as much since you can only commute on one side of the trip same day. PMs generally go more senior than AMs in most bases.
04-20-2022, 05:44 PM
#19
weekends off? Nope...
Joined APC: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,021
Seniority does come into play with initial bidding but once our Line improvement Trip Trade opens up on the 25th of each month you can start to massage your schedule more to your liking. For example, I bid a PM line for Apirl to maximize my vacation pay, but with a 3 year old at home, my life is on the AM side of the clock. So once elitt opened, i traded all my trips for AMs and then I'm set for the month. Depending on where you are based, the AM trips either get easier as you head west or harder as the trip goes east. North/South trips that stay in 1 time zone are super easy. I like to head to Hawaii where the AM trips get easier. To each his own. Once you embrace the AMs you can get off weekend flying quicker.
04-20-2022, 06:27 PM
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2016
Position: Pilot
Posts: 180
I'll buy you a beer if you think one of our new hires from Dec can hold DAL in 2022. With LEAD Ops walking back their hiring projections twice already this year (by ~10% both times), and with the attrition in new hire classes, my best guess is 14-18 months for a new hire to hold DAL. The only base more senior is ATL.
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