climbrate

Yes, I do have to be home those days/times.
I know it would be hard to predict, but any idea of how long it would take to have enough seniority to be able
to make that work?
And yes, DFW would be my preferred base.

GWY320

Have to agree with Cinco. Going to be pretty tough. Wild guess would be 4 years in DFW to be able to do that with some regular success. Still do not think it will be every Thursday/Sunday, however.

CincoDeMayo

Ok, so lets work it in a real life scenario.

Say you are DFW based and you bid Thursdays and Sundays off. So you are wanting PBS to build a schedule for you for this.

You will have to waive down to 1 day off
You will then have to work either 3 day trips Monday-Wednesday and/or Saturday day trip turns. DFW has essentially no day turns and those that they have go super senior, like FOs who are right at upgrade or have bypassed. So that leaves 3 day trips. Lets say you were able to snag 4 3-day trips, you would need them to average around 18 hours a trip to reach the normal credit window of 72.
Odds of you getting 3 4-day trips averaging this credit? Near impossible in DFW. Maybe with a little seniority you can try and get trips the end early afternoon Thursday or ones that start evening Sunday, but that will take some time too.

Not trying to dissuade you but DFW is senior very senior. I want you to have the most realistic expectation on what to expect. PBS isnt someone you can call and request a schedule. It gives you what you can hold with what schedules it has left.

Honestly I think you need to decide on having one of these days off and maybe get lucky and drop to score the other day off a few times a month. You wont be getting both these days off every month, ESPECIALLY in DFW.

If you come here thinking this is possible after a few years, youre going to be miserable when you learn the reality. Keep your schedule goals realistic and be ready to make changes. Thats the bottom line reality of seniority based scheduling

onedolla

I’d guess at the very least a couple years. Essentially guaranteeing a long weekend off every month even with out of base swaps (and accounting for the Sunday afternoon commutes) would be really tough to get quickly. And yes you could always try to get lucky with a 2 day filler Friday Saturday, but finding ones that are in base or commutable every week of every month again is impossible to predict let alone guarantee.

FNGFO

It would be better to bid a line in the junior FO base, and then drop as much of that schedule as possible while picking up in Dallas or another base to assure those days off than to hope you can hold base and days off as a junior pilot via PBS.

That’s how I’d attack that problem anyway. Weekends are hallowed ground for some. Especially those with kids. I never really care until I made some.

Mulligan Please

I’m a new guy here and based in DFW. DM for any questions and I’ll send you screen shots of my schedule to help you.

climbrate

Understood, thanks for the responses guys, y’all are being very helpful.

So that was my next question, what if I just bid to be based at the most junior base, and then just drop to 0 and pick up some trips that don’t fall on those days/times?

FNGFO

Thats what I’d do. Keep in mind the open time in Dallas has generally been pretty slim pickings. You may have to pick a week for extended flying in another base to assure 2-3 weekends off in the manner you like. You can also drop to 0 and place yourself on the premium list in Dallas.

This might work. Or it might result in some pretty low credit months.

Excargodog

The problem is the trips that you won’t be able to drop, and there will be some, especially when you are junior. A lot of these ploys will USUALLY work, but do not invariably work. It depends on how critical it is to you that they never fail.

CincoDeMayo

This is the cold reality. The perception from those on the outside is our work rules are fantastic and everyone benefits from them. I appreciate utilizing our work rules to my advantage and enjoy flexibility afforded to me from the work rules. But in the end, seniority is seniority and when you’re a new pilot at the bottom, unable to drop reserve, trying to get an exact schedule in the most senior base…work rules only go so far.

Gonna be tough.