Having only been flying overseas in Europe and the Middle-East I am new to the whole concept of reserve and how it works. From the carriers I was working up until now, I am used to be getting a monthly roster, with flights (the majority of which I have no say in) and some standby duties (or reserves)
In north America and AC in particular, I gather that you get a roster at the beginning of the month (?) with blocks of reserve that will then fill up with duties as the month progresses, correct? I understand that I also have the option to bid for open flights to have more influence on my roster and the kind of flying I'm doing. This brings me to my questions:
I hear that you can do all the monthly required flying quite quickly and be done with your reserve by mid month, unless you decide to pick up over-time. Is that accurate? Does it apply to all fleets?
Based on the point above, what is the minimum flying time that you need to do per month in order to achieve your quota, and does that mean that you basically fly for 2 weeks straight?
Are the days outside of your blocks of reserve protected? i.e. if you have a 4 day block of reserve and they don't call you by the middle of the last day, you can consider that you're OFF for the rest of it? Or will they call you until the last minute of your last reserve day and potentially eat into your OFF day?
Is there a long- and short-call reserve? Or is it just the standard 2hr call-out?
Sorry for the many questions, just trying to wrap my head around on how it is done on the other side of the pond...
Ever since Best Fit was brought in, it is nearly impossible to “fly out” or “time out” as you are describing. Previously, there was seniority on reserve and you could slide your days off to accept trips. Nowadays, whoever’s reserve period fits best with the pairing gets assigned it, with little to no ability to pass (only in unicorn scenarios where a junior pilot has the EXACT same reserve pattern and EXACT same reserve time periods.)
You can’t “bid” for open flights, you can put in requests, but it’s all Best Fit, so if there are multiple pairings they can assign you, they may give you a choice, but they can also just claim Best Fit and not offer a choice.
To “time out” you need 75-85 hours, depends on the blocking maximum for that month.
Your off days are now Guaranteed days off. They can no longer force you out into them. If they have low coverage or nobody whose pattern fits a pairing, they can offer it to people into their G days off and they would then slide, but you do not have to accept this.
No long call reserve, all 2 hour short call obligation. Most pairings tend to be assigned a day or 2 in advance and there are certain times you’ll be released until your report (with caveats being still contactable for a move up at the start of your reserve period), but you are still obligated to be available for a 2 hour call out. Hopefully we can get long call in the next contract because it’s ridiculous to have every reserve pilot on a 2 hour call out.
So why on earth would anyone want to bid for reserve; as mentioned in the other thread? I assume that would be people who are counting on not getting called and live in base...
tupues wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 1:52 am
Thank you.
When was "best fit" brought in?
So why on earth would anyone want to bid for reserve; as mentioned in the other thread? I assume that would be people who are counting on not getting called and live in base...
1. To get Days Off that you probably could not hold if assigned a flying block
2. To avoid the type of pairings you might be assigned as a junior block holder
3. In combination with a vacation week for a longer stretch of time off
In most cases, reserve pilots are not assigned flying on every scheduled reserve duty day. So it may result in more days spent at home (even if on reserve call-out).
Despite the garbage reserve rules, it can work out quite well for some. I bid for reserve because I get much better flying than I would holding a (not senior) block, fly fewer days, and am home most nights. I'm also able to pass a few times every month, but sometimes it's more advantageous to accept it. Flying is normally assigned 2 days out, which frequently results in you getting released from reserve the day before, so you're never actually on reserve the full 18 days. YMMV. This is probably very fleet and position specific.
bob99 wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 5:17 am
Despite the garbage reserve rules, it can work out quite well for some. I bid for reserve because I get much better flying than I would holding a (not senior) block, fly fewer days, and am home most nights. I'm also able to pass a few times every month, but sometimes it's more advantageous to accept it. Flying is normally assigned 2 days out, which frequently results in you getting released from reserve the day before, so you're never actually on reserve the full 18 days. YMMV. This is probably very fleet and position specific.
Which fleet is this?
So how does rostering work? How are your reserve blocks determined, or is it all just assigned without any say i.e. do you have a say as to when you'd like to be off and when the reserve block is.
Does the roster get published monthly for the next month or is it rolling?
Sorry for all the questions, just getting the grips on rostering...
Ash Ketchum wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:20 am
I am junior on reserve and average 6 days working a month. If it wasn't for the terrible pay this would be the perfect job.
If you live in base I guess. If you commute I imagine this being pretty horrible, spending your time in some hotel or crash pad hoping that they’ll call.
Ash Ketchum wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:20 am
I am junior on reserve and average 6 days working a month. If it wasn't for the terrible pay this would be the perfect job.
If you live in base I guess. If you commute I imagine this being pretty horrible, spending your time in some hotel or crash pad hoping that they’ll call.
Which fleet is this?
It's Rouge and yes I am in base. I pretty much pass on everything I can so that I can work a second job from home to help pay the bills.
Ash Ketchum wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:20 am
I am junior on reserve and average 6 days working a month. If it wasn't for the terrible pay this would be the perfect job.
If you live in base I guess. If you commute I imagine this being pretty horrible, spending your time in some hotel or crash pad hoping that they’ll call.
Which fleet is this?
It's Rouge and yes I am in base. I pretty much pass on everything I can so that I can work a second job from home to help pay the bills.
Ah so you can also pass flights on? The more I dig into this the more complex it is getting
If you live in base I guess. If you commute I imagine this being pretty horrible, spending your time in some hotel or crash pad hoping that they’ll call.
Which fleet is this?
It's Rouge and yes I am in base. I pretty much pass on everything I can so that I can work a second job from home to help pay the bills.
Ah so you can also pass flights on? The more I dig into this the more complex it is getting
So it's best fit, but if there is good reserve coverage and multiple pilots all meeting best fit for a pairing at the same time, then crew sked calls in seniority order and offers the more senior pilots the option to pass.
Is it possible as a Junior, lets say first few years at AC, to try to have roster so as to have a max block of days off per month, by being on reserve or voluntering for working a maximum block of days in a row ?
Ash Ketchum wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:29 am
…….I pretty much pass on everything I can so that I can work a second job from home to help pay the bills.
That statement on its own is a sad commentary of year 1-4 at AC (upgrade excepted).
tupues wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 1:52 am
Thank you.
When was "best fit" brought in?
So why on earth would anyone want to bid for reserve; as mentioned in the other thread? I assume that would be people who are counting on not getting called and live in base...
Was part of a collective agreement amendment ratified in February 2021 piles in with a bunch of other changes.
As others have mentioned, if living in base, it can result in less days “worked” (called out on) and possibly better flying than junior blockholder, but if commuting, it is absolutely horrible.
Leading on; are the coast to coast flights generally layovers. In particular the night ones? Or whats the longest (night) turn-around that you could do?
I assume that these would be the ones most likely ending up on reserve as they're least popular. Also if you're WB FO I guess you'd be doing a lot of YYZ and YVR out of YYZ and YUL.
flyingfool wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2023 7:52 pm
Blocks so bad...people bid reserve
Reserve so bad...people that commute bid blocks
Pay so bad...people commute to afford a decent place
Sadly accurate.
Reserve does allow you to get flights that would go quite senior in a block, but either had the senior pilot book off, or commercial decided to change aircraft, so now needs to be covered from the new fleet’s reserve.
Depending on which seat and fleet, you may spend fewer days in the flight deck on reserve, but commuters often prefer the more definite start and end times that a block (even a “bad” junior block) gives you. For some getting the days off that they want is more important, so they will remain relatively senior on reserve.
Affordability is a huge problem for everyone in YYZ/YVR, and YUL is doing their part to catch up! Fingers crossed that it won’t be long before our pitiful starting wages are a thing of the past!
Again regarding reserve; do they have set start and end times like I’m used to from Europe, or is the whole block at the company’s mercy, day and night?
tupues wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 5:55 am
Again regarding reserve; do they have set start and end times like I’m used to from Europe, or is the whole block at the company’s mercy, day and night?
The new CAR’s FTDT rules for reserve cover all of that. Start times. End times. Rest.
