757 vs 737 at CAL

[100/hour/5y]

Just found out I got the job at CAL….
1. What is life like on the 757 on Reserve in Newark?
2. How long to you can hold a line on the 757 in EWR?

Thanks

 

[Ex737Driver]

Take the 737. More days off, with pay the same the first year. Will hold a line on the 737 faster. Commute is better on the 757, though.

 

[IAHERJ]

Congrats on the job. I had a choice of aircraft in my class and took the 737. I am glad I did. You will hold a line very quickly in EWR. Reserve will be hit or miss being that you are starting during the Fall. Reserve will be so short that you should not base your decision on reserve at this time. If you were hired a few years from now, this might be more important.

Take the 737, if you don't like the flying(I don't know why anyone wouldn't as diverse as it is) you can always bid the 757/767 on the next bid and you will be sent fairly quickly to training. I bid the 757(just to do it) in my first year and went to training 2 months after being awarded the airplane. Never sat reserve on the 757 so can't tell you anything about it. Sat reserve on the 737 in IAH for a few months and was used every reserve day except 1 each month. Good trips/day drips/South America, Mexico, Carribean, domestic as well. You can always go up to the 757 or 777 but you have to wait 2 years to go down if you start on the 757 and don't like it.

IAHERJ

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

I didn't get the choice in my new hire class. I got 756 EWR and wanted 737 IAH but I have a 2 year seat lock if I want to go to the 737. I couldn't get IAH for 19 months if I wanted it on the 756. EWR 757/767 flying is much different than anything you've ever done before, at least that's how it was with me. 90% of your flying will be to Europe flying redeyes and your legs will be 6-9 hours long. You'll do a fair amount of dead heading to Europe and then act as the IRO (International Relief Officer) on the way back. This isn't too bad now that the dead head pay is back to 100%. You do a redeye going over, 24 hour layover seeing the sights of Europe, and then fly back the next morning from Europe doing, in effect a second redeye since your body clock is on East Coast time. The pros are that you get to see some great places in Europe with amazing overnights that beat any I ever had at the regionals. You get to fly a great airplane and occasionally the 767. The schedules are excellent for commuting in and out the same day. International meals are better and you're treated fairly well and the international hotels are all nice that we stay in. The biggest con is that you are always tired and that kind of screws you up a lot. You don't get that many landings especially if you're IRO a lot. Some people don't like being IRO since you're kind of a third wheel. I don't mind it that much, especially since most of the time you get to dead head over in Business First. Some of the trips are less productive than some 737 domestic trips I've seen. The 756 trips average 14-16 hours per three day which are 90% of what's out there. There are some 1 day trips to Florida and a few to the Caribbean. There are a few Caribbean two days, a few domestic 2-days to LAX, LAS, and SFO. But 90% of the flying is full of 3-day trips to Europe. You'll average 6 3-day trips a month once you're a line holder. When I was on reserve they flew me all of the time but I've talked to another pilot who didn't fly that much so who knows. PM me if you have more questions.

 

[Scrapdog]

I didn't get the choice in my new hire class. I got 756 EWR and wanted 737 IAH but I have a 2 year seat lock if I want to go to the 737. I couldn't get IAH for 19 months if I wanted it on the 756. EWR 757/767 flying is much different than anything you've ever done before, at least that's how it was with me. 90% of your flying will be to Europe flying redeyes and your legs will be 6-9 hours long. You'll do a fair amount of dead heading to Europe and then act as the IRO (International Relief Officer) on the way back. This isn't too bad now that the dead head pay is back to 100%. You do a redeye going over, 24 hour layover seeing the sights of Europe, and then fly back the next morning from Europe doing, in effect a second redeye since your body clock is on East Coast time. The pros are that you get to see some great places in Europe with amazing overnights that beat any I ever had at the regionals. You get to fly a great airplane and occasionally the 767. The schedules are excellent for commuting in and out the same day. International meals are better and you're treated fairly well and the international hotels are all nice that we stay in. The biggest con is that you are always tired and that kind of screws you up a lot. You don't get that many landings especially if you're IRO a lot. Some people don't like being IRO since you're kind of a third wheel. I don't mind it that much, especially since most of the time you get to dead head over in Business First. Some of the trips are less productive than some 737 domestic trips I've seen. The 756 trips average 14-16 hours per three day which are 90% of what's out there. There are some 1 day trips to Florida and a few to the Caribbean. There are a few Caribbean two days, a few domestic 2-days to LAX, LAS, and SFO. But 90% of the flying is full of 3-day trips to Europe. You'll average 6 3-day trips a month once you're a line holder. When I was on reserve they flew me all of the time but I've talked to another pilot who didn't fly that much so who knows. PM me if you have more questions.

What was your DOH?

 

[flyingmorgans]

Thanks, I too am deciding which way to go (757 vs 737). I live about 1:15 south of Newark and am leaning towards the 757....what is the approximate departure time on day 1 for a Europe trip and the approximate return time on day 3? Just wondering since I've been told these Europe trips are liked by commuters. Thanks!

PS. The one day trips, how productive and how easy to pick up as a newer hire?

 

[acbarney]

I live 1:30 from EWR. I was hired 6/05 and I've been on the 756 since day 1. The 3 day Europes depart anywhere between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.. We have a 1 hour show prior, so figure on earliest show for Europe somewhere around 5 p.m. They arrive back between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on day 3. Some of the earliest arrival times are the most junior trips (SNN, DUB, BFS most of the U.K.) so you can figure on 1/2 day of work on day 3 and 1/4 day of work on day 1.

I havn't flown the 737 here, but I check my relative seniority for schedules I might be able to hold and compare that to the 756. I held 12 days off for the first two years on the 756, and could have held 14+ days off from month 5 on the 737. 12 days off on the 756 sounds really bad, and it is. But if you live locally count on an additional 4 days off a month. You do back to back Europe 3 days and get 30+ hours off inbetween at home cause you get in at noon and don't leave till 6 or later the next day.

The one days to Florida are relatively easy to get, the shorter the easier, i.e. MCO. The longer turns to the carribean go pretty senior though not crazy senior. I can hold 8 hour SDQ turns, not on weekends, and I'm bidding 52%.

 

[DHPFLYN]

How is the IAH-EWR commute if you can't hold IAH.
I assume there is no way possible to get the 757,767 in IAH out of class. Sounds like the 73 is the way to go.

 

[JUNK YARD DOG]

IAH-EWR commute, don't even think about it! I sometimes go out to W. TX to visit family and generally take AA to DFW because pbt oversold and 30+ non rev's not to mention the PS riders..

 

[Uniform Shop]

I live 1:30 from EWR. I was hired 6/05 and I've been on the 756 since day 1. The 3 day Europes depart anywhere between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.. We have a 1 hour show prior, so figure on earliest show for Europe somewhere around 5 p.m. They arrive back between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on day 3. Some of the earliest arrival times are the most junior trips (SNN, DUB, BFS most of the U.K.) so you can figure on 1/2 day of work on day 3 and 1/4 day of work on day 1.

I havn't flown the 737 here, but I check my relative seniority for schedules I might be able to hold and compare that to the 756. I held 12 days off for the first two years on the 756, and could have held 14+ days off from month 5 on the 737. 12 days off on the 756 sounds really bad, and it is. But if you live locally count on an additional 4 days off a month. You do back to back Europe 3 days and get 30+ hours off inbetween at home cause you get in at noon and don't leave till 6 or later the next day.

The one days to Florida are relatively easy to get, the shorter the easier, i.e. MCO. The longer turns to the carribean go pretty senior though not crazy senior. I can hold 8 hour SDQ turns, not on weekends, and I'm bidding 52%.

I heard that the long haul flying is really tough on your back and could cause you to go out on medical. Is that true?