Another Great Lakes Jumpseat question

[Offwidth]

Hey Guys-
Been thinking about moving to Riverton, Wy and was wondering about jumpseating with you to Denver from there once or twice a month. Are your flights usually full/do they cancel much? Would you say it's fairly easy/hard?Thanks for the info.

 

[Cardinal]

Once or twice a month wouldn't be too bad, once a week might be rough.

If it's been awhile since you flew the Beech, the feds seriously jacked with the standard pax weights and really hurt these aircraft. The Riverton schedule bounces between the 1900 and the Brasilia, each with it's challenges. The Brasilia cannot take 30 people plus a jumpseater, ever, even with minimal bags. ZFW. Think 27, maybe 28 on the average day. Summer heats get brutal, with restrictions of 21, 22, 23 pax not unheard of. Also westbound with an alternate can produce some bad restrictions.

A significant number of E120 flights are downgraded to 1900 at the last second due to crew or aircraft availability, so be forewarned.

The Beech can haul 19 plus 20-25 bags, usually CG limited until the temps get out of sight. Revenue Management is happy to sell 21 seats, however.

RIW is one of the busier stations, with alot of fullish aircraft. On the other hand, Riverton doesn't cancel much, which will help.

But don't let me scare you off, I always had the deepest sympathy for commuters who relied on us because so often it was on operational disaster. Yet they usually replied that they didn't have many issues, and were just glad someone flew to their little town. A ZW FA contentedly commuted out of there for a long time, so it can be done.

Nothing conclusive, but good luck!

 

[Offwidth]

Thanks for the info, Cardinal. I'm there!

 

[thepotato232]

Loads in RIW usually aren't too full, so I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to make that commute. Even the Beech flights usually aren't filled to capacity.