Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

call out times and charter life

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

casper1nine

liberal radical party ldr
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Posts
95
hey guys and gals,

any of you charter pilots out there have any thoughts on life on a one hour call out? i don't mind the thought of it, i've been on more demanding schedules, but i live in a location that is physically further than a 1 hour drive (with no traffic) from a potential charter job. my thought is that i could stage myself somewhere closer to the airport in the hours that i am on-call, but i really don't know what those hours would be yet. moving is kind of out of the question, because it does not make good financial sense for me to sell my house and move for the amount of money involved for this potential job.

so, anybody have any thoughts or advice on life as an on-call charter pilot? do companies sometimes bend the rules in certain circumstances?

as always your thoughts and comments appreciated.

-casper
 
Having lived throught the same thing (it was painful) most will work with you if you show initiative...so long as they can reach you right away and know you are on your way they seem fine...an hour is hard no matter what - traffic, shower(?) etc...

I did one hour call out from 45 mins away. It wasn't an issue. I just always answered and said "on my way". Thats all they wanted to know.

Its a period of my life I am trying to forget (almost there) but it served its purpose.

good luck.

PS -- Dont even consider moving for one of these types of jobs. - IMHO.
 
Talk to 'em before you take the job, tell them the situation, and ask if they are willing to work with you on it. I live on my pager, and it doesn't bother me a bit. I just got off the golf course, and I'm going to sit in my La-Z-Boy, play video games, and eat dinner, all while on call. Of course, last second call outs at my company are rare, (I've had 4 in 7 months), but I talked to them when I took the job, and was very clear and specific with them. "I'm going to live 45 minutes away, even more if traffic is bad, so if you call me, it's going to be AT LEAST 1 hour and 15 minutes before I can get there, and as much as 2 hours or so if I'm playing golf, out to dinner, whatever. I need to know here and now if this is going to be a problem." They said nope, and there have been no problems since. You don't have a union telling you what you can and can't do in the charter world, and what must be done by ALL. You can deal directly with your management and tailor something specifically to yours and their needs. If you've got a problem, don't take the job. If they've got a problem, they won't hire you. Just be up front from the beginning, and make sure that you understand each other. Then, if anything arises in the future, you can always say "We specifically went over this when I was hired, and you didn't have a problem with it then. Why do you have a problem now?"

That's the way I've always worked it. A lot of people hate being on call, but it doesn't bother me at all. Never has.
 

Latest resources

Back
Top