NJ schedule

[Scarabus]

Do you start out on the 7 on 7 off as a new hire? Or the 15 flex?

 

[CA1900]

Do you start out on the 7 on 7 off as a new hire? Or the 15 flex?

Neither. You start on the 18-day training schedule, which the company can adjust as needed to accommodate training (with some limits). You'll be on that schedule for up to 120 days beginning with your first IOE tour, or upon completion of IOE, whichever comes first. You'll then go on the 18-day Fixed, or a different schedule if you bid it.

 

[JDREsquire1224]

Neither. You start on the 18-day training schedule, which the company can adjust as needed to accommodate training (with some limits). You'll be on that schedule for up to 120 days beginning with your first IOE tour, or upon completion of IOE, whichever comes first. You'll then go on the 18-day Fixed, or a different schedule if you bid it.

What is the 18-day fixed schedule?

 

[CA1900]

What is the 18-day fixed schedule?

You'll receive your schedule for a given month by the 15th day of the previous month. You can be worked up to 18 days in a month, and the scheduled days won't change once it's published.

There's a preferential bid system that'll let you put in for a couple days off, but they're not guaranteed.

 

[JDREsquire1224]

You'll receive your schedule for a given month by the 15th day of the previous month. You can be worked up to 18 days in a month, and the scheduled days won't change once it's published.

There's a preferential bid system that'll let you put in for a couple days off, but they're not guaranteed.

Very good, thnx for the explanation. And the 15-day flew schedule, from what I understand, is a combo of reserve days?

 

[CA1900]

Very good, thnx for the explanation. And the 15-day flew schedule, from what I understand, is a combo of reserve days?

Basically, yes. You're "on-call" all month, but only in terms of which days you're working.

You'll generally either be home on a day off, or at work and on-duty. Nothing really inbetween. If they actually have something for you to do (say, somebody called in sick), you'll get a briefing to show at the airport the next day. If they don't actually have anything for you, you'll probably be told it's a day off.

It's very rare that you'd be given a duty assignment at home on this schedule, because it would burn one or more of the 15 days, and it would mean they'd have to give you three days off afterwards. So you'll generally only be called if there's a plane to assign you.


The nature of our business means our airplanes are everywhere; there's really no reason for them to send you to the airport "just in case," because the odds of your type of airplane passing through your home airport at just the time that it needs a new crewmember are really remote. In most cases at this job, your week will start with an airline flight to your plane anyway.

Also, we have a provision in our contract that prevents them from rotting us at the airport for no reason. Basically, they won't send us out to the airport unless there's an airworthy airplane, an open airport, and a complete crew. If they do send you out and all of the above aren't there, the clock starts, and after 3 hours, if they haven't released you to a hotel or gotten you a partner and a good airplane, overtime begins. (About $39/hr for a first-year guy.) If you're still at the airport with no plane or pilot after 7 hours, double overtime begins. It's a little financial disincentive to keep them from rotting you at the airport for no reason.

There will be plenty of times where you're sitting at the airport for a few hours as a "spare" crew and plane. They keep a few of those scattered around the country so, if a plane breaks, one can be dispatched on very short notice as a recovery plane to take care of the passengers. These happen to crews on any of the schedules. As I said, the only difference between the schedules is which days you're working. Once you're on duty with a plane, we're all the same in the schedulers' eyes.


If you're one of those spare crews, there's no OT involved, because you're a full crew with an airworthy airplane. That's part of the gig, as available recovery planes are a critical part of taking care of our share owners. (All planes break; it's all a question of what happens when one does. In the case of my last mechanical problem, we ended up diverting to an airport short of our destination. A recovery airplane landed less than 30 minutes after we did!)

Hope that helps.

 

[JDREsquire1224]

Thnks a ton, helps a lot.

 

[SKYLAWYER]

In the case of my last mechanical problem, we ended up diverting to an airport short of our destination. A recovery airplane landed less than 30 minutes after we did!)

That's impressive.

 

[acaTerry]

The 15 day schedule is awesome, unless you are in the early 1900s or more senior....then it sucks. Oh and you really don't want to bid CA on the 400, that sucks too, I'll tell you when it doesn't

 

[Dr Pepper]

From what I have seen of the 15, it is not being used as a reserve schedule but more a heavy days schedule. They know when these days are and the schedules are set around them.
Perhaps it is because I live in a large pilot base and am in a large fleet, we are busy on days 1-5.

 

[acaTerry]

From what I have seen of the 15, it is not being used as a reserve schedule but more a heavy days schedule. They know when these days are and the schedules are set around them.
Perhaps it is because I live in a large pilot base and am in a large fleet, we are busy on days 1-5.

I agree. It's more of a 15 day "nonscheduled schedule" where you fly all 15 days, but I still like it over the other 2 options.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Oh and you really don't want to bid CA on the 400, that sucks too, I'll tell you when it doesn't

According to some of the 400 captains I've talked to, it won't ever stop, um, "sucking".

 

[notaNJApilot]

From what I have seen of the 15, it is not being used as a reserve schedule but more a heavy days schedule. They know when these days are and the schedules are set around them.

Don't get set on the 15-Day always working the busy days. The 15-Day is our opportunity to cover last minute changes in demand.

 

[blueridge71]

Here are a couple of questions for NJA guys:

Are there tours or days of tours where you are not called out from home?

When does the health insurance coverage start?

Do you airline mid tour very often?

Do you fly many trips on the first and last day of tours?

Do you start at home base often?

 

[Twotter76]

Here are a couple of questions for NJA guys:

Are there tours or days of tours where you are not called out from home?

There are indeed. I am doing exactly that as we speak.

When does the health insurance coverage start?

Day one.

Do you airline mid tour very often?

I understand that it varies greatly by fleet. In the Encore it almost never happened. In the X or XL who knows.

Do you fly many trips on the first and last day of tours?

Lately that seems to be more and more the case but not always. Your result may vary.

Do you start at home base often?

Not normally but it does happen on occasion. I actually had one tour in jan where I started and ended at my hba but that is definitely not the norm.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Do you start at home base often?

To perhaps help clarify a little more for you, your tours will always start and end at your crew base. Whether or not you actually fly a QS tail out of or back to your crew base is another question that depends on the fleet, your crew base, and the whims of scheduling.

However, all movement from and back to your crew base takes place during your duty time. For example, if your crew base is LAX, you will always start and end your tour there. If the company would want you to fly a plane out of SMO, they'd first have you show at LAX, start your duty day and then catch a cab or other transportation to SMO. Similarly, if you were to fly a plane to VNY on your last day, the company would still have to allow time to get you back to LAX within the limit of your duty day.

 

[NJA Capt]

All of these questions are very subjective. Sorry to be vague, but the answer(s) to all of them is...It depends.

Are there tours or days of tours where you are not called out from home?

99.99% of the time you WILL be called out.

Do you airline mid tour very often?

Sometimes frequently, sometimes never.

Do you fly many trips on the first and last day of tours?

Usually yes. Sometimes both, sometimes neither.

Do you start at home base often?

90% No.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Don't get set on the 15-Day always working the busy days. The 15-Day is our opportunity to cover last minute changes in demand.

I expect that to happen. I also expected to have more show at homes or hotels to cover DNIFs, but I have not heard of that yet. You probably know better than I, as your perspective is more in tune with this part of the operation. I only know what I see first hand and what I hear on the road. Plus, 2 months is all any of us have seen. So everyone reading should take the 15 and 18 day at face value and nothing more.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Do you fly many trips on the first and last day of tours?

Do you start at home base often?

I think that both of these are dependent on your base and your fleet. If you choose TEB as your base, then I think you can count on flying on first and last days, as well as picking up your jet in TEB. If you live in Medford, OR, I would not expect very many starts from there, but you could airline a short distance and pick up a plane and fly a leg or two.

 

[CA1900]

Are there tours or days of tours where you are not called out from home?

To add to what others have said, you might get a few weeks of this while you're waiting to start IOE. Once you're released, it's pretty uncommon. In my short experience, it's only happened when I woke up, saw the whole day disappeared off my schedule on the Blackberry, and I called to ask what they wanted me to do. (The answer was, "Duty at home.")

Do you airline mid tour very often?

Like they said, it depends. If your plane breaks badly, you may airline to another one if it's available. But usually you'll end up keeping your plane for the week.

Do you fly many trips on the first and last day of tours?

I'd say about 2/3 of my recent tours have had me flying a leg on the first last day, in addition to the airline flight.

Do you start at home base often?

Pretty rare for me to do anything but airline from my home base. A couple of times, I have picked up or dropped off planes here on my first/last day, but there's a Citation Service Center here, which adds to that likelihood.