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SkyWest F/O reserve daily schedules

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wuberoo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Posts
48
I am trying to findout what a typical SKW FO Reserve pilot daily schedule would look like? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 
I am trying to findout what a typical SKW FO Reserve pilot daily schedule would look like? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

There usually is no typical schedule when you are on reserve at most companies and SKW is no different. You can bid on reserve days/windows and will be awarded based on seniority. If you have a 5 day reserve let`s say from Monday through Friday and your reserve window is from 4am to 4pm, then you are at your respective companies beck and call during that period. This usually means scheduling can assign you based on the companies needs. There are other factors also but the afore mentioned are the basics of reserve.

So it is hard to answer your question concerning a "daily schedule" because it could well possibly vary from day to day. Hope that helped.
 
I probably should have been more specific with the question. I didn't know if a SKW pilot would mind posting an average schedule if they are based out of SLC? That would be my ideal because I want to eventually get on with them at the SLC base??? Thanks
 
There usually is no typical schedule when you are on reserve at most companies and SKW is no different. You can bid on reserve days/windows and will be awarded based on seniority. If you have a 5 day reserve let`s say from Monday through Friday and your reserve window is from 4am to 4pm, then you are at your respective companies beck and call during that period. This usually means scheduling can assign you based on the companies needs. There are other factors also but the afore mentioned are the basics of reserve.

So it is hard to answer your question concerning a "daily schedule" because it could well possibly vary from day to day. Hope that helped.

Do you have to sit at the airport the whole time from 4am-4pm or do they call you at home when they need you?
 
Do you have to sit at the airport the whole time from 4am-4pm or do they call you at home when they need you?

If you are awarded the 4am-4pm window you can sit at home (if you live in base) or crashpad (if you commute) during your reserve period and wait for them to call. You get a two hour callout, which basically means you have 2 hours to sign in from the time you are notified. So if you have all of your stuff in your car and go hit the driving range and are able to sign in within 2 hours then you are ok. They really don`t care where you are when they call, but if you don`t sign in within the alloted time their care factor will increase significantly as to why you didn`t report on time and may warrant a visit to the CP`s office.

Like "bigshooter107" stated, if you are assigned a "ready reserve" then you will have to spend whatever time they assign you the ready reserve at the airport.
 
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As far as bidding goes for the reserve guys, we bid on hard reserve lines. This means that the schedules are pre-made and we get to look at the schedules before we bid. There are 3 different types of reserve. AM reserve means you are on call 4AM-4PM. PM is 9AM-9PM. And LC, or Long Call, means you are on reserve for the whole day (all 24 hours), however it is a 12 hour call out instead of the normal 2 hour call out. Long Call reserve generally goes to the more senior reserve pilots. Normally, the only time you will get ready reserve is when they tack it on to either the beginning or end of a pairing. I have never had to come to the airport for the sole purpose of sitting ready reserve. A pretty typical reserve schedule would be something like this: 4 on, 3 off, 5 on, 2 off
 
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4 years of reserve at Skywest in SLC for me. It is a VERY senior base for first officers. After 4 years I bid at about 89%, meaning 89% of first officers in the base are senior to me. In MSP I would bid about 20%. I get used almost every day on reserve and I have had a mix of am, pm, and lc reserve lines as explained above. In the slower months I do mostly 2 day trips and some locals. During busy months like March, December, or summer months I get a lot of 4 day trips.

I live here in SLC so I honestly do not mind reserve. The only real frustrating thing to me is ready reserve, which is the reserve where you have to sit at the airport. It is almost always added to the end of my schedule so instead of being able to go home I have to sit around for 2 to 6 hours before I can leave. Good luck!
 

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