SWA vs. ATA: Schedules

[SheGaveMeClap]

I was curious to see the differences in days off between Southwest and ATA.

How many days off do the senior guys at SWA get off during the month? How many days off do the junior guys get per month? What's the average for a mid-seniority pilot?

Same question for those of you at ATA. How many days off do the senior and junior guys get? How about the guys in the middle? How much do the schedules vary by equipment type? I'd imagine the amount of days on in a row vary greatly between the L-1011, 757 and 737, but how about the days off total during the month?

Thanks in advance....

 

[jball2]

I am in the bottom 10% at SWA ( for now) and I have 18 days off this month and it pays 103 trips(about 90-91 hours). I even get a weekend off every now and then. I am based at a junior base however. If I were in HOU or DAL I'd get 15-16 off of flying weekend reserve.

 

[Pickle]

Days off

I am in the bottom 30% 760 out of @1050-1100 at ATA overall, but in the top third in MDW on the 757, and I get 17 days off this month doing turns with 82 1/2 credit hours. But that is just me.

 

[rudderdog]

Re: Days off

I've been on line for 2 or so months at ATA. Hired in May. I have a 15 day off line worth 81 hours, 1 weekend off + 1 Saturday off. MDW based 757. Reserve only lasted 1 month. Been to Maui once and could get more over seas flying if I were to sacrifice a day or two off.

 

[texanpilot]

I was also hired in May at ATA. I bid reserve. October I have 12 hour call-out, 14 days off. Last month I bid 2 hour call out with 14 days off. Worked two 4-days, thats it. 75 hours pay plus per-diem. Most lines have at least 14 days off. Senior 15 or so lines have 18-21 days off. One thing very different than SWA is the structure of Reserve lines. Some have 4-5 on, 4-5 off, some have 16 days in a row, some have 8-10 days in a row.
First year pay 37.50
Second year pay 69.00
Third year pay 84.00
Five year upgrade.
The potential to make a lot more money is out there if you wanna work the system. We are hiring 48 more this year and 200+ next year.

 

[HOUMAN]

I've been in the SWA pool for 20 months and get 30 - 31 days off with 0 TFP. But that's just me.

 

[rudderdog]

I've been in the SWA pool for 20 months and get 30 - 31 days off with 0 TFP. But that's just me.

HOUMAN, that was funny!

 

[learjetguy]

Leap year?

Houman,
I bet your just dreading February when you ONLY get 28 days off. With a grueling schedule like that I bet its almost impossible to schedule vacation days!

 

[HOUMAN]

Yea, I was dreading Febuary because it was looking like I would actually have to work for SWA as a pilot, instead of just playing one on Flightinfo. But, since SWA might slip the new hire class dates later, it looks like I just might be able to score an extra day off in Feb, due to the leap year. Cheers.

 

[PTinbound]

Later than February, HOUMAN?
No no, that's impossible. I would refuse to accept that reality.

 

[AF757Pilot]

Seniority is everything!

I've been in the SWA pool for 20 months and get 30 - 31 days off with 0 TFP. But that's just me.

Hey, I thought that seniority has benefits.....Houman, I have been in the pool for 21 months, and I am over 30 line numbers ahead of you in the pool but I don't have a better schedule than you. What's up with that?

AF (ex)

 

[Snoopy58]

AF75,

Man, I thought we'd been through this already: it isn't your overall seniority that improves your quality of life, it's your SENIORITY IN BASE!

So, I'm guessing that you're the #1 poolie in your house / apartment at the moment, yes? How much better do you want it???

Sheesh!

((Just yankin yer chain!))

Snoopy

 

[StopNTSing]

Don't know if these are common to others (ATA et all), but the things I like most about my schedule include:

1) AM trips, PM trips. Virtually all the lines are morning trips or afternoon/evening trips (almost no mixed lines). I'm a PM flyer and haven't set an alarm clock in years. Happily, roughly half the pilots like AM trips and the other half like PM trips, so even the most junior guy coming off reserve can probably get his preferred line type.

2) No Red-eyes. Unless you like charters and are senior enough to hold them.

3) No Stand-up Overnights. Unusual to get any lay-overs less than 12 hours or more than 19.

4) Duty day length. Very unusual to see one scheduled for greater than 11 hours--and since we avoid most of the delay-prone airports (ATL, LGA, ORD, EWR, etc), odds are that your actual duty will not vary greatly from scheduled.

5) Productive trips. Unusual to have more than one scheduled swap per trip (read: minimal airport appreciation time). Yes, we have some six, seven and a few eight leg days. But most of us here would rather fly a ONT-LAS-LAX-OAK-RNO-SJC-PHX day of quick turns that wraps up in 9 hrs, 40 min, than a SEA-DEN-ORD-BUF with 2-3 hr sits at the hubs and a 13 hour duty day.

6) No Hub & Spoke. Having done both, I think point-to-point domestic flying is far more enjoyable. More variety in the city-pairs and less time spent as number 25 for departure.

There's probably a few others, but those are the biggies.

 

[AF757Pilot]

AF75,

Man, I thought we'd been through this already: it isn't your overall seniority that improves your quality of life, it's your SENIORITY IN BASE!

So, I'm guessing that you're the #1 poolie in your house / apartment at the moment, yes? How much better do you want it???

Sheesh!

((Just yankin yer chain!))

Snoopy

Good point, Snoopy. However, being the #1 poolie in my house is not the same thing as being "Top Dog." I'm sure you are Top Dog at your house..... being Snoopy and all. Maybe I need to work on a better contract. Any hints Snoopy?

AF

 

[Snoopy58]

Top dog at home, but still pretty low on the totem pole at work... hoping the poolies will be coming aboard soon to give me a boost there!

 

[HarleyGuy]

One thing I'd love to know about is how easy it is at SWA to make more than guarantee. The way we're set up, you either hardly work and make 75 hours, or fly and make 110. Most of our rigs count above guarantee, even if it's your first credit hour for the month, so you can make alot (heard we had a capt make $360k last year). Can you do that at SWA or are you limited to close to guarantee (like Delta)?

Thanks for the info!

 

[bigred]

It's very easy to get more than your guarantee. You can pick up extra trips through Monthly Open Time, Daily Open Time, Extra Fly lists and Voluntary Junior Assist. You can also pick up trips that other pilots are giving away.
I live in domicile and I've averaged 113 trips a month. Last month I bid reserve, worked 10 days, had 47 block hours for 118 trips. Some months I work more than others but I typically have 15 to 17 days off a month. I've averaged 73 block hours a month. Hope this answers your question.

 

[HarleyGuy]

It does- thanks!

BTW, where & when did you fly Freddie? I was at Travis 99-03.

 

[bigred]

Dover, 93-97