Typical Trips?

[brucek]

For the airline pilots here: What's a typical trip for you? Do you fly to/from your hub on every leg? How much variety do you get in a month? I realize the answer may be different for various aircraft.

Thanks,

Bruce.
BJC, Jeffco, CO

 

[chperplt]

Well, in the last week I've flown HYA-ACK-BOS-RUT-BOS-ACK-HYA twice and HYA-LGA-PWM-LGA-PVD-HYA twice... Last month I flew PWM-BOS-RKD-BOS-ALB-ISP-ALB-BOS-PWM..

These were one day trips..

 

[TriDriver]

brucek

I fly for Delta Express on the B-737-200. All our trips originate out of MCO and go pretty much up and down the East Coast to BOS, PVD, BDL, JFK, EWR, IAD, CMH, IND, and from most of those northern cities down to TPA, FLL, PBI, and MCO. We went a lot more places before 9-11. Most of them are 4 day trips with most legs being about 2-1/2 to 3 hours. My last one was pretty typical. I live in FL, so I just drive to MCO to start a trip.

First day we went MCO-EWR. 2nd day EWR-FLL-JFK. 3rd day JFK-FLL-BDL. 4th day BDL-MCO-IAD-MCO. We get a 5-1/2 hour/day duty rig on Delta Express, so a 4-day trip is paid for 22 hours, even though I only flew 20-1/2 hours over the 4 days.

I have three 4-day trips and one 1-day trip (MCO-BOS-MCO worth about 6 hours) this month for a total pay of about 72-1/2 hours.

I got bumped back to the Delta Express 737 in June this year. Before that I was commuting to New York to fly mainline Delta MD-88. A typical 3 day trip out of LGA or EWR was to fly down to ATL, then run from gate D-35 to B-1, fly a 35 minute leg to MOB and back to ATL, take another 20 minutes to run to the far end of another concourse, and fly 45 minutes to MEM for a layover. 2nd day was in-and-out of ATL on about 4 short legs to TLH, PNS, VPS, CHS, etc. for a layover. 3rd day was in-and-out of ATL for a couple legs, then back to New York. Then I have to sit in the crash-pad for a couple days of reserve. I'd be gone from home about 3 weeks out of every month. BTW, mainline Delta has a 5 hour per day duty rig, so you typically fly 15 days if you fly a domestic narrow-body aircraft.

12 years ago when I was flying international for Pan Am the flying was a lot different and really great! But, that was long ago in a galaxy far away.

TriDriver Bob

 

[Typhoon1244]

For a typical DFW-based ASA pilot, a two-day trip is something like what I have tomorrow:

Start at 07:20
DFW-HSV (sit for three hours)
HSV-DFW
DFW-MAF (10-hour layover)
MAF-DFW
DFW-BHM
BHM-DFW
Finish at 14:30

The ones that really suck are the "stand-up" overnights:

Start at 20:05
DFW-AMA (7-hour layover, which includes transportation to hotel, etc.)
AMA-DFW
Finish at 07:30

 

[tarp]

Regional Pilot

We have:

Day-trips: Out and back to your base of operations.
Two-days: One overnight at outstation.
Three-days: Two overnights at outstations.
Four & Five days: You get it.
Stand-ups: Continuous duty overnights where you may or may not get to see a hotel during your time away from base.

As to variety, its all in what you can bid. Seniority is everything. Some pilots would like a "controlled" bid. For example, you live in NYC, parents in Ft. Lauderdale. What if you could simply fly that city pair all the time? I myself bid South in the winter, North in the Summer - air conditioning is good, but its nice to have a fresh breeze in ME in August or play a round of golf down in SC in January.

 

[brucek]

Thanks all....

Some great replies, I find this very interesting (as a private pilot).

Bob- I bet those PanAm international schedules were something. Didn't they have a round-the-world service that basically circled the equator, with spurs off the north and south (maybe PA 1 and 2)? Maybe back in the B707/DC-8 days?

Thanks,

Bruce.

 

[DC10]

Flying the DC10 for Gemini, we have a variety of schedules. We fly semi-scheduled routes to regular destinations, mostly in South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina). These range from out and backs from MIA (3.5 hrs each way to Colombia) to 4 day layovers in Buenos Aires. We occasionally have trips other destinations from MIA - EG: I returned yesterday from a MIA-ELLX (Luxembourg)-CYQX(Gander, Canada)-MIA trip that totalled 19 hours flight time and a 24 hour rest in ELLX.

We fly charters all over the world and this is my favourite flying as it's really unpredictable and always an adventure. The company recently flew trips to Turkey, the Russian Republic of Georgia, Sicily and the Middle East, as well as regularly scheduled flights across the Pacific to Korea, Alaska, Hawaii, and Australia via Fiji.

We are home based, so we're not tied to the flying out of any single domicile which is great as we can do South America one month, Europe the next and Asia the month after that. If you live in a city where flights depart, as I do, you will get upwards of 20 days off a month. If you don't, you'll be on the road for up to 17 days in a row every month.

 

[TriDriver]

brucek

Yeah, Pan Am had Clipper 1 and Clipper 2 going around the world in different directions. They met in someplace like Bangkok. That was gone before I got there. They sold the Pacific routes to United in about 1985, and I was hired in May '87.

I did Europe, Middle East, SW Asia, Africa, and South America on the A-310 Airbus, which was very fortunate for me because that was what Delta bought in Nov 1991 (the A-310 and the B-727 Shuttle operation from LGA to BOS and DCA).

Then they code-shared away all the Pan Am stuff they overpaid for, got rid of the Airbuses, furloughed 500+ pilots in '93 to '96, and I went back to the 727 panel and started working my way up the ladder again.

What a business!!

Bob the TriDriver

 

[Prop Trash]

Here is an example of a four day EMB-145 trip at Continental Express:

day one
Houston - Dallas
Dallas - Houston
Houston - Veracruz, Mexico

day two
still in Veracruz (32 hour layover)

day three
Veracruz - Houston
Houston - Milwaukee
Milwaukee - Newark

day four
Newark - St. Louis
St. Louis - Houston

This trip was worth around 17:00 hours of hard time and 2:30 of soft time for a total of 19:30. Most four day trips at CALEX are worth between 18 and 20 hours.

 

[brucek]

Thanks all for the information.

Much appreciated, and very interesting.

Bruce.

BJC. Jeffco, CO

 

[peepsmover]

Trips Ahoy!

Here is a taste on International.

D1: ANC-NRT (Narita/Tokyo),

D3: NRT-SIN (Singapore)

D5: SIN-NRT

D4: NRT-SFO

D5: SFO-NRT

D7: NRT-LAX

D8: LAX-ANC

Then followed usually by one 3 day variation of ANC-NRT-ANC or ANC-JFK-ANC, or one 4 day version of ANC-HKG-KIX (Osaka, Japan)-ANC.

What really makes me drool is a 4 day trip to JFK, where the layover is nearly 60 hours! I am way too junior to get those.

We also have airbus guys flying 8 days (two turns a day) out of NRT, with two days of dead head, so for a total of 10 days, staying within two time zones, not too bad.

 

[brucek]

Thanks, Those are some great trips.

Is this pax or cargo? (I expect the latter, as you appear to be based at PANC).

Thanks,

Bruce.

 

[KingAirer]

Good thread! Keep um coming

 

[dsee8driver]

DC8 domestic and international!

Domestic


Tuesday 900z TOL/RFD/LRD HOTEL 11 HRS
Wed 0200z LRD/DFW/TOL Hotel 24 hrs
Thrusday 0900z TOL/JFK/BDL Hotel 13 hrs
Friday 0200z BDL/JFK/TOL - 0900z TOL/RFD/LRD
Sat 1245z LRD/DFW/TOL off Untill Monday night


International...<---- High seniority other trips include 3 days layover in Hawaii...

Commercial to Bahrain

Bahrain/Diego Garcia/Singapore 24 Lay over
Singapore/Diego Garcia/Singapore 3 days layover while plane goes to Japan and back
Singapore/Diego/ Bahrain Commercial home!

 

[abxaviator]

Here is my coming month:

Tues - ILN-MEM, 15hr layover, MEM-ILN
Wed - ILN-ELP, 36hr layover
Thur - ELP-ILN
Fri - ILN-PIT, layover until Mon night (jumpseat home for four work days)
Mon - PIT-ILN

Off for 10 days.

Fri - ILN-CLT, 4 day layover, js home
Mon - CLT-ILN
Tue - ILN-RST, layover, RST-ILN
Wed - ILN-MDT, layover, MDT-ILN

Off for 5 days.

Tues - ILN-COS, layover, COS-ILN
Wed - ILN-MDT, layover, MDT-ILN
Thur - ILN-FAR, layover, FAR-ILN

 

[peepsmover]

Trips Ahoy

Brucek: Yeah it is a freighter arrv/dep to ANC, but once we hit NRT, we mix it up both pax and freight, which is neat, because its nice to have total silence, ergo boxes and other times the dynamics of pax/Flight Attendants is great too.

Wow, 4 day layover you head home AND get per diem? That rocks!

 

[KingAirer]

Chperplt, Do you guys always alternate legs when running flight like HYA-ACK-BOS or do you keep the leg when do the quick 15min stoppers?

 

[JetPilot500]

Here is a Taste of Corporate. The Following was my September schedule flying a Falcon 50 based in Chicago:

9/07: Chicago - Washington DC - Phoenix
9/08: Layover in Phoenix
9/09: Layover in Phoenix
9/10: Phoenix - San Francisco - Chicago

9/13: Chicago - Portland, ME
9/14: Portland - South Bend, IN - Chicago

9/23: Chicago - San Francisco
9/24: San Francisco - Chicago

Paid Salary, so the flight hours don't really matter for pay. All pilots swap legs and seats...if you are flying, you are in the left seat.

JetPilot500

 

[flywithruss]

I'll add my corporate schedule for the last couple of months to the mix for comparison's sake. Like JetPilot500, I alternate legs and seats on all trips ... when I fly, it is from the left seat. I fly a King Air 200 for a small department with a fairly seasonal schedule.

I am based in North Carolina ... here's our last couple of months.

8/3: Day trip (IAD, pax drop)
8/4: Day trip (PDK, pax drop)
8/7-12: Vacation (the airplane did a two-day to IAG and a PDK turn while I was out)
8/17: Day trip (IAD, pax drop)
8/20-22: Three-day to DAL (18 hour l/o) and HOU (20 hour l/o)
8/30: Day trip to FFT (Frankfort, KY)

9/10: Day trip to INT (Winston-Salem, NC)
9/16: Day trip to GYH (Greenville, SC) for MX

August was a fairly typical month for us (10 flying days) but a little slower than usual, and September (2 flying days) was much slower than usual. Our department usually stays busiest November/December and July/August ... like I said, our company's travel tends to be somewhat seasonal.

In between trips, I had maybe a half-dozen "hangar days" ... cleaning and stocking the airplane, keeping Jepps updated, trip planning, and one day where we were at the airport ready to go when a trip canceled at the last moment due to some change in the company's plans. When I'm at the hangar on a non-flying day for these responsibilities, it is usually for no more than two hours or so.

In smaller corporate departments such as mine, the variation can be much greater than in larger, multiple-aircraft departments.

R

 

[brucek]

Thanks, these are great replies....

This thread has generated some interesting information. keep 'em coming! Thanks to all that have participated so far......

Bruce.
BJC, Jeffco, CO