Sorry for the lack of updates. The commuting to reserve has really eaten into my free time.
Each month I'm on reserve I get 11 days off. With the way this airline is run, I often have to go to AND from work on a day off. Let me explain.
For each block of reserve days my airline requires me to be in place by 4 AM. This means I have to commute in the night before. They are at least paying for the hotel, but it means another evening away from home.
On the other end is the last day of reserve. Many times I am not released from duty until late in the evening. More than a few times I have been unable to get home (full flights plus other jump seaters) requiring me to buy a hotel room and try the first flight in the morning.
My 11 days off a month is more like 7 days off.
A year has passed and I'm willing to bet I will not be a Captain in the next 17 months. There are hundreds of First Officers above me on the seniority list waiting for their Captain upgrade.
All isn't horrible though as they have increased bonuses for First Officers (even those already on property). The travel benefits are great, but seeing as I only get a week vacation.....and limited days off otherwise, it might be a while before I can actually use them.
If I had to do this all over again would I pick the same airline? I'm not so sure. The pilots I worked with when I was a CFI are all either holding lines and/or getting paid way more than by their airlines.
For now I'll put the Golden Ticket up on a shelf. At worst maybe I can melt it down as the price of gold is likely to improve faster than the state of my airline.
Not looking good
So as I approach a year on property, it's clear I will not be Captain in the next 18 months. For some reason management is still advertising a 2.5 year upgrade. I just don't see it.
At best...if things go the way they are going, I will upgrade in a little over 4 years. Not the best, but better than the 8+ years current First Officers are having to endure.
In order for all of this to work they have to consistently hire 37 pilots every single month and upgrade 30 pilots every single month for the next 18 months. I haven't seen 37 new hires in a month every since I came on property.
I'm still very junior and often fly with junior Captains. It's quite shocking to hear that these new Captains can't even get Captain wings to wear as the company is out of wings and doesn't see value in ordering new ones. They told all the new Captains to just wait until the new uniform pieces come....some time in the next 4 months. Makes me think they don't really value pilots if they won't even invest in something as cheap as wings.
I'm going to stick it out. The Pilots, Flight Attendants, Gate Agents and Mechanics truly are great people to work with. My friends at other regional airlines are flying more than me....and actually making more money, but they don't have the flow to a major airline. I really hope management sees more value in the flow than they do Captain wings.
At best...if things go the way they are going, I will upgrade in a little over 4 years. Not the best, but better than the 8+ years current First Officers are having to endure.
In order for all of this to work they have to consistently hire 37 pilots every single month and upgrade 30 pilots every single month for the next 18 months. I haven't seen 37 new hires in a month every since I came on property.
I'm still very junior and often fly with junior Captains. It's quite shocking to hear that these new Captains can't even get Captain wings to wear as the company is out of wings and doesn't see value in ordering new ones. They told all the new Captains to just wait until the new uniform pieces come....some time in the next 4 months. Makes me think they don't really value pilots if they won't even invest in something as cheap as wings.
I'm going to stick it out. The Pilots, Flight Attendants, Gate Agents and Mechanics truly are great people to work with. My friends at other regional airlines are flying more than me....and actually making more money, but they don't have the flow to a major airline. I really hope management sees more value in the flow than they do Captain wings.
Still on Reserve
Approaching one year at the airline. I have roughly 105 pilots below me. The count between myself and the most junior Captain award is around 600 pilots.
In order to cash in my ticket there has to be more than 600 upgrades in the next 19 months. About 31 upgrades a month. So far this year there have been over 100 upgrades awarded or about 25 a month. Hope there's an uptick soon.
In order to cash in my ticket there has to be more than 600 upgrades in the next 19 months. About 31 upgrades a month. So far this year there have been over 100 upgrades awarded or about 25 a month. Hope there's an uptick soon.
Flow is all you need?
As bidding opens for March Charlie is once again bidding reserve. Ideally he thought that after almost completing 30% of the estimated time to Captain (he was quoted it being a little over 2 1/2 years) he'd at least be a bottom end line holder or at least top of reserve. He's none of those. In fact he's very much so on the bottom of the reserve list.
In order to upgrade a First Officer to Captain, the airline must have a replacement First Officer (a new hire). With so few new hires coming in, the process isn't going as planned. Only 80 pilots have been hired in the 6 months since he was hired. Many more pilots have left than have been hired.
While most regional airlines are being pro-active and raising pay and offering bonuses to attract pilots, Charlie Buckets employer is resting on a flow program.
For a pilot meeting the qualifications to fly for an airline, money talks.
Take three large airlines....call them Diplomat, Commonwealth and Enterprise.
Diplomat, where Charlie works, has a starting pay for $26 an hour first year and $35 the second year. Diplomat guarantees 75 hours pay a month for reserve pilots. The first two years the new hire will make a total of $54,900. This is just base pay and does not include per diem and possible overtime.
Commonwealth has a starting pay of $40 an hour first year and $41 the second year. They also pay a 75 hour minimum monthly pay for reserve pilots. The first two years the new hire will make a total of $72,900. Again excluding per diem and possible overtime. That's a minimum $18,000 difference.
Enterprise has a starting pay of $30 an hour first year and $33 the second year. They also pay $23,000 in bonuses every year for the first 3 years. The first two years combined an Enterprise pilot will make $102,700......almost double the Diplomat pilot. Icing on the cake is Enterprise also offers a flow program.
While it's true Commonwealth doesn't offer any type of flow program, the pilot can at least afford to live a regular life while the Diplomat pilot will have to watch his spending closely to avoid going into greater debt.
To meet the minimum qualifications to fly for an airline a pilot must spend at least 2 years and more than $60,000 to achieve the ratings and flight hour requirements. After all the time and money it only makes sense to go to the airline with the greatest income.
Charlie is second guessing his decision to work for Diplomat. His friends at other airlines, while they don't have a golden ticket, are able to live in a normal apartment, eat real meals and could upgrade to Captain faster on their own.
For now....Charlie waits.
In order to upgrade a First Officer to Captain, the airline must have a replacement First Officer (a new hire). With so few new hires coming in, the process isn't going as planned. Only 80 pilots have been hired in the 6 months since he was hired. Many more pilots have left than have been hired.
While most regional airlines are being pro-active and raising pay and offering bonuses to attract pilots, Charlie Buckets employer is resting on a flow program.
For a pilot meeting the qualifications to fly for an airline, money talks.
Take three large airlines....call them Diplomat, Commonwealth and Enterprise.
Diplomat, where Charlie works, has a starting pay for $26 an hour first year and $35 the second year. Diplomat guarantees 75 hours pay a month for reserve pilots. The first two years the new hire will make a total of $54,900. This is just base pay and does not include per diem and possible overtime.
Commonwealth has a starting pay of $40 an hour first year and $41 the second year. They also pay a 75 hour minimum monthly pay for reserve pilots. The first two years the new hire will make a total of $72,900. Again excluding per diem and possible overtime. That's a minimum $18,000 difference.
Enterprise has a starting pay of $30 an hour first year and $33 the second year. They also pay $23,000 in bonuses every year for the first 3 years. The first two years combined an Enterprise pilot will make $102,700......almost double the Diplomat pilot. Icing on the cake is Enterprise also offers a flow program.
While it's true Commonwealth doesn't offer any type of flow program, the pilot can at least afford to live a regular life while the Diplomat pilot will have to watch his spending closely to avoid going into greater debt.
To meet the minimum qualifications to fly for an airline a pilot must spend at least 2 years and more than $60,000 to achieve the ratings and flight hour requirements. After all the time and money it only makes sense to go to the airline with the greatest income.
Charlie is second guessing his decision to work for Diplomat. His friends at other airlines, while they don't have a golden ticket, are able to live in a normal apartment, eat real meals and could upgrade to Captain faster on their own.
For now....Charlie waits.
Introducing Charlie Bucket
A major regional airline in the United States is touting it's 2.5 year upgrade and 5 year flow to a mainline carrier. The purpose of this website is to track and monitor the status of a pilot that will be known as "Charlie Bucket".
The 2.5/5 statement was first made in May 2015. The most junior pilot that month will be tracked as Charlie Bucket. Since that time Charlie has flown approximately 300 hours and only held a reserve line. The most junior line holder in Charlie Buckets status was hired in 2013. The most junior pilot currently awarded Captain at his airline was hired in November 2007. This page will be updated regularly of Charlies status.
This ticket is supposed to be redeemable by November 30, 2017.
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