Jazz new hire pilot schedule

[7507]

What does a typical new hire pilot schedule look like at jazz?

How many days a month do you work?

As seniority is accrued can you be home every night?

Thanks

[goleafsgo]

Depends on plane and base. During line indoc you don't really have a say in your sked. Once you start bidding you can ask for anything and seniority will dictate if you get it. The last 4-5 months I've been getting 14-15 days off per month on the classic. There are lots of single day pairings to bid for. You'd probably have to be pretty senior to get a full month of single days. But I commute and don't do any singles so not 100% sure how tough it'd be to get

[Rowdy]

Its hard to showcase what a 'good' schedule is, as it varies based on the individual. Some might want single days, some might want multi days. Some might prefer mornings, or evenings. Some bid for high credit, some will take much more slack min credit days. The MAX you can work is 18. Most people average 15-16 days a month. I know there are some with incredible bidding efficiency that are working 11-12. On reserve (our res rules are quite decent) I have averaged 9 days a month of work. On call for the 18.

Myself, I prefer 3 and 4 day pairings with morning starts. I was getting quite a decent schedule as an FO (I think I was #11 of 75 at the time on base) after about a year.

The FO list is moving at an unprecedented pace.

The captain list moves MUCH more slowly.. I'm #10 from the bottom and still flirt with reserve, and don't get all the days off I ask for. I could hold a block, but I'd expect to be working every weekend and have the leftovers pairing wise. Even that is still not bad. I've creeped some friends who are AC new hires, and it looks ugly!

[gaamin]

Depends on type and base.
RJ typically has longer legs, higher credits, so less days worked (about 13 a month at YVR for some) and less reserve coverage, making it easier to pick extra flying or wdo. So also higher income potential.
DH8 has shorter legs, less credit so more work days, enough reserve now pretty much everywhere, so less possibilities (CARs-wise and time-wise too) to get extra flying for better income or to bank hours.

Day 2 of ground school is typically lottery day, where you know what you get. By the time you finish training and line indoc your base may have changed already depending on actual movement vs forecast.
Good luck.

[HansDietrich]

After a while the schedule at Jazz gets pretty good.

Every month a BASE / AIRCRAFT specific "bid package" (valid for the following month) is released, where they offer 1, 2, 3 or 4 day pairings. You go through a bidding process and get to pick "what you want". Now that doesn't mean you'll get it. You have to have a minimum of 80 hours (actually, I'm not 100% sure how much, but somewhere around there). Having 80 hrs credit doesn't actually mean you fly 80 hours. That's just how much you get paid for. For example, if one of the days only have you Dead Head to a destination and then you get to operate only one flight, they still need to pay you for a min amount of time.

So, typically you work 14 - 17 days a month. My average is 16 days. I pick my pairings that are 3 or 4 days, because I live just outside of the city and I don't feel like driving every day to / from work.

[Black_Tusk]

77.5

It can be much higher in busy months I've been blocked regularly in the high 80s.

[mbav8r]

You know, we have a fairly well laid out book containing everything you need or want to know about how things work at Jazz. It’s even in electronic format so you can search or use the index to readily find things, like how the monthly bid should work!
The monthly blocking average varies base to base and roster to roster, depending on blocking hours and pilot availability, the blocking average will be based on the lower amount of pilots on the base and aircraft, ie; 60 Captains and 50 FOs, they will build pairings for the FO roster with reserve coverage, obviously there would be more Captains on reserve in that situation. Next the blocking average, if the window is 80-85, the average is 82.5. A reserve pilot will be paid the average of 82.5 as a MMPG(minimum monthly pay guarantee), a line holder will be paid their block, ie; blocked to 83.7, that’s you guaranteed pay for that month, not lower than that but with block growth it could be more.
Next, the maximum, I’ll repeat that maximum scheduled block is 85, with one exception, the company has 15 hours per year to increase the blocking window per roster. So, if they publish a blocking window of 85-90, they can do that for three months.
There is also an option for a pilot to voluntarily accept a high block window, voluntarily not forced on any pilot.
One last thing, there are times where the blocking window is lower, the lowest is 75 which would make the average 77.5, this is rare in my experience, I’ve always experienced in 11 years a monthly average of 82 over the year.

[Black_Tusk]

You'd be surprised how many new hires (even year old new hires) have never or barely read the contract. It's sad.

I often overhear conversations in the crew rooms and think to myself "do they not know that's against the CBA?" Happens regularly. I used to pipe up and say something but it usually fell on deaf ears so I stopped.

If you're on reserve there is a great flow chart on the ALPA site that makes reserve rules nice and clear. I always tell everyone who is new to go read it, learn it and follow it. CS has a lot of new people lately who tend to push the limits of the CBA by ignorance. That being said, if you say something they never argue and I've had a few even thank me because they didn't know.