Moving on up

With the mass exodus going on at the regional level my seniority is increasing rapidly.

I'm based in the most senior base at my airline. I've moved up 20 number in base in the last 3 months. That's 20 First Officers senior to me either upgrading to Captain, transferring out...or more likely....leaving the company.

I was in the top 26%, now I'm in the top 20%. The difference is huge.

Just a few months ago I was getting close to what I wanted scheduling wise. I'm still not getting exactly what I want...but it's getting closer.

Next month I'm headed to Norway (any tips ???? geek@geekinthecockpit.com ). I get 3 weeks of paid vacation a year. Weeks are valued at roughly 20 hours. If I get awarded trips worth less than 20 hours....I get the remaining balance put into a bank for later use.

For August I requested CDOs again. The CDO (Continuous Duty Overnight) I was awarded is one of the better trips. I depart at 9PM, arrive at 9:50PM, hotel until 5:10AM, depart at 6AM and arrive back in base at 6:50AM. The flight is way over blocked as it's a 90 NM flight.

Being CDOs I'm only "burning" 8 hours of vacation time. The remaining can be used later to get more time off.

This month of flying has been interesting. The more senior I get....the more senior crews I fly with. My last trip was flown with a very senior Captain that is 64 years old....and it showed.

I truly have no desire to fly to age 65.

In geek related news I'm no longer driving a 2004 Prius. I'm now driving a 2010 Prius. We sold the 2004 Prius and leased a Nissan Leaf for my wife. It was an amazing deal. With the state incentives and money from the 2004 Prius (it has long since been paid off) the Leaf is nearly free. I'm driving the 2010 Prius until my BMW I3 arrives. It finished production this weekend...hopefully here before I head to Norway.