I'm bidding in the top 5% in my current status. Normally I'd be on top.
Years ago the top guys held cushy 18 day off day trips worth 85-90 hours. Life was good. Due to various reasons almost everyone at my airline is flying 4 day trips. Local pilots hate 4 day trips.
I got my top pick of the crappy 4 day trips. How crappy ? Well my line is under 68 hours. I get paid 72 hours (which is the contractual guaranty). In previous months I had lines as low as 50 hours. This sounds great as I get paid for more than I fly. It's not great though as I have just 14 days off. Years ago pilots had more hours and more days off.
Enough complaining. Winter is in full effect. I've deiced a lot lately. I used to bid Mexico flights in winter to avoid deicing, but a good chunk of the Mexico flights have been given to another regional.
I'm still slated to start training for my Captain seat next month. A new airplane and a new seat. My hopes of bidding out before I start are fading. I should still be able to bid bad to base before the end of the year though.
While sitting in the airport between flights a fellow pilot who recently upgraded stopped by. He mentioned his desire to never commute. He's staying at my airline until he gets picked up by my mainline partner. Family first. That's something I stressed in the past and I still agree with. My commuting stint should be short lived. Famous last words eh?
Friday, January 8, 2016
Friday, December 11, 2015
Airport Smart
Currently sitting at Einstein Brothers in the airport. Reasons being they offer free coffee refills...and I'm tired.
It's day 4. It's 7:09 AM and I've already been up for almost 4 hours. Today started with a 3:30 AM wake up for a 4:30 AM van for a 5:30 AM departure. The flight was just 98 nautical miles. Think about that for a second.
Most passengers also had to wake up at 3:30 AM. Or arrival time was scheduled for 6:20 AM. The 50 minutes block included anticipated deicing (didn't need it, mild winter), taxiing out, the flight and taxiing in.
It's 98 NM....maybe 110 miles if driven on the ground. At even 60 MPH those passengers could have DRIVEN to the hub faster. Blah. I'm tired.
I have 2 hours to relax before I head to Colorado for my last turn. It's a very unproductive 14 hour 4 day trip. I spent 30 hours on an overnight (known as a lost day as I only get per diem). Enough complaining.
My upgrade training is scheduled to start on February 16th. I am estimated to be complete with IOE mid-April. Most pilots finish before that. Seeing that I have flown the other jet before, it should be fine.
I'm hoping that the next vacancy bid will be out before January 31st. If it is I plan (and hope) to be able to bid a Captain slot in my current base. It would be ideal. No idea if it will happen.
For now I will enjoy my free coffee refills. When I was very junior I'd sit here for hours on airport standby. I learned then about both the free refills AND how it's cheaper to order a bagel and add egg than it is to order a bagel sandwich with egg and cheese. I don't care for cheese and by order this way (vs asking them to hold the cheese) I saved $3. I got coffee, egg and cheese bagel on cinnamon sugar (it's odd...don't judge) and a french toast bagel for the less than an egg and cheese sandwich cost alone. It pays to be airport smart.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Funny Numbers.....not so funny situation
Most of the time my little plane....barbie jet as I call it...can take all the passengers, bags and fuel safely from point A to point B.
Every now and then weather or a MEL comes into play and complicates things.
Right now I'm sitting in a Hampton Inn in a crappy city in no where anyone should live USA. I have one leg home tomorrow for Thanksgiving.
Last night, about forty minutes before departure, the gate came down and asked if she knew we were weight restricted....but one passenger. I said I wasn't and then took a look at the numbers. Sure enough due to low ceilings at the destination we had an alternate of flying all the way back to the Hub. It was a short one hour flight. The Captain was away getting dinner.
I told her I would see what I could do. The restriction was that we were landing weight limited. To keep things easy lets use the following:
Basic Empty Weight 40,000 lbs
Release Fuel: 6996 lbs
Minimum Takeoff Fuel: 6450 lbs
Maximum Landing Weight: 55,000 lbs
Actual fuel on board at the time was 7100 pounds. I immediately started the APU. I transmitted exactly 6996 pounds to the "load room". The load room is really a computer system that works out weight and balance. I then called the load room over the radio and inquired about the weight restriction. They stated they planned on 2500 pounds of cargo due to several military passengers. There were 47 paying passengers waiting.
My airline assumes each passenger weighs 184 pounds in winter (they weigh 10 pounds less in summer). Kids weigh 76 pounds. They were restricting it to 46 passengers due to all the cargo. Taking the above numbers they planned on a takeoff weight of 57,964 pounds.
En-route fuel burn + taxi = 2980 pounds. Taking a ramp weight of 57,964 - 2980 fuel burn = 54,984.....or 16 pounds to spare.
Taking things further the airline assumes each checked bag weighs 30 pounds unless it is marked heavy (being over 50 pounds) then they assume it weighs 60 pounds. My barbie jet overhead bins can't take normal carry on bags. The bags checked plane side are assumed to weigh 20 pounds. If the bag is able to be brought on board and stowed it weighs zero pounds. Keeping up?
The one passenger that was going to be left behind was going to his Grandmothers funeral. He had problems getting to the airport and missed his earlier flight. If he was denied boarding the airline owed him NOTHING.
We had no control over checked bags. We could "control" kids on board and valet bags that aren't checked plane side.
The Flight Attendant was very forgiving on bags being brought on. If they could safely fit she let them on. Nine minutes to push we got the final numbers. We were 240 pounds under PLANNED weight.
I called the load room and asked why the passenger wasn't on board. They stated they didn't want to take a delay. I looked over at the Captain and he said, "if you don't mind can you run up there and bring the passenger back with you." At this point we had 7 minutes.
I bolted up from my seat and sprinted up the jet bridge. There alone in the boarding area was a very upset twenty-something guy. I just pointed to him and said, "Hey, let's get you to where you need to be."
He was surprised as was the gate agent. She quickly began typing. Thankfully he only had a backpack. The Flight Attendant told him to sit where ever he wanted. The agent rushed down the final paperwork and we blocked out with 2 minutes to spare.
We weren't done though. We had a very short taxi and didn't use all the planned taxi fuel. I had to fly in fuel burning mode to make sure we were below 55,000 pounds on landing. With a shallow climb and early descent I was 100 pounds under while 20 miles out.
It's all funny math. The plane knows how much it weighs. On final approach I've had situations where I needed much less thrust than normal as we are lighter than we think we are. I've also needed much more thrust as we are heavier than we think we are. The low speed awareness cue is very telling. The margin between VREF and the TOP of the low speed cue (not stall speed!) is normally 5-10 knots. Sometimes it's 1 or 0 knots. That's when we are heavier than we think we are. Nonetheless we have to abide by the funny numbers.
In and done. I then spent ALL day at a hotel. Tomorrow is a very early 4:15 AM van for a 5:15 AM departure and a 6:09 arrival. I'm then off until the 7th.
Every now and then weather or a MEL comes into play and complicates things.
Right now I'm sitting in a Hampton Inn in a crappy city in no where anyone should live USA. I have one leg home tomorrow for Thanksgiving.
Last night, about forty minutes before departure, the gate came down and asked if she knew we were weight restricted....but one passenger. I said I wasn't and then took a look at the numbers. Sure enough due to low ceilings at the destination we had an alternate of flying all the way back to the Hub. It was a short one hour flight. The Captain was away getting dinner.
I told her I would see what I could do. The restriction was that we were landing weight limited. To keep things easy lets use the following:
Basic Empty Weight 40,000 lbs
Release Fuel: 6996 lbs
Minimum Takeoff Fuel: 6450 lbs
Maximum Landing Weight: 55,000 lbs
Actual fuel on board at the time was 7100 pounds. I immediately started the APU. I transmitted exactly 6996 pounds to the "load room". The load room is really a computer system that works out weight and balance. I then called the load room over the radio and inquired about the weight restriction. They stated they planned on 2500 pounds of cargo due to several military passengers. There were 47 paying passengers waiting.
My airline assumes each passenger weighs 184 pounds in winter (they weigh 10 pounds less in summer). Kids weigh 76 pounds. They were restricting it to 46 passengers due to all the cargo. Taking the above numbers they planned on a takeoff weight of 57,964 pounds.
En-route fuel burn + taxi = 2980 pounds. Taking a ramp weight of 57,964 - 2980 fuel burn = 54,984.....or 16 pounds to spare.
Taking things further the airline assumes each checked bag weighs 30 pounds unless it is marked heavy (being over 50 pounds) then they assume it weighs 60 pounds. My barbie jet overhead bins can't take normal carry on bags. The bags checked plane side are assumed to weigh 20 pounds. If the bag is able to be brought on board and stowed it weighs zero pounds. Keeping up?
The one passenger that was going to be left behind was going to his Grandmothers funeral. He had problems getting to the airport and missed his earlier flight. If he was denied boarding the airline owed him NOTHING.
We had no control over checked bags. We could "control" kids on board and valet bags that aren't checked plane side.
The Flight Attendant was very forgiving on bags being brought on. If they could safely fit she let them on. Nine minutes to push we got the final numbers. We were 240 pounds under PLANNED weight.
I called the load room and asked why the passenger wasn't on board. They stated they didn't want to take a delay. I looked over at the Captain and he said, "if you don't mind can you run up there and bring the passenger back with you." At this point we had 7 minutes.
I bolted up from my seat and sprinted up the jet bridge. There alone in the boarding area was a very upset twenty-something guy. I just pointed to him and said, "Hey, let's get you to where you need to be."
He was surprised as was the gate agent. She quickly began typing. Thankfully he only had a backpack. The Flight Attendant told him to sit where ever he wanted. The agent rushed down the final paperwork and we blocked out with 2 minutes to spare.
We weren't done though. We had a very short taxi and didn't use all the planned taxi fuel. I had to fly in fuel burning mode to make sure we were below 55,000 pounds on landing. With a shallow climb and early descent I was 100 pounds under while 20 miles out.
It's all funny math. The plane knows how much it weighs. On final approach I've had situations where I needed much less thrust than normal as we are lighter than we think we are. I've also needed much more thrust as we are heavier than we think we are. The low speed awareness cue is very telling. The margin between VREF and the TOP of the low speed cue (not stall speed!) is normally 5-10 knots. Sometimes it's 1 or 0 knots. That's when we are heavier than we think we are. Nonetheless we have to abide by the funny numbers.
In and done. I then spent ALL day at a hotel. Tomorrow is a very early 4:15 AM van for a 5:15 AM departure and a 6:09 arrival. I'm then off until the 7th.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Seniority has it's privileges
Being a Senior First Officer is like having a REALLY nice Yugo. Yeah it's nice....but it's a Yugo.
Part of my seniority is getting just about everything I want schedule and vacation wise.
For December I got my 2nd choice of line. Out of more than 280 lines....I got my second choice. Not too shabby.
I combined the lazy December schedule with a lazy November schedule. I'm able to take more than 13 days off in a row without using vacation.
This will all change next year. I will be 10 from the bottom Captain wise....and commuting. Hopefully I can bid back to base as a Captain before Fall.
Part of my seniority is getting just about everything I want schedule and vacation wise.
For December I got my 2nd choice of line. Out of more than 280 lines....I got my second choice. Not too shabby.
I combined the lazy December schedule with a lazy November schedule. I'm able to take more than 13 days off in a row without using vacation.
This will all change next year. I will be 10 from the bottom Captain wise....and commuting. Hopefully I can bid back to base as a Captain before Fall.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Eight Years Later
I passed my 8 year anniversary last week. Eight years! I thought I'd be close to 7000 hours total time as I figured all pilots fly as much as possible. Nah. I'm right around 5200 hours total time. I was hired with just 560....so in 8 years I've flown about 575 hours a year. Not a lot. Of course I've taken a good 16 weeks of vacation....almost 4 months. Plus I took a few months off when my daughter was born. Blah.
It's good I was awarded an upgrade as I'm topped out on the First Officer pay scale. Yep no more money for me until I upgrade.
I have been crafty in getting paid for more than I fly. So far this year I've flown 507 hours but have been paid more than $46,000 in non-taxable income (thus I'm excluding my per diem). That equates to almost $92 an hour. This is more than double my actual pay. The discrepancy is due to bonuses, overtime pay and "blood money".
The "blood money" was paid out due to my pilot group signing a new contract with the company. we agreed to concessions in exchange for new planes and a bonus check. It was a bad idea, but what's done is done. I get another payout when I upgrade to Captain.
I'm guessing I will hit training in February.....could be earlier. Posting should begin to pick up again. The last few months have been quite boring really.
It's good I was awarded an upgrade as I'm topped out on the First Officer pay scale. Yep no more money for me until I upgrade.
I have been crafty in getting paid for more than I fly. So far this year I've flown 507 hours but have been paid more than $46,000 in non-taxable income (thus I'm excluding my per diem). That equates to almost $92 an hour. This is more than double my actual pay. The discrepancy is due to bonuses, overtime pay and "blood money".
The "blood money" was paid out due to my pilot group signing a new contract with the company. we agreed to concessions in exchange for new planes and a bonus check. It was a bad idea, but what's done is done. I get another payout when I upgrade to Captain.
I'm guessing I will hit training in February.....could be earlier. Posting should begin to pick up again. The last few months have been quite boring really.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Back to where I started
After almost 8 years I will finally be moving to the left seat....I got the upgrade.
I was awarded Captain in the aircraft I was originally hired on. It's not the aircraft I currently fly. There's more....I will be commuting.
Bidding on a new status is complicated. I played the cards just right to get my upgrade in a way that I can bid out whenever I can hold Captain in my current base. Normally at my airline if you CHOOSE to upgrade to a current Captain seat you are locked in for 2 years. This is to help the airline recoup the training cost.
When I bid for my upgrade I picked all Captain seats in my current base. I then stated if I was displaced I would like to hold Captain in an another base. That's what happened. I was first awarded Captain in my current base, but due to more senior pilots being displaced out of my current base, I was displaced to another base.
Training should start in January and I should be on the line in March. It's been a long time coming.
I was awarded Captain in the aircraft I was originally hired on. It's not the aircraft I currently fly. There's more....I will be commuting.
Bidding on a new status is complicated. I played the cards just right to get my upgrade in a way that I can bid out whenever I can hold Captain in my current base. Normally at my airline if you CHOOSE to upgrade to a current Captain seat you are locked in for 2 years. This is to help the airline recoup the training cost.
When I bid for my upgrade I picked all Captain seats in my current base. I then stated if I was displaced I would like to hold Captain in an another base. That's what happened. I was first awarded Captain in my current base, but due to more senior pilots being displaced out of my current base, I was displaced to another base.
Training should start in January and I should be on the line in March. It's been a long time coming.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Bypass
Yes I know as the year has gone on I've blogged less and less. No real reason.
In the most recent Captain bid I could have held Captain.....in another base. I bypassed.
I would have been the most junior Captain meaning absolute horrible quality of life. My airline gives reserves 11 days off a month. In reality having to commute to another base I'd be at home 8-9 days a month. Not worth it to me.
Every airline has rumors. The latest is there will be another Captain bid soon with vacancies in my base. I hope it comes out soon as I get no further pay increases as I'm at the top of the First Officer pay scale.
I currently bid number 50 in base. I'm number 70ish overall in the company.
Beyond that I am no longer the union Communications Chairman. Due to some politics I was not re-elected. It annoyed me at first, but I've come to grips with it, back to a regular line pilot.
More to come..........
In the most recent Captain bid I could have held Captain.....in another base. I bypassed.
I would have been the most junior Captain meaning absolute horrible quality of life. My airline gives reserves 11 days off a month. In reality having to commute to another base I'd be at home 8-9 days a month. Not worth it to me.
Every airline has rumors. The latest is there will be another Captain bid soon with vacancies in my base. I hope it comes out soon as I get no further pay increases as I'm at the top of the First Officer pay scale.
I currently bid number 50 in base. I'm number 70ish overall in the company.
Beyond that I am no longer the union Communications Chairman. Due to some politics I was not re-elected. It annoyed me at first, but I've come to grips with it, back to a regular line pilot.
More to come..........
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