Part Time Airline Pilots

FlyingTiger

FlyingTiger

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FlyingTiger
Do the regionals and/or majors have part time pilots that fly only as needed to fill gaps in the schedules due to sickness, vacations, ect.?
 
Not yet. There's talk about it with military flyers. Dunno know why, they already have the Guard and Reserves. Just talk though, brainstorming trying to find a solution to their retention problem, as @EvilEagle wrote about.
 
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AFAIK no company does this. I know at some airlines you can be a part time FA.
 
More likely to find this arrangement in the 135 world. Contract crews (pilots and FAs) pretty much keep the wheels turning there to cover vacations, illness, etc when the entire flight department consists of 2-3 pilots and 1 FA.
 
One of the biggest issues is probably the training costs. If they train you, they’ll want to get their money’s worth.
 
Sounds kind of like you’re referring to reserve pilots?
 
Zeldman said:
That was my thought. That is what the reserve pilots are for.

Ring.

We need you to fly...

(crack) oh, I didn't think I would get called, I already started drinking......
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In the scheduled airline world that would have you standing in front of the Chief Pilot doing a tap dance the first time. The second time you would probably get fired. If you are on reserve, you are expected to be ready to fly when called.
 
Zeldman said:
That was my thought. That is what the reserve pilots are for.

Ring.

We need you to fly...

(crack) oh, I didn't think I would get called, I already started drinking......
Click to expand...

Reserves don’t work like that.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
In the scheduled airline world that would have you standing in front of the Chief Pilot doing a tap dance the first time. The second time you would probably get fired. If you are on reserve, you are expected to be ready to fly when called.
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And right now everybody is flying these days.

The days of guys at Majors living in base collecting their checks and only flying one or two trips a month are gone.
 
Fearless Tower said:
And right now everybody is flying these days.

The days of guys at Majors living in base collecting their checks and only flying one or two trips a month are gone.
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I haven’t verified this info but a good friend is a sim p at American. He said the American guys are averaging around 90 hours a month. Hell I didn’t fly that much at republic when I was regional trash. Times have changed.
 
You can fly part of my trips and ill collect the paycheck.

Don't bend any metal, please.
 
Part time flying is called “junior manning” and it happens after they run out of reserves. :) hahah.
 
You mean you can’t fly for TWA like Capt Seal and have a side job?
 
It's probably a good thing too for the sake of the airline critter's paychecks. There's a ton of people who'd be willing to play airline pilot on a part-time basis for a lot less money.

Alas, what keeps the airlines from exploiting this, comes down to the training cost. Seasonal work in low-currency/qual occupations like retail you can get away with it. When you gotta keep your low flyer and your high flyer trained and current to the same standard? Yeah at that point the economies of scale behind staffing the airline with a bunch of hobbyists breaks down.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I thought all airline pilot jobs are part time.
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Shhhh. Hush yo mouth child!

Funny-Mouth-Meme-Sh-Sh-Shut-Your-Mouth-Image.jpg
 
Us boys on the ramp during holidays laughed when we heard flight crews complain about their holiday schedules. Balls to the wall and “open OT” for a month and a half, and most of us moonlighted over at USPS throwing their crap on their airplanes too, just for making bank during the holidays.

On my days “off” from both of those night jobs I had the overnight shift at a gas station.

You haven’t had a happy holiday until some idiot in a bucket truck doing gate de-icing doesn’t see you pulling the chocks and gives you a shower under the wing in freezing temps.

If your ramp rat on the intercom sounds like their body temp is something hovering just above “hypothermia” and they’ve only slept four hours any day of the week the entire week, it’s probably accurate.

The completely against the rules earphones under the Mickey Mouse ears playing Zepplin as loud as they’d go without distortion, helped. No Captain, I didn’t hear your question... I was expecting to hear “clear to start?” or “clear to push”. Nothing else is going to register in any meaningful fashion in the frozen oatmeal that used to be my brain.
 
hindsight2020 said:
It's probably a good thing too for the sake of the airline critter's paychecks. There's a ton of people who'd be willing to play airline pilot on a part-time basis for a lot less money.

Alas, what keeps the airlines from exploiting this, comes down to the training cost. Seasonal work in low-currency/qual occupations like retail you can get away with it. When you gotta keep your low flyer and your high flyer trained and current to the same standard? Yeah at that point the economies of scale behind staffing the airline with a bunch of hobbyists breaks down.
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That and the Pilot's union. I suspect they would fight any attempt to introduce part time pilots into the system.
 
hindsight2020 said:
It's probably a good thing too for the sake of the airline critter's paychecks. There's a ton of people who'd be willing to play airline pilot on a part-time basis for a lot less money.

Alas, what keeps the airlines from exploiting this, comes down to the training cost. Seasonal work in low-currency/qual occupations like retail you can get away with it. When you gotta keep your low flyer and your high flyer trained and current to the same standard? Yeah at that point the economies of scale behind staffing the airline with a bunch of hobbyists breaks down.
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One doesn’t “play airline pilot.”
You make this sound like a hobby that anyone can do half assed. Professional pilots have often worked many years to get where they are, and countless training & checking events.
I’m not saying it’s rocket science, but it is not the weekend warrior scenario that your post made it sound like.
 
If the regionals continue to have recuitment issues they may have to come up with schedule models that work for a broader spectrum of the hiring pool. Airline flying is already a part time job, the work is just distributed in a rather bizarre and unpredictable manner making it seem more work than it actually is.
 
weilke said:
If the regionals continue to have recuitment issues they may have to come up with schedule models that work for a broader spectrum of the hiring pool. Airline flying is already a part time job, the work is just distributed in a rather bizarre and unpredictable manner making it seem more work than it actually is.
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Please explain how it’s part time work.
I am away from home more than most 9-5 M-F
Type people.
 
Kritchlow said:
One doesn’t “play airline pilot.”
You make this sound like a hobby that anyone can do half assed. Professional pilots have often worked many years to get where they are, and countless training & checking events.
I’m not saying it’s rocket science, but it is not the weekend warrior scenario that your post made it sound like.
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my post didnt profer what youre suggesting, hobby pilots did. if you read the second paragraph of my post you'd realize my position on the matter is the same as yours.
 
Kritchlow said:
Please explain how it’s part time work.
I am away from home more than most 9-5 M-F
Type people.
Click to expand...

.

the work is just distributed in a rather bizarre and unpredictable manner making it seem more work than it actually is.

If your flying hours were organized along a 9-5 or shift schedule, you would be done with 60 hrs of flying two weeks into the month.
Airline work schedules are the way they are because 'this is how it has always been done' and 'there is no possible other way of doing it'.
 
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