Hey!
I was doing some research on some airlines I would like to potentially fly for and I really like envoy and endeavor. However, I live in Tennessee and those airlines do not have a base here. So I had a few questions.
How would I be on “reserve” if I’m out of the state? Would I be required to stay close to the airport I’m based at every time I’m on reserved or could I just commute if they ask me to come in?
What do you really do when your on “reserve” do you just stay at home dressed and wait if you get a call to come in and if they don’t call you just get paid?
Androu,
Each airline has different types of reserve but generally speaking, there’s long call reserve (about 12 hours) and short call reserve (2 hours). If you’re on short call reserve and a commuter you would have to be within 2 hours of your base so that would mean traveling to base and hanging out in the airport during the day or a nearby hotel or crash pad. Hotels can get costly multiple nights in a row (they are not covered by the company) so must commuters invest in a crash pad or stay with family while they are on reserve. Once you get to long call reserve, you’ve got 12 hours to get to your base so you technically could be at home as long as you have plenty of options to get you to base in time if called.
Being a commuter is probably the most challenging when on reserve.
-Hannah
Where you live is your business and the airlines really don’t care as long as you get to work on time and well rested.
As Hannah pointed out there’s long call Reserve and short call. Now long call is obviously better for commuters but you’ll still need to get to you base within those 12hrs. If that can easily be done with a flight or 2 then you’re welcome to stay home. Keep in mind if you go on Reserve at 4am and there are no late flights you’ll need to go in the day before. If it’s short call you’ll need to be within 2hrs of the airport.
That depends how far you are from the airport. I choose to be on Reserve frequently because for me it’s really easy. I live 15min from the airport so I always have a uniform ready in my locker and I go about my business. If they call there’s really no place on Oahu that’s more than 1hr from the airport so I can still get there and be ready with time to spare.
I live in Virginia, but am based in Newark, NJ. I routinely sit long call reserve (13 hours to report) from Virginia. If I get converted to short call, I do have to position myself near Newark. If your airline has mostly short call reserve, you will need to be near your base airport.
When I am on reserve at home, I cut the grass, do chores, have lunch, answer questions on this forum, etc. On short call reserve, I usually hang out in a hotel near the airport, but take walks in the neighborhood, go to the store, go to the gym, etc.
Hi this may have been covered in another post, but what is typically the on-call period for long call reserve vs. short call reserve? For example, at a regional airline, believe there is am and pm options for short call reserve that may last around 12 hours (eg. 4am to 4pm or 9am to 9pm)? Is long- call reserve the entire day, with a 12 hour window to report for duty once called? Also, are there ever times toward the end of your on-call period to call Dispatch and get an early release? I feel like this could come in handy for commuters trying to catch the last flight back home.
Thanks!
Excellent questions. See the screenshot. Reserve varies from airline to airline. Yes, there is a point during a reserve period where it becomes appropriate to call Crew Scheduling (not Dispatch) to request an early release.
