I heard a pilots schedule is 4 days work and 4 days off ,4by4. I’m I allowed to do all my work days in one sitting and have the rest of the month off as a regional airline pilot?
Sahar,
There are some pilots (both Regional and Major) who work 4 and 4, 2 and 2, 5 and 3, 6 and 1 and just about every other conceivable combo you can think of. The catch is everything at the airlines is based on seniority. Now you can bid for whatever you like but whether you get it or not depends entirely on your seniority. The more senior you are, the more you get what you want.
As for bidding all you days in one half of the month that can be tricky as a) you need to be senior enough to have that many days off and b) the FAA requires you to have 30hrs off every 168hrs of duty (basically every 7 days).
Short answer is yes it can be done but it will take you a while to get there.
Adam
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Sahar,
There a two scenarios that come to mind that would allow you to do that. As with everything at the airlines more seniority allows for more options. The first scenario that would allow you to do that is the simplest one. You simply have high enough seniority to be awarded a schedule like that. The second scenario would require that you waive your rest rules to allow the bidding system to build your schedule like that.
That said, the vast majority of airline pilots work a traditional pilot schedule. Plus, rest rules were created for good reason. Though they are imperfect, it would be wise not to waive them. Has it been done before? Of course. For example, a pilot near the top of the reserve list could waive their rest rules in a effort to get a line. Back to my point, I’m only cautioning you and anyone else reading. We are all responsible for making our own assessment. Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it should be done.
Tory
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Sahar,
It would be almost impossible to group all of your flying into half the month. FAA regulations generally prohibit it and as Tory said, it is not a good idea at that.
Chris
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