Moving to Boston....

We found out a few days ago where we will be based.... I'm moving to Boston!  It was my first choice, so I'm excited about it.

A lot of people wanted to know why I didn't chose Orlando, so I thought I'd take a moment to explain.  Everything in the airline industry is seniority based.  When you're low man on the totem pole, you are "on reserve", which is basically being on call.  I'll explain how Reserve works in just a minute.  If I were to go to a base like Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, or Long Beach, I would be on Reserve for years.  It's lower paying and less flexible.  By choosing Boston or New York, I can "get a line" most likely within the year.

What is "on reserve"?
You are given a schedule of "Reserve Days" (which are the days you're on call) and you only get 12 days off per month.  On Reserve days, you are scheduled to either sit air port standby for 6 hours or home reserve for 12.  You find out what days you're on reserve about a month in advance, but you don't know whether you're airport standby or home reserve until 3pm (supposedly) the day before. 

Home Reserve:  You're on call for 12 hours.  They typically schedule either 3am to 3pm or 12pm to 12pm reserve.  Scheduling has to give you at least 2 hours advance notice if they assign you a flight while on home reserve.

Airport Standby:  You literally sit in the airport for 6 hours and wait to see if they need someone.  We have a crew lounge which has sleeping chairs, computers, a quiet/dark room and coffee.  So it's not terrible.  They use people on airport standby if there is less than 2 hours advance notice for a flight. 

What does it mean to "Get a Line"?
I thought this meant you have one specific route that you take all the time.  Silly me for thinking "line" meant a straight route that goes back and forth from the same two places.  What it really means is that you don't have to sit reserve.  When you pick your schedule, Line Holders are able to pick up actual trips rather than "reserve days".  They know a month in advance which trips they will work and can set up their schedule with more days off by picking up productive trips.

Basically, the difference is:  Can you set up your own schedule vs. you're on call all the time.

So.... by going to Boston, I can get a line sooner which means I can schedule more time off and have a lot more flexibility.