Airport standby pilots answer a call and often leave on a flight to a new destination within as little as 30 minutes. Sometimes, a pilot becomes sick on short notice, a crew is delayed coming into a base, or a flight has been added to our list for the day from another type of airplane. This type of assignment can last anywhere from a short flight out and back to my domicile (home base) up to a six-day trip.Īlternately, airport standby is a type of reserve in which I would wait at the airport to be called on short notice for a flight that needs to be covered.
During the 14-hour window, I have two hours to get to the airport if I am called and another 45 minutes from my sign-in time to depart on the flight. If there aren’t many trips to choose from, I’ll end up on a reserve availability period (RAP) or airport standby.Ī RAP is a period of 14 hours when I’m on call for that day. If a trip looks like something that would work for me, I submit a preference, and if I’m the most senior pilot to request that trip, I’ll get it. Reserve schedules are a little less consistent (I may have five days on and three off, so the days of the week I have off vary), and because of this, there is frequently a reserve schedule available that makes it possible for me to attend more events.Īs a reserve at my current airline, I can look to see what trips are open for the following day.
I often have various personal events that I would like to attend scattered throughout the month, and sometimes, having a regular schedule makes it impossible for me to attend some events. Generally, a reserve schedule goes to a newer pilot however, some pilots choose to bid reserve to get weekends or holidays off or time at home. Reserve pilots like myself help an airline get the operation back on schedule after severe weather or other large service disruptions. As a reserve pilot, I’m tasked with covering any flights that are not assigned to another pilot that month, or a trip that the originally scheduled pilot can no longer make for any of a number of reasons-e.g., yearly training, sudden sickness, or weather delays/cancellations on earlier flights.
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