FlyCRJ.com

The FAA Rules All

It’s Monday and I’m sitting Reserve for SkyWest Airlines…AGAIN!  If you don’t remember, sitting “reserve” for an airline, my airline in particular, means that I am on duty between 9am and 9pm.  Between those hours I can be called to go fly.  I’ve had a lot of time home this month, to say the least.  It wouldn’t be that bad if I could focus on other things like starting another business to make some extra cash and have a fall-back if something were to happen to my airline or to me.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with how airlines work, here is a little Airline 101 for you.

Pilots fly TOTALLY at the mercy of the FAA, my body, and my airline…in that order…with regards to whether I have a career or not.  The FAA, like any self-righteous, bureaucratic, government organization says their purpose is to enforce the regulations and laws regarding all things aviation.  Fair enough.  But, the problem is they have a tendency to enforce through an iron fist instead of through cooperation.  If you break a FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation), like going too fast below 10′000′ MSL (mean sea level) or not stopping at an assigned altitude, you are subject to a violation and having your certificate revoked.  Now before you think that I am totally against the FAA, let me interject that the FAA does A LOT of good things and has A LOT of good regulations.  But my point is this…at any time…through administrative action imposed on me for breaking a FAA regulation…I could be suspended or lose my flying privileges. 

Now!  Do I have any recourse?  Sure…I have what we call an ASAP program.  It’s a safety program that allows me, when I break a regulation, to voluntarily report it.  The incident is submitted to a review board and they either dismiss it and no action is taken against me, or it is reported to my chief pilot and administrative action is taken whether it is a note in my records or worse.  So, there is protection…but again I fly but by the grace of the FAA!

Later…still sitting reserve…

Sitting Reserve in Colorado Springs

Being an airline pilot is a lot like any other job.  Sometimes you love it and sometimes you really, really don’t like it…sometimes a lot!!!  Saying “hate” would be an over statement, because I never really ”hate” it.  I just strongly dislike it most the time.  Sometimes I strongly dislike it more than other times, but today I just plain ol’ vanilla dislike it. 

You see, in the airline industry, depending on your seniority, you have to sit “Reserve.”  Reserve means that if you aren’t senior enough to hold a “line” you sit reserve.  A “line” means that you hold a “regular” schedule, which in airline parlance means you at least know what you are going to do for that month, which means you know your start and stop times and most the time where you are going.  Reserve means you don’t know where you are going or when you are getting back.  The only thing that is definite is that you are “on call” at a certain time, till a certain time, and anywhere inbetween they, your friendly neighborhood crew support personnel, can call you and you go.  Where you stop, well, only your crew support person knows.  Today i sat “reserve” and was never called.  Oh, well.  Till tomorrow.

Jeffrey