I FORGOT To Bid! | Airline Pilot Mistake

This is a mistake I won't be making again. Forgetting to bid is one of the worst mistakes you can make as an airline pilot because your entire month is based around a flight schedule. Days on/off, pay, and overnights are all determined by your awarded line. I went from being a senior line-holder to a pilot on reserve, with minimum pay credit, mid-week days off, and multiple airport standby shifts. Long story short, it's 100% my fault that I forgot to bid. Fortunately, the month didn't turn out as bad as it could have. DON'T be like me... Always submit your bid on the first day that your airline's bidding window opens.
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Video Chapters:
0:00 Uh Oh...
1:31 Bidding Windows
2:12 First Reserve Trip
2:44 4th of July Overnight
3:50 Consequences of Forgetting
5:29 Bose ProFlight Series 2
6:07 Airport Standby
6:49 What is a Standing Bid?
7:55 Grounded for Storms
9:03 Reserve Month Recap
10:12 Don't Forget To Bid!!!
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If there's something you want to learn about becoming an airline pilot, shoot me a message on Instagram @swayne.martin or leave me a comment below!
(Cockpit scenes filmed under Part 91 with approval of Envoy Air, Inc. Footage not recorded in chronological order.)
Follow Me On Instagram: / swayne.martin
Pilot/Travel Gear YOU Should Use: www.amazon.com/shop/swaynemartin
My Filming Gear: www.amazon.com/shop/swaynemar...
Content Credit:
-@ohareaviation has a great KZbin for planespotting (credit for the B-roll shots of our Envoy Embraer 145s)
-Music Licensing: Artlist
Thanks for watching!
-Swayne

[@SwayneMartinPilot]

Bidding for a schedule is probably the most important part of my month. So don't be like me... ALWAYS bid on the first day you can. What else do you want to learn about becoming a pilot?

[@jacksycz]

So are you working thanksgiving too? 😂 I’m glad you got to spend time with Sam :) How was the concert?

[@stevebaker8966]

Great!!

[@mitchelljj3860]

Hi Swayne, when you are nearing upgrade, can you explain how bidding works over that transition period? Im not sure if its the same at the regional carriers, but Im led to believe that at larger carriers, although you complete upgrade, you are obviously now in the most junior captain category and therefore can still be scheduled in the right seat for a period / reserve as a captain. So do you bid separate lines, one as a captain, and one as a first officer? Do you get mixed lines? Or do you just go straight to reserve lines as a captain? I hope that makes sense

[@bobninemire5154]

About how long to make Captain ?

[@JtXwb]

I cant wait to hear the recuiting department call mee and say "Good Afternoon First Officer Jordan." 😂 that feeling will have me swinginggg

[@jdbigsur5503]

I’ve been an air traffic controller at Indy Center for nearly 17 years and still know very little about the pilot perspective of our industry. I enjoy your channel, it finally gives me that perspective. Keep up the good work.

[@N989JT]

Is the main frequency for Indy Center 119.550

[@jdbigsur5503]

There’s not really a main frequency because the center is divided into 7 areas, each area has 5 or 6 sectors, and each sector has at least 1 VHF frequency. 119.55 is an Indy center frequency, assigned to a sector that sits just northwest of Cincinnati. Hope that helps.

[@SwayneMartinPilot]

Glad you enjoy it! Talk to ya soon on Center :)

[@N989JT]

@@jdbigsur5503 Indeed also another question is Center at the airport or stationed outside

[@jdbigsur5503]

Some Centers like Minneapolis and Jacksonville are in the middle of nowhere. Indy center happens to be right next to the Indianapolis airport.

[@SamEckholm]

Man how bout that Crew Scheduling voice though!? 😅 Great vid, Swayne!

[@dannyireland1808]

The crew schedular sounded very familiar!

[@fly.dy1]

Love your videos man!! Keep up the good work.

[@jacobiwright3139]

So glad I pressured you into watching his videos now😂

[@MarceloBenjamin]

Just watched you "Hangar" tour, and was going to comment on the voice. Great content from both of you. Massive congratulations!

[@WilliamPotts3]

Some of the best paperbacks I’ve read were on airport ready reserve at DTW. After listening to the announcements for two years I can basically speak Japanese now.

[@Calebs_Aviation]

You fly out of Detroit?? Do you work for Delta?

[@WilliamPotts3]

@@Calebs_Aviation I used to fly out Detroit when I was with Pinnacle. I’ve been at Atlas now for 12 years.

[@connellybrown4998]

Great video! Loved seeing the real life not so glamorous side! I’d love to see a video on you actually bidding your schedule!

[@t.w.7731]

A future vid request: Getting a short notice chance to see Sam was such an awesome way to maintain a healthy relationship. But it's gotta be a challenge. It would be interesting to explore balancing work life with dating life, building trust, getting time together, making future plans, etc...

[@jaredwood892]

Wait they are dating?

[@hewbranford]

I'm confused now 😕

[@PilotSwitzerland]

Great video as always! Please do a video about the bidding process in detail (how it works, what you can bid etc)

[@Jose-we5cj]

Was ready to have a borring luch at work, then I saw the youtube notification and things changed. Still had lunch, but your video got rid of the boring part. Thanks for sharing. As usual a very educational and interesting video. 👍

[@Bjd79]

That was great, Sam. You did well singing that song! Loved it. Good video, Swayne. Been thinking about being flight attendant. Not so sure about it now with this pandemic going on.

[@mohammedgamal144]

The best pilot content I've seen so far, thank you bro for this

[@michael-ju8tv]

Why do you get less pay if you fly more?

[@johndemerse9172]

Great video Swayne. Always so informative. Cheers from CYYB.

[@coreyjordan2745]

My Man, Swayne. I was just thinking about you. Just wondering how you were doing. Thanks for the video bro. Always very educational about aviation and flying. Those new "Bose" headset is where it is at! All professional pilots needs those for work. Keep up the good work. You're doing a great job. Very proud of you.

[@sunshinenative6220]

Thank you for the great video’s! My dad was a pilot for 25 years. Watching your videos brings back some amazing memories of him. Keep them coming.

[@georgevisser9346]

Hi Swayne, thanks for your super fun and interesting videos, but it's also great to watch you and your friend, both pilots....greetings from Holland...

[@rle737ng]

A looong time ago, when I was a new FO, a senior captain told me that "The Most Important Thing You Do Each Month, Is Bid For Next Month".

[@UTarcher72]

Wow!!! that imagery from 5:16 is out of this world!! Stunning and Beautiful!!

[@judyl7298]

Always enjoy your videos. Thanks

[@mba7454]

Great squeeky quality presentation as always Martin! Do you plan to make a video on Captain upgrade training at yoir airline?

[@kazzicup]

It's much worse if you forget to check how much fuel the airplane has before takeoff. Flying over the atlantic and you run out of fuel because you forgot to check what the starting amount of fuel was.

[@Glideslopes]

Lesson learned FO Martin. 😉. Do be too hard on yourself, it’s not like your even remotely the only crew to forget to bid. Looks like it could have been worse. Career path looking good. 👍

[@ericeplanes]

Tank you sooo much for these videos. I have been watching you for AGES and I’m only eleven and uve maneged to make me want to be a pilot when I grow up keep it up.

[@azscbadvr6305]

Thanks for sharing....your insights and experiences are appreciated.

[@sidh3745]

Really nice. Would love to hear about how non-revs work because it's something I know I struggled with when I was a new FO. Thanks for what you do showing the younger generation about a world that's more complicated than just flying, keep it up.

[@johnking5170]

Great video. Absolutely fun to watch!

[@aldohattonduran5227]

Love the energy positive vibes information! Keep it up brother 🙌🏻

[@billlee536]

I have missed your videos !! This is a good one !!

[@stevenwest000]

I know it’s very hard work but what a great job. It was a serious ambition when a long time ago but my colour vision didn’t comply! Good luck and congrats how long you’ve been with Sam. I guess you have ups and downs like everyone but very pleased for you.

[@parkerjackson6252]

Future video Idea: coming out stories for you and Sam or even telling us how you guys met

[@paulm2861]

Great video Swayne. I learned something new today.

[@justinh.2778]

Now I KNOW Crew Scheduling isn't THAT nice! But Swayne noooooooooo never forget to bid! ):

[@nolandavis2428]

Swayne explains the monotonous grind that is literally everything other than aviation in a pilots career that will narrow down your "dreams" to be an airline pilot. I wish I had a Swayne ten years ago. I may have gone with swimming pool design/installation had I truly understood the stress load that comes with doing the "not flying the aircraft" responsibilities of the job. It is the best job in the world regardless

[@southjerseysound7340]

I tried the majors when I got out of the Navy and it drove me nuts. Thankfully my grandmother didn't sell my grandpops Thrush when he passed away. She knew I'd be back because he hated the airlines too. I work a lot over a short time but the money is great and I've got more time to do as I please. After another season or 2 I'll have bought out my families interest in the plane and should be able to pick and choose even more. There's still some real flying jobs left and most pay better than people think.

[@charlessteven8825]

Thank you for this information

[@paulrom446]

Oh wow! How do you forget? I feel for you! Our Station bid monthly and my Seniority was pretty good I had to bid the lines above me 1st and usually had a pretty good idea 💡 of what I was going to get!

[@robertbangkok]

OMG you were in AVP, 10 miles from my house. If I'd known, I would have booked a flight just to meet you. This vid - lighting, camera angles, editing... one of the best you've done. I watched it twice.

[@NBCPunk16]

Great video, Swayne!

[@alpineaviation]

Super cool to see that you went to Lansing! Love your videos, and sorry about our bad weather😂

[@civosborne]

The madlad actually pointed out where the ad was in the timeline so I could skip it. Glory to you sir!

[@niceguyali]

I know it wasn't the best for you but that mistake made for an interesting video for us. Great to see you're a SFO now as well. Is there a possible video on the route to becoming a captain and what you can do as a SFO to help the process?

[@anthonyacampora3868]

Great video as always.

[@fratermacarius]

Swayne, this vid was awesome! Thank you.

[@47colton]

Hey..senior guy here...we used to bid constructed lines using paper bid packages and then wrote them in a book. A data entry person entered the bids into the computer. I once pulled the paper bid package for February and bid ..problem was we were bidding for March.. lol

[@dcal9429]

When I started flying we had computers but very archaic. Company “email” was a huge binder in the lounge. One person at a time could flip through the pages to read the latest updates. Actually, I miss the binder, nowadays it’s seems we’re inundated with texts/emails/calls 24/7. I couldn’t keep up during the big C. It was info overload. PS My Father retired as a Captain in 1993. I remember the paper bidding and the mysterious Crew Scheduling people that would call when I was a child. I intercepted many calls to him. They would ask for FO or Captain and use his legal first name, which I’d never heard anyone use before. Once I told them they had the wrong number. Or if I was bored I’d have long conversations about where he might be and what he was doing at that moment. We lived on a farm so it was exciting to talk to someone new. Pretty sure I recall a lot of laughter in the background. Until they would get serious and say we need you to get your Father. Then I’d put the phone down and take off screaming Daddy Crew Scheduling over n over til I found him. Usually somewhere working outside. Lol Oh my poor Father. 😂😂😂

[@KutWrite]

Hi Mr. Martin. Good to see you after a long time. You and your channel have matured so much! Your reserve schedule sounds a lot like a railroad crew's "extra board." Except we got no real schedule, just a 2 hour call before show time. I hope they pay you something for sitting at the airport.

[@terrystephens1102]

Thanks for another excellent presentation.😃👌👌

[@OHAREAVIATION]

Awesome video, Swayne!!

[@deeanna8448]

Aww, it's so sweet that your boyfriend drove 5 hours to do July 4th with you! ❤️🎇

[@MohammedHisham737]

How do u know that he's his boyfriend ? Is he his bf?

[@TwatMcGee]

@@MohammedHisham737 Lol theyre pretty public with his relationship

[@LongTimeNoPuck]

I never would have guessed. Long distance has to be so difficult for them.

[@joeg5414]

@@LongTimeNoPuck I thought it was pretty obvious lol and this is the first video of his I've seen. Cool channel.

[@matt_waddy]

@@MohammedHisham737 I guess it is questionable. They've only talked about it 2948250703476 times on their respective channels and social media accounts.

[@mrjaycam18]

Good video as always!

[@schreinerafrica]

Great video Swayne. How old (young) are you now? I have been following your videos from day one!

[@neilmurray6943]

Love the USAF song. I taught it to my 7th graders! Had a classroom clock that played the song on the hour every hour!:) Best place to start folks!!

[@sotstorm7514]

Another great vid. Alway find it interesting to compare and contrast your experiences against my own European based ones.

[@robainscough]

Great video as always, very informative and somewhat shocked at the "bidding" system ... at what point do you no longer have to be involved in the bidding system or does it continue for your entire career as a commercial pilot?

[@keahi7888]

You'll bid your entire career, but as you move up in seniority you're able to get more desirable schedules

[@shaunmatthews9680]

Swayne, You’re still my favourite pilot channel mate. Love your content and keep it up. Oh and FYI, don’t feel bad. I sometimes forget my own birthday.

[@annaliesebuchan]

if you could do a video about your journey from flight school to the airlines that would be great! nice video today!

[@dominicalvarado9032]

The amount of boot experienced from the air force guy reminded me of my motivated days when I first joined.

[@kevinkevin6806]

Lookin good my friend!

[@Rindiculousfun]

As a pilot who’s spent the last 2+ years instructing and just about to start a job on an airline, I find it interesting to see some experience in the industry with bidding because that’s one facet in the industry I have no experience with yet. Have any tips on how to bid for beginners how many hours to bid or a bid you’d recommend to make?

[@danmcguire7728]

Swayne dude, I enjoy your ability to show that even the best pilots can make a mistake with their schedules. It simply shows that you, too, are human and that you are a very honest man. Tell Sam I send my best and thanks for the great humility, it is refreshing!

[@philiproragen431]

That's so funny that you got stuck in Lansing! I live in DeWitt township, which is where the airport is technically located

[@willhyde3]

Love love the vids

[@SimplySaamPilot]

That intro was so funny nice work guys!

[@davidcardin3271]

I have missed you. I was just in Chicago coming to Springfield Missouri on the 29th of September I was looking for you in the airport knowing that was one of your places that you would come in.

[@elieabikhalil8121]

Thank you for your Amazing vidéo !

[@yusefmurad2419]

Love your videos :)

[@BobandKara]

Great stuff Swayne, hope to run into you sometime at CWA, Sioux Yeah Yeah!

[@tomjaeger1962]

It was a dream of mine to be part of the airlines. Had an opportunity to be a flight attendant for South West, would be about 25 years now.

[@Falcon2.39-1]

Ok

[@NotTheMadKing]

My dream as well. I want to be a pilot an im applying for a few cadet programs. If i dont get thoes i also applied to south west as a FA in the recent application opening to see if i can get started in the avaiation industry sooner an transfer to a pilot a little later. ( i want to see how i like being in the industry an getting 1st hand experience) my dream is to fly no matter what. Ideally a pilot but ill take what i can get, im only 20 so i have a few years.

[@Acc0rd79]

As someone who is time building right now, over 400 hours, this is very interesting to me. I have a family so as long as I am home a few days a week this is fine. Wife is a doctor so if I could be home on some weekdays it wouldn't hurt much as I can take my son to school and pick him up then head to dinner with them that evening which takes stress off of her shoulders. I hope to be done with my hours in the next 2 years as I fly several days a week in my own plane to build time. Thanks for this fun video. Maybe a video on the entire recruitment process and training would be something if you haven't done it already.

[@gearheadfellowship7690]

Hey First Officer Martin! Brining back the memories and now I’m thinking about getting back into the regionals after a long time away. Curious how long are folks on reserve at Envoy these days? Thanks!

[@zacharyfoxmusic]

I love these videos! They are informative and fun! Keep it up!

[@temprr9510]

I Love Your VIDEOS Keep It Up

[@joewilliams5848]

Great video. When are you eligible to move up to Captain?

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

Great vlog as always! Can crew sch put on res every single time you forget to bid? If I had your job I would have not bother to bid at all. I am single, do not care if I work early or late. Heck, I could have done nothing but Stand up over nights. If I never turned in a bid could they have put me on reserve every single month?

[@setharnold9764]

7:55 I thought sitting in the waiting area for eight hours was about as bad as it could get but being stuck on the plane without stairs sounds much worse.

[@alessio272]

You should try charter. I’ve flown from LA to Honolulu to Tahiti. All hours in the air paid. I had a 110 hour one month during the pandemic. The bad part is that the type rating for a global is much more costly than 737 or 320.

[@drummerian1960]

Amazing video as always! Do you get paid for sitting in reserve at the airport for 8 hours?

[@wadahabbasher]

Half the pay

[@jaysint1502]

DID THE SAME THING.. working public transit we have a similar system. I was not happy.

[@mikestutt8574]

Some years I would forget to bid three to four months out of the year. Total idiot move, but I found some overnights that I never would have bid for otherwise. It’s a hassle to have your days off blown up for sure, but when I was at Envoy years ago a missed bit would default to the last available line that hadn’t been bid for. So for me I never went back to a reserve schedule despite making the same mistake so many times. And I’ll admit, reserve at regionals are really tough to manage month over month, year after year. Ready reserve is airport appreciation time that leaves you exhausted after a month of sitting doing nothing. Swane, looks like you made the very best of your mistake, and taught others about the industry that most would never get to see! Great job!

[@Amtran727]

I was a Chicago based FA and I knew anpther FA who intentionally bid reserve every month. She said she liked not knowing if she was going to be called or where she was going until the last minute.

[@bentleyharvey8546]

Dang. You forget how good you really have it being a line holder until you go back to reserve!!! Im at a regional airline based in dfw and we use pbs.. another great perk of pbs is that if you forget to bid, your previous months bid is automatically carried over!!

[@scotty11782]

Thanks Swayne

[@xavierwarren9799]

First thanks for the info, I know I am going to a bid system. Had one before and it every bit a sucked. Outside of that I can handle the on call flying I would love the day.

[@PaulGarthAviation]

Swayne... Swayne... Swayne... lol. ;-) Now it's time to update your monthly checklist and calendar a la David Allen's "GTD Method". Awesome! Only Swayne would be able to reframe this, and create a video regarding outcome. Great content and reminder, Swayne.

[@kenlynch6332]

Mistakes provide for those lessons best learned . Also neat hearing Sam sing the USAF song ✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈ 🛩

[@Tianton1]

I work a 5 days on, 4 days off roster. No trips! No overnights! Always back home in my bed (if the weather plays ball and we don't end up diverting)!!

[@pilotseye24]

Great vid as always 😬

[@larrymcswain6785]

Love the videos Swayne . but t was curious how much overtime can a pilot be given. I was under the impression that pilots were restricted to 1000 hours a year could you talk about that at some point. thanks

[@mjfreespirit]

Thought about you yesterday when i flew PSA from Philly to St. Louis

[@abhikchatterjee0206]

A wonderful video again, enjoyed the video swayne 👍👍. Pls make videos more frequently as I really love them. They are so much informative 👌.

[@StevenJohnson737]

Things have really changed sense I was there. Back in the day senior reserve was the best schedule you could get. I probably did 6-7 years of it and most of that was voluntary. Would average 10 hours per month and get paid guarantee. If guarantee wasn’t enough you could consider your uncalled reserve days your off days and pick up OT at 200% on a couple off days, fly maybe 20 hours on the month and block 90ish hours and make more than most line holders working 1/4th as hard. Work smarter not harder. Go get paid to sit by the pool every day. Although it sounds like you guys are actually getting used right now but I’m sure that changes in the fall/winter when leisure travel dies off and business is still down around 40% pre pandemic.

[@j.t.thomas9242]

You’ve been flying the E-145 for a little while now. Are you planning on moving onto a larger aircraft soon?

[@Newberntrains]

Being someone who never worked in a union Does each flight have a pay rate thats the same for your seniority bracket on that aircraft or does each flight pay at a different rate like xx per flight hour vs xx an hour for another trip And if so will you make more basicly being a shoe in for crew scheduling vs picking and choosing

[@jayusa879]

Hi Swayne good to see you again. :)

[@razzwilmz7970]

Are there openings at AA so that you can move over to American Airlines from Eagle? Seems that so many pilots took the early out during Covid that AA is experiencing a pilot shortage.

[@clk8257]

Pretty interesting information. We travelers just get in a plane, without knowing what you, pilots really go through, with the exception of knowing that you work alot. Not the politics of your job, blessings 🙏 🙌

[@dcal9429]

I feel your pain. I forgot to bid for January. 🙄🙄🙄 Not only did I want NYD off but also my birthday month. Luckily I had my preferences saved in the bid system. In the end I actually had a better schedule than if I had remembered to bid. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I can’t imagine if I were to end up on reserve if I forgot to bid. Then again, reserve isn’t so bad these days. My reserve years were straight reserve all month long. I had a pager most unreliable thing ever. Then we had call-in reserve, which was nice because you would get released if you didn’t have an assignment. I was BOS based and one month I flew 12 hours for the entire month but was paid my 75 hr guarantee. 😁

[@phillipbaritone3843]

It’s so interesting tagging along with you on your journey as an airline pilot Swayne, I always enjoy your videos!

[@CaptainMoondawg]

Ugh, this reminds me to set my reminders cause vacation bid coming soon lol….you should be headed for upgrade soon right??? Btw that Captain Lisa you flew with, we went to same high school….Small World

[@SwayneMartinPilot]

That’s awesome! I’m hopeful we will see

[@kevinbolden8998]

How long will it take for you to train up to a higher class airplane or will you have to be fulltime on a primary/parent carrier to start flying the larger planes. A320/B737

[@aishwaryasinha2005]

Swayne, Is bungee jumping required in flight training? I will start my flight training next year. I will follow you to become a pilot 🙂

[@Chaouuui]

Thx for this video

[@skysunder9781]

This is what my dad always about every time lol. Now it make so much sense