Morning Flights.

I've always had mixed feelings about morning flights. I absolutely love flying before/during the sunrise, but I hate mornings. Period. If it's before noon, it's like torture to me. For the majority of my time flying professionally, I've worked afternoons, though I have certainly put in quite a few morning shifts. This month is all mornings. Early mornings. Very early mornings.

On days one and three of the trip, I have a 0450 show time, which means I leave the house no later than 0415. Days two and four I get a reprieve with an 0515 show. So much better. [sarcasm]

So now the issue at hand: bids are out for next month. The lines actually look surprisingly good, and have finally been broken up into mornings only (first two lines) and afternoons only (last two lines). In the Beech, it would have been a no-brainer - afternoons and laugh at the poor fool who has to be at the airport by 0505 every day. But now, with Newark being the awful place that it is, the decision is a little bit tougher.

In Boston and even LaGuardia, you're of course subject to delays, but NOTHING even close to what Newark experiences. This is where mornings are actually a good thing (if you had told me when I was a teenager that I would EVER say that about mornings, I would have asked what you were on). The reason I'm on mornings this month is simply because it was the only good line. Next month, though, the morning and evening lines are both just as good. This is where the Newark factor becomes troubling. The delays aren't bad in Newark in the morning, but by noon everything grinds to a halt. If you're working after 2pm, you're guaranteed delayed before you even show up to the airport!

In the mornings, you can actually get home within an hour or so of your scheduled time. In the afternoons, if you're home within an hour or so of the morning crew showing up, you're lucky! Now I hope this doesn't sound like I'm complaining too much, it's simply the daily reality of Newark, and the reason I might actually consider working mornings voluntarily. So I've decided to make a list. Pros and cons of each.

Mornings:
Pros -
1. The air is much smoother, which makes the flights much more enjoyable.
2. The wind is usually calmer...see above.
3. The preflight walk around is more leisurely. I have an hour and a half to get everything done, instead of the half hour we have during turns.
4. Airports are really neat in the dark (and generally easier to find).
5. No delays, no delay vectors, no holding, no having to worry if we have enough gas to keep holding.
6. No go-arounds because the spacing didn't work.
7. I know what Captain I'd be flying with (same as this month and last), and I really enjoy flying with him.
8. We get home (or at least to the hotel) on time, and early enough to get to sleep.

Cons -
1. I have to go to bed by 8pm.
2. I'm pretty much a zombie on my first day off.
3. When delays do hit, we end up with a long day and a really short night.
4. A 0605 departure comes with a 0450 show, which means a 0435 bus, which means I leave the house at 0415 at the latest, and as I mentioned earlier...I hate mornings.

Afternoons:
Pros -
1. I get to sleep in.
2. I get to have lunch with the wife (usually).
3. When delays hit while we're flying, we get more flight time.
4. The passenger loads are usually a little bigger.
5. I'm most alert in the afternoon/evening.
6. The weather. This is both a pro and a con. Especially with spring rolling in, the weather can be much more unpredictable, and often much less friendly in the afternoons. This makes for long days and lots of turbulence, but it's also really good experience and often makes for an interesting story.
7. I get to sleep in.

Cons -
1. The delays are guaranteed. At 8-10am, it's departure delays. At 11am EDCT times start, not usually more than half an hour, though. At 1-2pm, just in time for the afternoon shift, the EDCT times get to two hours +, and the ground stops (usually not more than 10 minutes) start. At 4pm, the ground stops go into full effect. EDCTs are over an hour, and often get canceled for a new EDCT another hour off. The delays come with little warning as to when they'll start or why they're enacted.
2. On crap weather days, we're delayed for weather. On good weather days, we're delayed because no one cancels flights and the volume gets too great for the airport.
3. We never get home on time. Ever. Because we're sitting in Newark, delayed.
4. If the delays hit before we leave the gate, we end up spending hours sitting at the airport not getting paid a thing.

I'll probably end up taking the afternoons, if for no other reason than I feel more alert during the afternoon shift. I actually will miss the morning flights (though not the mornings, by any means). We're usually somewhere between southern Delaware and Philly at about 16,000 feet when the sun breaks the horizon over the water. It's usually glassy smooth air up there, and almost no one else is on the radios. Nothing beats turning final over Teterboro with the sun shinning bright orange through the buildings of downtown New York, just a couple miles off to my left. The mornings really do have their advantages, but just not enough to get me up at 0330, I'm afraid. Oh well, more delays for me next month, I guess. More from the late shift soon. Until then, good night and good luck.