What is a commuting roster?
A commuting roster is basically a working schedule that allows a crew member to commute from an allocated base to home on his days OFF.
It’s typical for airlines in Asia to attract pilots from Europe or the USA. The Asian market is short of pilots, so airlines offer a commuting roster designed to have enough days OFF in row to allow a pilot to travel back to Europe / the USA, spend some time with his family and then go back to Asia.
A typical example of a commuting roster is 11 days OFF / 19 days of work (with a few rest days evenly placed throughout this period, as pilots are not allowed to work 19 days in row). But you can find many other patterns.
Some airlines in Europe offer a roster designed for commuting regionally across Europe as well. So, you can have your base at London Stansted, but live in Barcelona for example.
Some European airlines with commuting rosters:
- Ryanair: 5 days ON / 4 days OFF
- Wizz Air: 14 days ON / 7 days OFF
- West Atlantic: 7 days ON / 7 days OFF
Some Asian airlines with commuting rosters:
- Korean Air: 19 days on / 11 days OFF
- Bamboo Airways: 21 days on / 7 days OFF
- Peach Aviation: 20 days on / 10 days OFF
You can find out more about specific airlines’ rosters at http://www.pilotjobsnetwork.com/.
