Another Boeing 737 Max-8 crash

I work for Kalitta Air. I’m on the B747-400.

Yeah, we normally fly with 1 captain and 2 fo’s. On the longer flights we double crew. Most double crews are 1 capt and 3 fo’s.

 

Even 16 days/month seems a lot for Pacific runs. My cousin flies 777’s and usually has New York -> Asian locale. If he works more than 6 days/month, I’d be shocked.

 

Now that I might could do but it had to be a long hard road to that type of schedule.

 

Well, I’m out for 16 days but I might only fly 5-6 legs. For instance s typical month would be Cincinnati to Leipzig to Bahrain to Delhi to Hong Kong to Anchorage to Cincinnati. That’s 6 legs spread over 16 days. The rest of the time is spent checking out the local sights and bars. It’s a really tough life!

Jay

 

I think I can negotiate the flexibility to do the sales gig (cover life expenses/ mortgage) and take flight lessons a couple times a week and get my commercial single ASAP and onto multi( life goals)

Thursday is when I think the owner will be back from his 3rd or fourth beach trip of the year Should be a good day

 

PlaneSense seems too be hiring a lot of low time FO's and they get a fair amount of hours per month.

 

Go for it, I’m serious. If you don’t, you will regret it.

Jay

 

That’s a good approach. Typically you need a single commercial, multi commercial, CFI, CFII to be reasonably employable as a pilot. I’d make it a goal to get those. I did it in about a year under similar circumstances. Then you can decide your next move.

Cue the post about someone’s cousin’s friend who got their commercial multi and 2 weeks later went to work as a captain for UPS making $500k and working 4.5 days per month.

 

Ive ask this question before in similar threads but I’m gonna ask again. In the early 90’s, when I was considering a career in aviation, Flying Magazine was predicting a pilot shortage into the early & mid 2000’s.
Was that prediction true?
If so, is part of that reason due to work schedule? Curious as to the responses, especially from those who work in the industry.

 

I wouldn’t call it a “shortage”, but it’s a good time to be making the move into the flying world, if it’s something you want to try. A lot of retirements and fleet growth. One of the biggest factors in your QOL as a pilot is the number of people behind you on the company seniority list. Getting hired on the front side of a hiring wave puts people behind you. I think the new rest rules are having some effect on needing more pilots.

 

This is new information to me. Expound.

 

There’s also the China matter. If you want to get paid to fly in SE Asia, lots of hiring going on over there. You can live cheap, sock away that cash and fly relatively new aircraft for a few years to bring up your hours and then, when opportunity strikes, get back to the good ‘ol USA and fly for the company you want.

 

This is really important. Seniority drives everything in the airline world. Everything is unionized so you can google the contracts and see what the pay is and how the system generally works. People always say that so-and-so works 7 days a month and makes a fortune. I personally don’t know anyone doing that. Even if they are, they have to be at the very top of seniority. I have a friend who flies for American. He’s been there about 20 years. He is still an FO. So it is very possible that if you start getting your ratings today that you are about 30 years from being the most junior wide-body captain at a major airline. The upside is that he is a very senior FO so it gives him good control of his schedule (guess who doesn’t have to work Christmas Day).

 

This is my cousin. Most senior FO, which is why he won’t go for a promotion to Captain. The pay increase isn’t worth the loss of scheduling freedom and seniority to him.

 

I have a friend who just went from an international right seat to a domestic 717 left seatwith Delta. The routes that plane flies makes it seem like a huge downgrade to me. Is the pay difference that big between PIC and FO that changing routes like that is worth it?

 

So it is very possible that if you start getting your ratings today that you are about 30 years from being the most junior wide-body captain at a major airline.

I'm sorry, but this is the kind of thinking that kept me from making the jump earlier than I did. People looking to make a good living in aviation need to look outside the box a little here. The be-all-end-all isn't necessarily "a wide body captain for a major". I'm a captain on a 747-400. It only took 5 years at my company to do that. I make more money, and have a better schedule than a lot of guys flying for the majors. Not all, of course, but a lot. The most junior captain at my airline (B 767) is just over 2 years at the company. The pay rates are the same for all three fleets. Most of our first year FO's are making over 100K a year. Most guys flying for a major commute and do 3 or 4 day trips with 3 or 4 days off in between. That means if you live in Moline, but are based in Newark, you travel in the day before your trip. You might not get done with your trip in time to catch the last flight home. That means you get 1 or 2 days at your house before trying to catch the next ride to your domicile. By the way, all this traveling back and forth is on a "space available" basis. No seats available, no ride! All I'm saying is don't paint yourself into a corner thinking that captain at a major is the only way to make a good living and enjoy a career in aviation.

Jay

 

Yes

 

Percentage wise what's the difference? He was flying Atlanta to Rio or Sao Palo, I forget which one.

 

It’s a lot of luck, too. I know a 28-year-old triple seven right-seater. That jerk is set for life.

I also know a guy who was in flight school at FedEx when a major called him up and said “we have a job for you.” With that opportunity, he walked out on FedEx.

The program director at FedEx happened to catch wind of the whole situation. He also knew someone in charge at the airline that offered to hire him. So, he rang up the airline and explained the situation to that recruiter. Recruiter called the new hire up and told him to die in a fire.

Last I heard, he was flying looking to fly cargo planes full of rubber dog shit out Hong Kong.

 

8 airlines in 24 years. Some guys hit the cycle right and :

Never watch the company they are working for go out of business,
Never get furloughed for 11 1/2 years
Never get told they are fired because they won't cross a picket line
Never go through a couple of acquisitions and get stapled to the bottom of a seniority list (twice) under people that were in middle school when they were flying 747's around the globe

It is an extremely voilitile industry. It just so happens that it's in an upswing right now and hopefully climbing out from under the worst of the post 9/11 bankruptcy contracts. It all depends if you're willing to step up to the career roulette table and plunk your future earnings down. You have to do it because you enjoy flying airplanes. If the desire is driven by a want for earnings/life quality, you will be in for a miserable ride.