Airnet or Airlines?

[trybysky]

Frieght! I don't regret this route, I'm having a blast and have never been sharper on instruments. Also I got to build multi turbine PIC after 3 months, something I would have had to wait a couple years for with most Regionals. Of course I'm in an old beat up beech, and they're flying some beautiful jets.
Whatever floats yur boat. Good luck.

 

[cforst513]

how many guys went from freight into corporate? i'd like to avoid the airlines, if possible. my CFI got a class date at airnet so if i'd like to go that route he would definitely walk in my resumé. but after that, i'd like to get with a good corporate outfit. have any of you guys done this?

 

[3blade]

Airnet supplies a lot of pilots to the corporate side of flying, I think it's where most guys go that drove the Lear around for a while. NetJets, FlexJet, Citation shares, Flight options to name a few.

 

[Goose Egg]

How can you get a decent quality of life when there are flight instructors pulling in more cash than a three-striper at Great Lakes or Mesaba.

Go to a different airline? Wait a year? Spend your money on food and rent instead of booze? If you think that I'm making more than the guys at Great Lakes, Mesaba, or any other regional, think again. And if I can make flight instructing work financially...

-Goose

 

[Dave Benjamin]

First of all I'd avoid making career decisions based on first year pay.
Look down the road 5, 10, 15 years and ask yourself where you want to be. Although Airnet is a fine place to build experience you also have to look at how much of their flying will be lost due to continuing implementation of Check-21.
Turbine PIC, preferably with a glass cockpit is what many carriers prefer. Although I'm not saying you won't get hired by a good paying major straight from Airnet how much more of a chance is there of getting hired from a 121 carrier?
You'll have to suck it up first year at a regional.
Second year you should be making in the 30's though.
A 5th or 6th year turboprop captain can make $60K plus. In the RJ it's in the $70's.
Where I work we are losing a steady stream of guys to Southwest , Jet Blue, UPS, and Fed Ex.

 

[Sgt. Hartman]

how many guys went from freight into corporate? i'd like to avoid the airlines, if possible.

If you want to go corporate, my suggestion would be to hang around at AirNet for a couple of years. In that time upgrade to the Lear and get your type (The type is provided to everyone at their one-year recurrent in the jet weather or not you are upgrading to captain). Hopefully by this time you will have 3000 or more hours total time with 600 to 1000 in the lear with a type rating and an ATP. With this you should be close to competitive for a captain position with a 135 charter operator with a lear 31/35/36 which will pay at least double what you will get at NetJets, Flex, Fltops in the first few years if thats the route you want to take.

 

[starcheckdriver]

Where I work we are losing a steady stream of guys to Southwest , Jet Blue, UPS, and Fed Ex.

And where do you work? And with regard to those leaving, how long have they been with your comapny?

 

[Doc Holiday]

Another thing to look at when talking about how many people move on to nationals or majors is the number of pilots at a particular company. AirNet is a small company with 200-300 pilots, many of which who intended on going the corporate/charter/fractional route. Several regionals are over the 1000 pilot mark and I would guess that most have their sites set on the 121 world. People have and will continue to move on to the nationals/majors from AirNet, just not a very large percentage of the pilot group.

 

[3blade]

First of all I'd avoid making career decisions based on first year pay.
Look down the road 5, 10, 15 years and ask yourself where you want to be. Although Airnet is a fine place to build experience you also have to look at how much of their flying will be lost due to continuing implementation of Check-21.
Turbine PIC, preferably with a glass cockpit is what many carriers prefer. Although I'm not saying you won't get hired by a good paying major straight from Airnet how much more of a chance is there of getting hired from a 121 carrier?
You'll have to suck it up first year at a regional.
Second year you should be making in the 30's though.
A 5th or 6th year turboprop captain can make $60K plus. In the RJ it's in the $70's.
Where I work we are losing a steady stream of guys to Southwest , Jet Blue, UPS, and Fed Ex.

That pretty much sums it all up. Good post

 

[Dave Benjamin]

And where do you work? And with regard to those leaving, how long have they been with your comapny?

All the regionals are losing pilots right now. If you haven't noticed most of the regionals are hiring like gangbusters due to expansion and attrition. I've been here for 5 years. One carrier I left out of the list is CO. I've watched at least 2 or 3 go there recently with 2-4 years of flying for us. One of the guys that left for UPS recently was in my initial class. Another one was about a year senior. I'd say the majority of those getting hired elsewhere have 3-7 years with us. I know a few that have gone to Alaska and some to America West.

Airlines like to hire RJ captains. The experience transfers over quite well. There isn't a whole lot of difference between flying for a regional and flying for a major which is why so many guys are getting the call. That's not to say someone wouldn't get hired straight from Airnet but that's the exception rather than the rule. Most airlines that I know of hire mainly from the regionals, military, and some corporate. Southwest used to hire from companies like Ameriflight and Airnet but I'm not sure if that's still the case. To get an interview at Southwest you pretty much have to have the 737 type rating which will set you back 7-8K. Most of the other airlines aren't even going to look at the resume.

One thing I'm seeing in this thread are signs of immaturity. Guys that are complaining about preceding aircraft flying stabilized approaches need to get their heads out of their posterior. If you want to be a professional learn to fly like one. Most FOM's require you to be stabilized at 1000 AGL which equates to about 3 miles out. I get paid by the minute. The company tellls me how they want their multi-million dollar investments operated. Some freight dog getting upset at slowing or having to do a missed because of lack of situational awareness doesn't bother me one bit. I flew a fair amount of 135 frieght and the lack of professionalism bothered me then and some of the inane comments I've seen are reminders of that nonsense.

 

[Sgt. Hartman]

One thing I'm seeing in this thread are signs of immaturity. Guys that are complaining about preceding aircraft flying stabilized approaches need to get their heads out of their posterior. If you want to be a professional learn to fly like one. Most FOM's require you to be stabilized at 1000 AGL which equates to about 3 miles out. I get paid by the minute. The company tellls me how they want their multi-million dollar investments operated. Some freight dog getting upset at slowing or having to do a missed because of lack of situational awareness doesn't bother me one bit. I flew a fair amount of 135 frieght and the lack of professionalism bothered me then and some of the inane comments I've seen are reminders of that nonsense.

Please tell me that's not directed at the entire freight flying community!

 

[EatSleepFly]

Please tell me that's not directed at the entire freight flying community!

Of course it is. We're all a bunch of unprofessional yahoos, remember?

 

[freemind270]

come to comair

starcheckers if you want to come to Comair , send in your stuff we are hiring like crazy.

reserve was not bad and 1st year pay is one of the best in the industry and if you bid smart you can earn lots of extra $$

good luck

 

[Dave Benjamin]

Please tell me that's not directed at the entire freight flying community!

Definitely not. However there are some cowboy pilots out there that don't do the profession any favors. My comments here were directed at the whiners complaining about flying into airports served by 121 carriers and having to slow down behind aircraft flying a stabilized approach.

There is some excellent talent in the 135 freight community that I respect as top notch professionals. But if you're one of the guys inventing your own approaches and busting minimums to get the job done I hope I'm nowhere in the vicinity if you create a smoking hole.

 

[starcheckdriver]

In defense of freight dawgs who act like professionals every night, especially in regards to the Airnet pilots that I work with nightly....


Our pilots are some of the best in the industry, IMHO. They are safe, efficient and fly our company profiles. Our profiles (FAA approved for those wondering) are fast, yet safe. Our Lears cross the marker at 200 and eventually slow to REF+10 fully configured by minimums. Just because we shoot fast approaches with a constantly changing airspeed to minimums does not mean they are unstabilized or unsafe. We conduct our operations in a safe and controlled manner every night.

For those that do not and make a bad name for 135 freight, all I can say is that there are a few bad apples in every comapny and every segment of the aviation industry. I do not lose respect for or put down regional pilots. Sure, they might slow us down, but they have to fly what they were approved for. But, please don't think freight dawgs are unsafe because our approved profiles are fast.

Airnet has one of the best safety records in the 135 freight world and we intend to keep it that way. And for you regional pilots, keep up the good work in getting me and my family safely from point A to B and we'll get your packages safely to/from as well.

 

[Princedietrich]

there is a huge difference between a stabilized approach and a slow approach. It's entirely possible for a learjet to hit the marker at 200 knots clean, hit DH at Ref+10 in landing config, and be perfectly stabilized all the way down.

 

[starcheckdriver]

there is a huge difference between a stabilized approach and a slow approach. It's entirely possible for a learjet to hit the marker at 200 knots clean, hit DH at Ref+10 in landing config, and be perfectly stabilized all the way down.

Could not have been said any better!

 

[Princedietrich]

Could not have been said any better!

Why thank you.

 

[Doc Holiday]

Definitely not. However there are some cowboy pilots out there that don't do the profession any favors. My comments here were directed at the whiners complaining about flying into airports served by 121 carriers and having to slow down behind aircraft flying a stabilized approach.

Whether or not anyone wants to admit it, "cowboy pilots" make it to all facets of aviation, yes that includes 121 carriers. As far as having to slow down for another jet flying a stabilized approach, I find it doesn't happen all that often (unless you are going out of your way to accomplish this). Plenty of airlines keep their speed up when the weather is nice. But when it's clear and million and some rj is doing 120 across the ground 7 miles out because they get "paid by the minute", well that is just ridiculous.

 

[starchkr]

This thread is fun...i like the freight guys bashing the regional guys, and the regional guys TRYING to make an educated comeback to the freight guys. It seems as though there is a rift in our aviation community....oooohhhhhhhh wait, there is and it all starts with the uptight, over zealous, "i'm better than you because i fly for a regional" guys. What is it with the egos needed to fly people around, to have a desk jockey tell you when you can and cannot go fly, or even to fly slow down an approach because of "I get paid by the minute" attitudes. Which by the way, i get paid by the minute as well, but i sure as HE!! don't want to grow old and grey waiting for you to fly that slow A$$ approach in VFR conditions when i would like to go home. Oh yeah sorry, i meant to say...come on guys there is no need for all this bashing and mockery going on here...but the other stuff slipped out in a delerious stupor...ah heck, really i meant to say it all, i like messing with everyone...but i still meant it all as well.