Any ifo on Kalitta Air

[LR25]

Sounds like a bunch of got you by the ballz B S to me.

We all do what we got to do.

I'm usually home the night before my last day.

For anybody thinking of coming here, its a pretty easy job, like the others have said though, the 17 days can be a drag.

Usually fly one leg a day, which is enough after a 7-8 hour leg which is the norm.

The airplanes are well equipped, FMS, EFIS and all the catering you can stand.

I have heard that there will be some hiring after the first of the year along with some upgrades.

 

[xtwapilot]

You guys are painting a bit of a rosey picture aren't you? I was there for almost 2 years, and every bit of it sucked. The pilot group has a good bunch of guys, but the company sux, anyway you slice it. If you live outside of YIP, the company will position you when they can get the cheapest ticket, that is usually alot more than 6 hours before your 0001Z start time. So there are 18 days, not 17, then even though an arbitration was won last year stating that the company must put you on your assigned line, recently they have start to ignore that again, and basically everyone is on reserve. Speaking of reserve, eventhough there isn't enough business to keep you out the entire 17 days, the company will sit you at a hotel on reserve, and at the end of the 18 days, you have 60.7 hrs of total pay to show for it. Yes in Nov and Dec you can make more money, those are the company's busy months, but most months you will only get paid 60.7 hrs. The guys that are making in the 80 hrs range are the handful company wh*res that steal trips from fellow pilots and fly sick airplanes. Another thing if you decide to go to Kalitta, get used to having to fight for what is rightfully yours to begin with. The company has no problem spending money to make their point, i.e. there is no flying, instead of putting you on reserve at home, they will fly you out and sit you at a hotel for 3 or 4 days, all to make a point that they control you and you will do what they want done.
As for the contract, the last proposal by the company was 62.5 hrs pay and everyone on reserve. Great place eh? You do your fellow pilots a diservice when you get on here and are not truthful about Kalitta. I would recommend people stay as far away as they can from CK because the place is a mess.

 

[pilotyip]

or move to YIP where the beer is cheap and the living easy.

 

[spotterpilot]

When I interviewed at Kalitta the first thing I was told was that the schedule is 17 days on and when you are junior there is a chance of being gone 34 days (which never happened luckily). Ya, I thought it sucked to be in the 5-towns for 7 days with no chance of flying but I knew that when I took the job.

 

[OrionFE]

It's 121 Supplemental! If you are a "Hub-n-spoke" kind of guy, don't look here or at any of the others. Look at all the cargo 74 operators, most are 19/20 days a month, some find your own way to work, pay your own lodging on reserve, etc....This kind of flying is not for everyone. Guys that complain the most, are ones that are furloughed and can't get on with FedEx or UPS. These are small operations. If you have a good union, then you might fight and get a decent contract. Please someone show me one! If you want to fly heavies and get into the left seat in a short amount of time and use this as stepping stone and can keep your expectations in reality, then you will do alright. If not, keep on moving!

 

[dojetdriver]

Do you guys have to lug a flight case around or are all the pubs in the airplane?

 

[CWI]

XTWAPILOT's comments are very typical of furloughed major airline throw aways.

During your interview Kalitta Air you will know up front what the deal is, schedule, pay, time away from home. It's your choice if you are offered a position.

If you want to fly B747's around the world with layovers in some of the best cities, then you may consider applying.

But, if you've never been away from home for more than a couple days at a time, then this probably isn't the place for you. Then I like having all my off days in a row 13/14 and wouldn't want to do the typical 3 on 3 off schedule of most major airlines.

Kalitta Air buys me a ticket out of my home airport to work and not having to commute is another big plus. I don't have to move to my base and I don't have to commute. Having the opportunity to live anywhere I like is GREAT!

This job is like an adventure and no two flights are the same. Some people enjoy the hell out of this type of flying, as I do, and then there's the ones who should have never applied.

Some can handle the nonsked freight dog lifestyle, others prefer the comfort of their warm masters lap.

 

[embpic1]

All pubs are on the plane. Only thing you need to carry is a company provided CD with a copy of all the pubs on it. Most people also bring a laptop.

 

[A300FE]

I agree with CWI. I also like having all my OFF days in a row and wouldn't want to do the typical 3 on 3 OFF schedule of most major airlines. A friend of mine is at the bottom of the list at AA. He is working 4 on / 3 off most of the time. On his first day OFF he is commuting home, then on the third day he is commuting back to his base. How much time OFF is that?

When Kalitta called me for class last year I had already started class with another airline that furloughed me at the middle of this year. I know a couple of Captains at Kalitta, guys I had flown with before, and would do so gladly again. I took my chances and did not want to leave the class I was in. I thought it was not ethical to do so. Now I have been home for 6 months. If I took the job with Kalitta I would be somewhere in the world right now...

I enjoyed flying freight too. Boxes do not complain, and you do not have to worry about making up with the flight attendant!!
:beer:

 

[xtwapilot]

When I was hired they promised 1 year upgrade and 90 hrs pay, that made it worth the effort to be gone 17 days, but not at 60.7 hrs and the typical 5% wh*res that steal trips and fly sick airplanes, like the check airmen who flew at 100 back and forth from HNL to LAX for a week with the number 3 and 4 not making full take off power. Those are the the scumbags that make Kalitta a very difficult place to work because even if you get the line of your choice, there is no way of being sure you will stay on it, because the usual 5% will make a deal with scheduling and steal it.
As for being a furloughed guy, yes I was furloughed and many furloughed guys tried to tell the powers to be, there is a better way to do things to get the contract we all deserved, but there was alway a bunch of old Connie guys that kept on stealing trips and flying sick airplanes. After a couple of years, I had enough and voted with my feet eventhough AA as not called me back yet. I'm at a place where I make more money in my first year than I would have in my 3 year at Connie, and I'm home a lot more to boot.
The bottom line is that don't make Connie out to be some utopia, it's a survival job at best to stop the bleeding for a while.
If I had known back then what I know now about Connie, I would have never taken the job. Good luck trying to get a new contract.

 

[OrionFE]

Do you guys have to lug a flight case around or are all the pubs in the airplane?

EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) is forth coming as well. The new SIM has all the new stuff in it and most guys have had the chance to fly it and see what it will look like. They should start the installs early next year as things slow down.

 

[CWI]

I'm happy to hear you are enjoying your new job at North American.

Not to mention not having to read your same negative comments on our own Union website.

But, all you post is no different than at any other airline I've worked for, but unlike you, there are those who make the best out of whatever situation they encounter.

And now that you don't work here anymore, have some couth, crawl back under that little rock and STFU!

 

[xtwapilot]

I also did a lot of union work at Kalitta, how much did you do to help try to get a better contract, or were you one of those 5% I was referring to. I still have many good friends at Kalitta and as I mentioned in my first post, Kalitta has a good group of pilots, but the company sux, if you can't handle hearing that, too bad. I originally posted to give others an opposing view to the utopia that was presented and let others that are thinking of going to Kalitta make up their own minds.
BTW, instead of making ignorant comments like the last line in your post, why don't you try to refute what I have said. You know it's the truth, but you prefer to not be up front about what is really going on at Kalitta. That leads me to believe you are certainly the 5% I was referring to. The sad fact is there are some really good people there stuck with the likes of you stealing their trips and flying sick airplanes.

 

[hkgorbust]

I don't say much, because to paraphrase Ben Franklin; "Better to be silent and appear to be a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." But enough is enough!
When AIA (KA's predecessor) first got the whales, Connie hired a bunch of recently unemployed and highly experienced PanAm 747 guys. Many stayed until retirement (some FE's are still here), but a bunch of them couldn't quite come to grips with the non sked, freight dog culture, so they exhibited some maturity and good sense by departing to seek pastures that were greener, at least to them. They just quietly said so long and good luck. They didn't find it necessary to bash or otherwise berate the company, Connie, management or other crewmembers because the job didn't agree with them.
KA is not a Utopia. Far from it. But not as far away as some complainers would like to you to think. True, it's not for everybody. The job pays OK, but could be better. Scheduling could be better, but after some recent changes, it will hopefully be improving. The airplanes are old, but exceptionally well equipped. But, with all that being said, the paychecks always come on time and there have been no furloughs.
I'm glad that that TW guy voted with his feet. Frankly, I really wish others of his mindset would follow. Soon. No reason for them to be that unhappy, or to try to drag down those that don't agree. Nobody is holding a gun to anybody's head to stay here. If it's not for you, See ya.

The incessant complaining and whining of some current and 'has-been' malcontents is the real down side of working at KA. Perhaps that group is the 5% that should be getting slammed!

 

[freightdogfred]

What's a 6 year whale captain at Kalitta make in a year?