Gulfstream Academy...

[Zekeflyer]

Leaving an Airline Post

Bobbysamd,
Thanks for your input. So when you resign from say American and go to shall we say Delta, You could start at the very bottom but that won't be the case at all airlines. YOU COULD PICK-UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF? i.e. in terms of salalry at that previous seniority position?
When I said all that experience counts for nothing I meant all that flight time you had flying for teh previous airline doesn't go in to the decision of the new employer to decide where your pay scale is?
What about a jump from commercial airlines to cargo flying? is that normal?

 

[bobbysamd]

Resigning seniority

So when you resign from say American and go to shall we say Delta, You could start at the very bottom but that won't be the case at all airlines. YOU COULD PICK-UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF? i.e. in terms of salalry at that previous seniority position?

Why would one resign from American in the first place? I realize a lot has changed over the years, but once you are hired into a major, barring furloughs, failures, etc., you generally stay there for the duration of your career. Being a pilot for the majors is not like working in business or industry. You don't leave companies for better pay, promotions, etc. You stay where you are. Using your example, you would have to start at the very bottom of the seniority and scale list. I do not know of an instance where you can hold seniority at one 121 carrier while working for another. Perhaps you can at one of the Jets For Jobs carriers.

Some companies do not require you to resign seniority. But, that does not necessarily mean that they will hire you at the same salary or give you seniority upon hire.

When I said all that experience counts for nothing I meant all that flight time you had flying for teh previous airline doesn't go in to the decision of the new employer to decide where your pay scale is?

From the way you ask the question, the answer is "no." Every place that I know has a scale. No matter who you are or how much Space Shuttle or 747 time you have, you still must start at the bottom of scale and build seniority.

What about a jump from commercial airlines to cargo flying? is that normal?

What is normal? It depends. I have a former student who went from pax operations at SkyWest to freight hauling at FedEx.

 

[Joe 4836]

To the engineer

Do yourself a favor, get your private buy a plane and fly for fun on the weekends.

 

[Casper]

The fast route ?

I am 38 years old and have two children to support just four years ago I had decided to do this crazy thing and change my career and everyone said I was nuts after I spent thousands of $$$ on my ratings going from 141 to 61 schools with no guidence I thought now how the heck do I build time ? It will be hard for me to instruct with my family I just can't do it, so I took a traffic watch job and did this for one year in that year and built just over 1000 hours I worked morning, afternoon, and night shift and would drive 25 miles in the morning to pick up the plane and 25 home at night in traffic which is about 3 hours drive time a day if not more I would come home like a zombie and go straight to sleep , barely saw my kids and did it all for lousy 10 bucks an hour not to mention flying right seat in junky multi-engine aircraft as a saftey pilot to build my multi time ,but after all is said and done and all the time and money spent I am now trying to find a job four years after I started. I guess what I am trying to say is there is no short cut the crappy jobs you will take and the time it takes to get to where you want will not only make you a better pilot but once you land that airline job or whatever it is you decide to do you will have much more respect for your self and will have gained respect from others as well.
There is no such thing as short cuts just hard work..
Good luck !

 

[Zekeflyer]

to the 38 yr old

My hat's off to you. You are a stronger man than I. I know I will just have to buckle down and get it done. There are no shortcuts to anything. if you want something nice you have to work hard for it. from medicine to law even engineering, there is no susbtitute to slugging through it and getting to hte fifnish line.
I guess i'll just have to get all my ratings and work as a part-time CFI until I can recoupe the money I spent getting my ratings. I am fortunate to be young, unattched(no kids) or house and it comes down to me just realizing that I have it better than most. At least I wont be in debt when I finish.
It is after all what I have dreamed of doing since I was six years old. and getting a degree in Engineering was a way to pay for flight trianing b/c it was too expensive coming out of high school.