Kalitta Air Interviewing

[hkgorbust]

Kalitta Air is calling folks for interviews.

F/O's with 4000+ TT, 1000+ PIC including turbine time, ATP written.
ATP, glass, international & heavy time have the advantage. Upgrade relatively short (possibly < a year)! Hiring F/O's with the background and time for a quick upgrade.

S/O & PFE requirements vary. FE ticket or FE written definitely required. Appear to be leaning toward the PFE types.

Pay is not so good but there may be light on the horizon in that area. 17 days straight on duty.

Check the kalittaair.com website for info for sending resumes. Phone calls and walk-ins are NOT encouraged. (Read as: don't call or walk in)

Everybody's heard the negative about Kalitta, but the times, they are a changin'. This could be a good opportunity to get in on the leading edge of a large crew expansion.

It ain't perfect, but its better than a lot of what's out there. Business is good, more airplanes coming, no layoffs and the pay is on time. Some old airplanes, but probably the best equipped fleet of 747 Classic freighters you'll find.

 

[redflyer65]

Sounds good. I just could never justify the pay rates. It's about the worst I've ever seen for the 74.

 

[1800 RVR]

No matter how you try to dress this one up, it's still a pig. Also, that one year upgrade thing is not happening. You should know better. People may use that in their decision to go there. Be honest.

 

[hkgorbust]

No matter how you try to dress this one up, it's still a pig. Also, that one year upgrade thing is not happening. You should know better. People may use that in their decision to go there. Be honest.

Touche' on the dress up comment!
But that's "pretty friggin' attractive pig" to you, sir.

I'm not trying to deceive anyone. Look at the numbers.
Current fleet is 16. Three more flying airframes by fall (the deal is done). That makes 19 by year end. How many crews does it take to staff 19 airplanes? Don't fail to overlook the probability of future acquisitions.

My supposition on the one year upgrade is based on the current crew levels (about 70 give or take) and the projected crew levels (around 140). There will continue to be attrition due to recalls, retirements and job changes. It will take time to reach that goal, but some F/Os who haven't been hired yet will be in the left seat when its all done.

 

[1800 RVR]

Point taken. Good luck to y'all.

 

[80for80]

No matter how you try to dress this one up, it's still a pig.

But, they have EFIS!!! We don't have EFIS on our 747s.

 

[GogglesPisano]

But, they have EFIS!!! We don't have EFIS on our 747s.

He's Back!

 

[spotterpilot]

Call me crazy but I liked working at Kalitta Air. I was awarded a Captain position after 14 months but training was pushed back 7 months due to shortages in other seats. This kind of flying is not for everyone. You work 17 days a month either sitting in a hotel room or flying over the Indian Ocean-- you are gone. 17 days was a little long for me but on the flip side 13 - 14 days off in a row is nice. What a great bunch of talented pilots, I miss being a part of it. I hope they get the improvements that they deserve in the next contract as Kalitta Air could be a truely great place to work.

 

[embpic1]

I also like it here. The 17 days can be long but having 14 days off in a row is great. I would be working the same amount of days on average at other places. Working 17 days at a time means I commute once each way every month and the company pays for my ticket. Flight is full.. not my problem. Weather is bad.. not my problem. Plane broke.. not my problem. Plus you get frequent flyer miles.

The crews here are great. These are the best equipped classics around. We fly to places others haven't even heard of. Getting stuck in Hong Kong for 5 days can be a blast. And of course, flying the queen on the skies is nice also. I never would have thought I would get a chance to fly it. It’s a great airplane.

The pay could be better but that hopefully will change soon. Many positive changes are happening in YIP these days (Union rep in YIP, New Chief pilot who was a line pilot and well liked by most, etc...)

There are some here that can't wait to get out. The ones I have met are mostly furloughed guys who came from the legacy carriers. I came from the commuters so I guess I don't know any better. My QOL is much better here than my previous job.

 

[Capn Sac]

What are the benefits like... family health/dental monthly costs etc? Do most pilots get only the monthly mins or is there more flying done in the 17 days? Thanks.

 

[landlover]

home based? how does the airlining thing work? do you get airlined to where ever the airplane is? do the days airlining count as days worked or days off? can someone put a number on the pay?

 

[embpic1]

What are the benefits like... family health/dental monthly costs etc? Do most pilots get only the monthly mins or is there more flying done in the 17 days? Thanks.

I use my wife’s medical but I believe it’s pretty good here. When I looked at it as a new hire it was $80/mo for family coverage. The deductible escapes me but I remember it as being reasonable.

As far as breaking guarantee (60.5 hrs/mo) some people are, some are not. It’s kind of a crap shoot. Nov and Dec are very busy for us and most people break it without trying (I had 100 hrs pay in Dec). The first quarter is typically slow for us but this year we have been very busy. I am looking at breaking guarantee this month as are several other crewmembers I have talked to.

 

[embpic1]

home based? how does the airlining thing work? do you get airlined to where ever the airplane is? do the days airlining count as days worked or days off? can someone put a number on the pay?

We are not home based. Everyone is based in YIP. Technically travel to and from work is done inside of the 17 days. This is based on travel from YIP. If you live in Florida for example and you want the company to pay for a ticket from your home, you will have to travel out on your day off. All times are based on Zulu. So let’s say your first day on in EWR is the 15th at 0001Z. You would have to travel on your day off (14th) to arrive in EWR by 0001Z (7PM local). Traveling home is done on you last duty day to your actual home (not YIP). So it is really only a problem going to work. I live in Lansing, MI which is only an hour dive from YIP. Since most of our reserve is R2 (2 hour call out) I have spent many days sitting at home on reserve. It hasn’t happened for a while but it does happen. Another nice thing about living close to YIP is that I just show up in the parking lot at 0001Z on my first day of my line. Since this is 7PM local it is usually to late to get me on a flight to my starting point (90% of time EWR of JFK). So I usually get a free night at home and travel out early the next morning.

One other nice thing is that there is no junior manning. When your days off are approaching you can insist that you are in a position to travel home on your last day. This might cost you some flying but you will make it home on your first day off.

 

[hkgorbust]

. . . One other nice thing is that there is no junior manning. When your days off are approaching you can insist that you are in a position to travel home on your last day. This might cost you some flying but you will make it home on your first day off.

That's right, no junior assignment! You can actually answer your phone on days off and decline to fly. They may beg and plead, but you cannot be forced to come out on off days.

Regarding the end of duty days; In reality, the company won't usually buy a ticket to get you home from an international location. If you are at an international location on your last day, the company will expect you to operate or deadhead on company airplane back to the U.S., even on days off. This doesn't happen all the time, and they will not keep you out longer than a couple of days. The contract has provisions for this. If you do end up in that situation, it will be your choice to either get paid above guarantee, including waiting @ 2.75 hrs/day or arrange additional days off to make up for the lost days.

Another thing to note is that recurrent training has historically been done on off days. Contractually, it's the company's option. There is compensation, but it applies towards guarantee, rather than above guarantee. The company says they would like to conduct training on duty days, but low staffing levels and previous poor scheduling practices would not support both the flying and recurrent training concurrently. Perhaps with some responsible scheduling, it will happen. The new scheduling manager has been quite impressive.

 

[80for80]

That's right, no junior assignment! You can actually answer your phone on days off and decline to fly. They may beg and plead, but you cannot be forced to come out on off days.

We have that too. But, you still have us beat by having EFIS in your 747s.

 

[hkgorbust]

We have that too. But, you still have us beat by having EFIS in your 747s.

Could that classify as "EFIS envy"?

Probably not!

 

[embpic1]

Regarding the end of duty days; In reality, the company won't usually buy a ticket to get you home from an international location. If you are at an international location on your last day, the company will expect you to operate or deadhead on company airplane back to the U.S., even on days off. This doesn't happen all the time, and they will not keep you out longer than a couple of days. The contract has provisions for this. If you do end up in that situation, it will be your choice to either get paid above guarantee, including waiting @ 2.75 hrs/day or arrange additional days off to make up for the lost days.

That is a better way of describing it. It really doesn't happen often. For me the latest I ever got home was 4 hours into my day off. Maybe I have just been lucky. The good thing was that I got paid 2.75 hours for being 4 hours late.

 

[gear_yanker]

Pay is not so good but there may be light on the horizon in that area.

Do you have some super-secret information the rest of us aren't privy to? The "light on the horizon" has been there now for the 4 years since the contract became amendable. The last negotiating session ended with a "take this offer or go back to square one" statement from the company, so I think your comment is somewhat misleading.

For those considering joining Kalitta Air, please make sure you can live with the terms and conditions exactly as they are, because things may never change. The union (Teamsters) is highly ineffective, but you'll be required to join and pay dues from day one of employment.....even though you will be on probation and can be terminated "with or without cause" during the first year.

 

[27 driver]

I have to agree that no matter how much you polish a turd, it is still a turd. I know a few that have quit Kalitta recently even though they didn't have another job yet. That has to tell you something. It is ACMI therefore you are the bottom of the barrel in pay, benefits, QOL, etc. If you decide to go there take it for what it is, a time builder. Go into it knowing that and have fun. A positive attitude will go a long way and make your stay much more enjoyable. I will say that everyone I know that quit cited management as the reason. The crews are usually cool people. If you have another offer I would take it.
Good Luck,

 

[Trogdor]

Anyone know why walk-ins are not recommended? Seems backwards to me.