Make the AA hop next year?

[CorpCaptain]

That "IF" is a big one. International experience is great, plenty of PIC turbine time and flying state-of-the-art equipment is fun, but the fact my bird is the size of your horizontal stab and ZERO 121 time is going to make the job convincing the right people difficult I imagine there will be many younger than myself during the interview process. But your right, long-term it would be quite a career.

 

[aa73]

CorpCapt, my new hire class back in 2/00 had 47 total new hires, out of which a good 10-15 or so were corporate. A respectable percentage. Believe me, if you have a good "in", you have a mighty decent chance. No matter what you're flying - as long as it's PIC Turbine, you're in the ball park.

 

[Kingairrick]

It's fairly easy to make an excell spreadsheet comparing the financial end of things. I made one when I was considering NJa few years back.
At 85K, it will be a pretty quick swing back to $ ahead.

 

[NERVOUS]

As anticipated, the entire concept went way over your head.

The OP was asking about leaving an admitted lower paying corp gig to try at a major airline or a better Fortune xx opportunity and was looking for any info on guys who have made this transition...simple career building advice.

You pipe in with Regional Pilot Touretts Syndrome and brag about being in a "Barbie Jet" long enough to make more money than him...moving up the chain at a regional, now there's something to brag about, huh?

As far as wanting your job (dear god) do know that I would likely shoot myself before being able to drive to work and fly an RJ 15 days a month with clowns like you and make 85K....but to each his own.

Please, do come by often and give us lectures on RJ pilots keeping the bar high, its entertaining if anything.

God bless you! Well done...well done..

 

[3blade]

I would advise the OP to sit tight and try for AA when the time comes. I've done both 121 and now pt 91 corporate and I can tell you, I feel more like a servant than a professional pilot on most days. There are great 91 gigs out there and there are terrible ones. I feel your job like mine are somewhere in the middle, personally this is the most unrewarding job I've ever had. In hindsight leaving the airlines was a big mistake, I made less money but I had way better QOL. I know now that being able to tell the wife and kids if you can be there for them two weeks from now on a certain day is worth more than any amount of money.

I took hard days off for granted big time when I was flying 121. If I missed a holiday, birthday, etc...at least I had a few weeks to plan around it. What's funny to me is that the few corporate gigs regarded as the best are run a lot like well....an airline. Hard days off, crew scheduling, dispatchers, safety officers, SOP's, cockpit standardization, etc..

Take it for what it's worth. I'm not bashing all corporate jobs I only speak from my own experience and observations, but and each his own and do what's best for you.

 

[CorpCaptain]

Appreciate the insight. I'm in the process of meeting a couple people with AA to gauge their thoughts. Most have the same sentiment as you. Seems the difficulty will be most importantly, getting the interview to begin with but also scamming your way into one of the first classes. For now i'm continuing to plug along, content with life until a better opportunity presents itself Thanks again for the input-
Corp

 

[Shag McNasty]

personally this is the most unrewarding job I've ever had. In hindsight leaving the airlines was a big mistake, I made less money but I had way better QOL. I know now that being able to tell the wife and kids if you can be there for them two weeks from now on a certain day is worth more than any amount of money.
.

I understand you have to try something new before you know if you like it, but what made you leave the airlines in the first place? Furlough?

 

[rondo]

LOL again!. Will you wash the owners car? Yes! Will you vacuum and clean the airplane? Yes!. Will you you wipe the owners butt for him? Yes! Your hired!

Another spoon fed regional knit-wit that likes to attacking an innocent poster and bragging about flying an RJ. Please. I've seen more class from a NYC cab driver.

Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough get get hired and fly with you from Newark to Toledo.

 

[johnsonrod]

Doesn't hurt to apply to AA and see what happens when the time comes. You won't have the option to decide if you don't apply and ultimately get the offer (no guarantee). I'd probably throw your hat into the ring at Delta, JB and a few others as well for the heck of it. I hear Kalitta and Atlas (new 767 operation is starting up) are hiring quite a few and you do get hard days off. Good luck!

 

[wrxpilot]

Good luck with your decision CorpCaptain!

I was in a somewhat similar situation, though admittedly I had a lot less to lose than you. I was flying a CJ3 as a co-captain, but wasn't making anywhere close to $85k and was only flying 200 hrs/yr. I had a fantastic QOL and pretty good benefits, but I also felt like I wasn't really progressing professionally.

I've got some very strong contacts at AA, FedEx, and SW, and decided that I may as well give that a shot. So I quit my corporate job a few months ago and headed over to Skywest to get some 121 time. It was at times a terrifying decision, and still is on occasion. But I just keep telling myself to keep my eye on the big picture, and that worst case I can eventually go back to corporate or charter if things don't pan out here. I just got a composite line, and the QOL is actually quite a bit better here than I thought it would be.

Only time will tell if this was the right decision, but either way at least I can say I tried!

 

[CorpCaptain]

Doesn't hurt to apply to AA and see what happens when the time comes. You won't have the option to decide if you don't apply and ultimately get the offer (no guarantee). I'd probably throw your hat into the ring at Delta, JB and a few others as well for the heck of it. I hear Kalitta and Atlas (new 767 operation is starting up) are hiring quite a few and you do get hard days off. Good luck!

Applied to Delta, no call back. Good friend offered a Blue Dart with JB, had to turn that down simply not being sure that was where I wanted to be. Not to mention im sure my buddy would have been pissed if I got the interview and turned it down. Got the interview with Atlas and Omni both. But recently got married and the wife would have my a** if I was gone over 2 wks at a time. The real upside with AA is the opportunity to get in early and hopefully upgrade in less than a decade. Not to mention I hear they are going back to the old TWA reserve system. Which would make life quite a bit easier.
WRX, maybe im out of the loop but why would you go to SKYW? Were you worried about lacking 121 experience? You got bigger balls than me my friend Hope it works out for you and keep me updated once the window opens-
Corp

 

[AA717driver]

This is old info and I cannot predict how a company will hire in the future (duh!), but...

The move from corporate to 121 may not have been a good one. In the past, several of the large airlines hired from "pools". Not like the SWA pool but they considered your background and compared you to other candidates that matched your area of experience.

IOW, they aren't going to discard a Global Capt. who has 5,000 hours with 2,000 hours of jet PIC for a RJ Capt. with 10,000 hours flying between MSP and CID. Nor will they consider a Hornet pilot with 2,000 hours to be unqualified.

It may not be the same or they may look at jumping from corp to regional or supplemental as expanding your experience. Just adding a thought.

TC

 

[wrxpilot]

WRX, maybe im out of the loop but why would you go to SKYW? Were you worried about lacking 121 experience? You got bigger balls than me my friend Hope it works out for you and keep me updated once the window opens-
Corp

Well, I did this for a few reasons... I was REALLY underpaid, and I was only flying around 200 hours/year (about half was TPIC). I only have about 2100 hours, so my TT wasn't going anywhere quick.

Also, I was based out of PBI and wanted to get out West again (I'm from Denver originally). My last three aviation jobs were all in south FL (CFI, charter, and the corp job), and I felt myself becoming stuck down there. That's great if you love FL, but I don't. I like snowboarding and mountain biking way more than golfing and fishing.

My contacts at FedEx also advised me that heading over to SkyWest for a few years would really be the key to getting me in over there, and as far as regionals go SkyWest is still one of the better ones. I was also looking for a new challenge, as I was sick of going to the same 5-6 airports every other week. Yeah, there's routine in regional flying too. But flying a Brasilia out West is a lot more interesting than doing TEB-PBI countless times in a highly automated citation.

I do like corporate a lot, and would be VERY happy to go back to that line of work if this doesn't pan out for me. I figured if that happens, having some 121 experience will only benefit me. The airline stink shouldn't be too bad since I already spent so many years flying charter/corporate... At least I hope so!

If I was in your situation though, I don't think I would've chosen the path I did. I had a lot less to lose IMHO...

 

[aa73]

Don't worry guys. If AA717Driver and I are ever on the AA interview board, we'll base our hiring on: the number of posts you have on FI.com, the # of times you called General Lee a troll, and G200 an overpaid/underworked whiny Gulfstream driver. So, by all means, keep posting. :laugh:

p.s. if you get hired and purchase a hat, you're fired.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Don't worry guys. If AA717Driver and I are ever on the AA interview board, we'll base our hiring on: the number of posts you have on FI.com, the # of times you called General Lee a troll, and G200 an overpaid/underworked whiny Gulfstream driver. So, by all means, keep posting. :laugh:

p.s. if you get hired and purchase a hat, you're fired.

Overpaid?....never once felt that!
Underworked....ok, guilty at times. Its my career goal actually.