PAX vs Freight

[Whine Lover]

SkyWest,

Correct. That's why I don't fly Widebody International either.


YKW

 

[Whine Lover]

FBJ,

"You love FA's."

- Not really.

"You would be better off just posting facts and what particulars you find good or bad."

- Um... I think thats exactly what I did. (?)


And, I agree...the stability of the career on the pax side is tenuous at best. If money and stability are one's motivators, by all means they should try to get on with FDX, UPS etc.


YKW

 

[Whine Lover]

"Thank God you Posted this twice!!!"


No problem. Anything I can do to help.


YKW

 

[ASA]

And, I happen to like quotation marks. Much as e.e. cummings refused to use capitals. Can I have a bit of "poetic license" here?

You may.

As to your post, I would agree with the previous poster about international flying and add:

Passenger flying of course is mostly during the day. But, there are plenty of nights getting to the hotel at 1:00 a.m. or even later, or waking up at 4:00 a.m., or international flying, or red-eyes. It's not exactly a 9-5 job until you get very senior.

Freight flying obviously is mostly at night. But I see plenty of FedEx and UPS airplanes flying around in the afternoons. It's harder on your body overall than passenger flying, but there's a lot of gray area. It's not all black and white.

 

[QuasarZ]

I, on the other hand as it seems, liked this post. It helps with future decisions!
Thanks

 

[Big Beer Belly]

If money and stability are one's motivators, by all means they should try to get on with FDX, UPS etc.


YKW

That is one of the funniest things I've ever read on this board!

I'm sure most would rather have a career of multiple bankruptcies and furloughs, low pay, and crappy working conditions! LOL!!

Some enjoy cleaning the airplane between flights, others prefer the delight of asking the #1 for permission to take a potty break. Still others enjoy choking down an endless stream of Big Macs and burritos and shy away from the scariness of international destinations and being away from momma overnight. Many passenger pilots also tell me they delight in minimum wage TSA "wand wavers" sniffing their breath first thing in the morning and others just relish the simplicity their golden years will be without all the stress of managing a large retirement portfolio. Many are gamblers at heart and eagerly anticipate what awaits them as their carrier merges with several others or what the aftermath of another terrorist attack might bring.

Lots to consider when making a career choice but I guess I'm old-fashioned in choosing money and stability.

BBB

 

[Boeing747Driver]

Freight Doesn't Bitch.
I spent 2 years a Polar between USAIRWAYS 1 and USAIRWAYS 2.
Some things really stink about freight, but I feel the positives out-weight the negatives in freight.
Passenger gets less and less enjoyable as my career goes on.

 

[AC560]

I'm sure most would rather have a career of multiple bankruptcies and furloughs, low pay, and crappy working conditions! LOL!!

Beats being chased by machete wielding gangs ;>

 

[propjob27]

I've flown for five airlines. 4 pax, 1 freight.

Here's my take:

I enjoyed my JOB flying pax more several reasons:

• Right side of the airport (I like being able to grab a Starschmucks Sandwich, BigMac, etc...)
• I actually enjoyed talking with, ie flirting with the FA's. I was fortunate enough to work for pax airlines that were actually decent in the FA hiring department, and I've been single my whole life and a had a good time with it. Those guys that say the FA's are bitc hes and 'boxes don't bitch' are probably guys that don't have an ounce of personality, and never got laid by an FA. If you occasionally got to bang them, it made the layovers WAAYY more enjoyable than just going to dinner and a bar with some 40+ year old captain and talking about work bulls h it.
• The hours. Yes, the international flying on the pax side totally throws this perk out the window, you may as well be flying freight. So do the 0400 wakeups for the 0500 van ride on the morning departures, I never enjoyed that. But in general, the short 737 type flying on the pax side was easier on my body.
• Nicer equipment. Pax airplanes, in general, are far cleaner, and newer than Cargo planes.

I enjoy my LIFE more flying freight:

• The pay. My checks on the 1st and 15th of the month as a widebody FO are:

-more than an 7 year captain at AirTran.
-the same as a 4 year captain at Frontier.
-more than a 6 year captain at Spirit.
-more than a 12 year 777 FO at CAL.
-more than a 12 year 777 FO at United, and the same as a 10 year 737 Captain
-the same as 9 year 777 FO at American.
-more than a 7 year FO at Southwest.
​

(disclaimer: The above statements are based on hourly rate vs hourly rate, via Airlinepilotpay.net At my company, I used our hourly rate of 128/hr, which is easily attainable as an FO with just over 1 year of senority. The statements are also based a guy who likes to work the bare minimum. Ie, simply flying your line, never working on a day off etc. Comparing one guy who just flys his line vs another guy who flys his line + days off would obviously change things. I understand that some of these companies may have work rule perks which could skew things one way or the other.)​

• The number of hours flown/days worked. I'm going to work far less, and flying less than the people at these other airlines and still getting paid as listed above.

• I've never once heard the words "furlough" and "concession" and "loss"

Conclusion?

There's two kinds of people. Live to work, or work to live? There are those of us who define ourselves by our occupations. Not just some pilots, but some doctors, some lawyers, some investment bankers, some cops, some firefigheters etc. And many of them are quite successful. For that type of person, having a fun, or important, or glamours job may be the most important thing in his life.

I am not that type of person. I am a "work to live" type of person. My job is far from the most important thing in my life. Flying freight affords me the luxry of enjoying my life outside of work (and having more of it) far more than flying pax did.

 

[Big Beer Belly]

Beats being chased by machete wielding gangs ;>

I was thinking of taking up an exercise program anyway ... I simply figured that was as good a time as any to start training!

BBB