regional airlines are hiring briskly!

[utahpilot]

This is cut from an email I recently got from PanAm IFA, how I got on their list, I have no idea. But, man! Guess my head has been under a rock, golly gee, I had no idea things were so great!

"While you may have heard that the 'major' airlines are struggling, what you may not have heard is how they're actually shifting many of their routes to their 'regional' airline partners, who can operate more cost effectively. What does this mean to you? It means that the regional airlines are hiring briskly again!"


please.


UP

 

[Jetjockey]

If you had sell $35,000+ in aviation training, would you tell people the truth??? Here's how it would really sound.

After graduation, you can plan on working long hours at minimum pay flight instructing. That's of course if you're lucky enough to find a job as a full-time intstructor. After two years of flight instructing, you may be close to realistic regional airline hring qualifications of 1500 TT, and 150-500 ME. Did I mention that there are over 8,000 professionals out of work from the ranks of major airlines who have thousands of hours including jet time??? Not to mention the professionals who are furloughed from other regional airlines....No, oh don't worry, there's an impending pilot shortage. (Kit Darby)

So lets say you do manage to land a regional airline job. The contracts at such carriers like Mesa ensure that the career expectations remain low for "commuter airlines". How low?? Let's say in the area of $18,000. Oh, don't worry...this is just a stepping stone. To where, I'm not sure. Maybe at one point this was true. At one point UAL had over 10,000 pilots. So, after having earned a degree ($25,000), and flight training ($35,000) for a grand total of $60,000, you can earn what a high-school drop ot earns at wal-mart, or McDonalds. Are you ready to sign-up yet??????

I love flying, but there's no way i'd ever choose this career path again. Someone needs to spread the reality of this industry to the people still in college. Change majors ASAP. There are 50 careers I can think of that pay way better right out of college. Trust me, the glory days of aviation are long gone, and it gets worse every year.

 

[SpocksBeard]

While all that is of course true, I still don't want to do anything else. Right now I get to fly every day and don't have to pay for it. Granted I have to work 365 days a year to barely make 18,000 with no benefits, but it's still better than any alternative I can think of right now. I can be as pessimistic as the next guy, but I recently got a quasi-job offer at a freight company that kind of put things into perspective for me. The run was 6 days a week, never sleeping in you own bed, all for about 6 hours of flight time a week, with a 18 month training contract. The job has it's good points, and I still might end up pursuing it, but the lifestyle would absolutely suck. I'm just glad I'm not furloughed or something. Keep on keepin on I guess.

 

[WhiteCloud]

While all that is of course true, I still don't want to do anything else. Right now I get to fly every day and don't have to pay for it. Granted I have to work 365 days a year to barely make 18,000 with no benefits, but it's still better than any alternative I can think of right now. I can be as pessimistic as the next guy, but I recently got a quasi-job offer at a freight company that kind of put things into perspective for me. The run was 6 days a week, never sleeping in you own bed, all for about 6 hours of flight time a week, with a 18 month training contract. The job has it's good points, and I still might end up pursuing it, but the lifestyle would absolutely suck. I'm just glad I'm not furloughed or something. Keep on keepin on I guess.

I'm just guessing that you are under 30 and don't have a family yet. If that's the case I'd say "Why not?" If others are depending on you I'd say doing that kind of job is a big mistake unless it's just short term. Good luck with it.

 

[Jetjockey]

I'd say you already spent your money, so it's too late for you. I'm speaking more to the freshman in college, or someone thinking of starting this career.

By the way, it's so easy to be optimistic when your young and new in this career. I was a 25 year old SA-227 captain, a AVR-146 captain by 30, hired by United at 32, and now out on the street. When you have a family to support, and a mortgage to pay, let me know how optimistic you are making those wages. Worse yet, no flying job. Remember, everytime you hop in a plane to 'fly for free' as you state it, you are making someone money. This isn't a hobby.

Cheers

 

[WrightAvia]

Schedule an Interview at the school...

waste their time and money, let them buy you lunch. Ask them about the upcoming pilot shortage and when they blow smoke up your ass...go "CRACKER....PUHLEEEEZE!"

 

[SpocksBeard]

Let me set the record straight - I DON'T FLY FOR FREE!! (and I never will). For the sake of discussion though, don't you think a freshman just getting into this industry might have a shot at hitting the industry on it's upswing??? You're right about it being too late for me - money spent and gone.

 

[WrightAvia]

hey spocksbeard....

"CRACKER....PUHLEEEEZE!"

All kidding asside...no schit, I heard this this weekend. My friend's brother said that he is being held back in the pool at ATA, because over at Chicago Express they have nobody in their ranks with the balls to upgrade to CAPTAIN. "CRACKER....PUHLEEEEZE!"

I can't believe it. I almost would be insistant for getting hired as an off the street Captain over there, but I got it too danged good flying TURBINE singles. I'm 43 years young, with 5,000 plus hours. 1,700 multi and almost all but 100 something of my total hours are PIC and better than half of my total hours are 135....with plenty of 135 letters. Should I pester the REGIONAL to hire me and live on the same pay and gather up a hundred fold in responsibility, to live in an appartment with a bunch of dudes or stick to the caravan flying, which consists of 10 days a month on, three day weekends and home every night in my own bed?

Sometimes it's not age that makes you stay out of the game, sometimes it's the fact that you like to drop 3 or 5 grand into your habit of collecting expensive machine guns.

 

[WhiteCloud]

Let me set the record straight - I DON'T FLY FOR FREE!! (and I never will). For the sake of discussion though, don't you think a freshman just getting into this industry might have a shot at hitting the industry on it's upswing??? You're right about it being too late for me - money spent and gone.

Sure, a young person could get into the business of flying airplanes and hit the timing perfectly and end up with a good job in a reasonable amount of time. My problem is with all these (supposedly) authoritative publications that trot out the upside so they can sell their products but leave out the very realistic downside. The cycles are extremely large and unpredictable. Having other interests is mandatory in my book for young people who want to fly for a living. Jetjockey makes a lot of accurate points.

 

[eightdriver]

" I get to fly everyday" Give me a friggin break!! This sounds like either a UND prodigy or a Mesa wh@re in training. Wake up dude, flying just isn't that great anymore. The sooner you realize this the quicker you can get on with your life.