Thinking about regionals from corporate

[speedwings]

Hi all. I am a corporate pilot flying 135 and 91 trips and it's really burning me out. I know that you regional drivers get leaned on very hard too but it's the complete lack of ANY schedule that's getting me and my wife. I think even a reserve schedule would be a welcomed change - at least I would know when I MIGHT fly and when I won't.
Right now, I might have a few day trips a week to 15 days straight (with no nights at home and a total of 20 hours logged from it!) and anything in between. If the phone rings, I'm gone and I have no idea when I'm coming home. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have a flying job PIC in a midsized jet, but I'm almost ready to don the orange vest and mix paint next door if I can't move to something different. Corporate jobs are really stagnant in MSP (as they are everywhere else) and I'm not going to move somewhere else in the country for more of the same lifestyle.
I have a few questions for you; bear in mind that I have searched the forum, found nothing and really don't know anything about regional airlines:

What regionals have good commute schedules to/from MSP?

How much of your 17-22/hr pay goes to union dues? What do you get for per diem? What is take-home pay for a new FO nowadays?

How many of you are planning on staying with your regional and making a career out of it? Or don't any of these regionals exist?

If my goals are to gain seniority and a decent schedule quickly, what are the top 3 regionals I should pursue?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[banned username 2]

Hi all. I am a corporate pilot flying 135 and 91 trips and it's really burning me out. I know that you regional drivers get leaned on very hard too but it's the complete lack of ANY schedule that's getting me and my wife.

Sounds like you are flying Charter, not Corporate. Two completely different animals.

 

[speedwings]

It's 80% part 91 and 20% 135. It's the part 91 pop up trips or getting rented out on short notice to another company that's getting to me. So far our charter stuff has been schedule at least 4 days to 2 weeks in advance which is great.

 

[utahpilot]

depends

all good questions, but I think you'll get as many answers as there are personalities. depends on what you want.

for me, I want to eventually be home more than I'm away and make enough money to afford a home, kids, etc. I can tell you that now, in my first year at a regional, I have the total opposite. I'm gone more than I'm home and don't make crap. but, the hope is that it will get better.

What regionals have good commute schedules to/from MSP?

I would guess Mesaba, Pinnacle and maybe someone else has a base there (?), but it would be an easy commute to ORD or any number of other place that regionals base pilots. My opinion-DON"T commute if you can help it. Even with any easy commute (mine is a 1 hour flight to my base) the extra time you are away will add up a ton.

How much of your 17-22/hr pay goes to union dues?

this I don't know, since we have no union at CommutAir.

What do you get for per diem?

I get 1.25/hr. Not much, and not enough. Other regionals have better, upwards of 1.85 or maybe even 2/hr (?)

What is take-home pay for a new FO nowadays?

my checks are usually around 340 bucks a week, which is pathetic. at most regionals, though, you'll go into the higher 20's or 30's for second year pay.

If my goals are to gain seniority and a decent schedule quickly, what are the top 3 regionals I should pursue?

good question. any regional that is growing will equal lots of people under you in little time. If you believe the rumours, that could be Eagle, Chautauqua, or Mesa. Do so searching, though, to find out what pilots at these regionals think of their companies. All claim to be growing by quite a bit soon, but who knows in this game.

the the truth to the saying 'you'll only know if you made the right decision about your career when you retire' has become more and more so for me.

good luck

 

[501261]

It's 80% part 91 and 20% 135. It's the part 91 pop up trips or getting rented out on short notice to another company that's getting to me. So far our charter stuff has been schedule at least 4 days to 2 weeks in advance which is great.

That's not corporate flying! I certainly don't blame you for looking elsewhere, that type of flying (flying the owner's personal toy, whenever he wants to show it off to friends, though he can't really afford the airplane-hence he needs to charter it out) is really crappy.

Either way I wish you good luck in finding something better, but don't discount all corporate flying because of one bad "charter" job.

 

[T-Gates]

If you want a MSP base, we're hiring (Pinnacle) and MSP and DTW is where the new-hires are going. You have a very good shot at geting MSP right off the bat.

Mins are 1500/300

Pay Sucks

Good pilot group though....

 

[speedwings]

I know my job is a bit of an exception to the rule for a corporate pilot and I know that just about ANY other corporate job would be better, but I really just want a schedule. My wife makes good money and after 4 years of corporate flying mega millionairs (and one billionair) I realized that the people in the back are no happier than I am.

I don't need to make 150K+. Just enough to live comfortably and retire early. I want a place where I have seniority and a little sense of job security after putting in some years at a company. Granted, 9/11 showed us that even 15 year guys were vulnerable to furloughs in the airlines. But if one of the airplanes I fly either gets sold or even slows down, I'll get booted because I don't fly the busier airplane type. And that's the problem that never really goes away with corporate flying.

The sad thing is, after 4 years of corporate flying, 1200 hours in jets, type rated part 135 PIC in a Hawker, I don't even make $40K and it sounds like I won't see that next year either. So a move to the regionals wouldn't be that much of a financial shock!

Sorry to whine, but I'm really burning out at this company. Thanks for the tips already guys! I'll start looking at Pinnacle today.

 

[SkywayFO]

If you know anyone at Flight Options, they that. The money is much better and you know your days off a long way out. THe 8 days on is long but you have 7 off and that is great. And you don't have the commute. The days off you will know till you change planes or upgrade. So you can look out a year or more and plan.

 

[Webslinger]

Charter

I dont blame you one bit. Unless you get hired by a fortune 500 company, flying charter can be a tough pill to swallow. I would try for a fortune 500 company that you think is fairly stable- if there is such a thing, or go Regional. At least at the regionals your aircraft wont be sold out from under you just because the company you fly for has a NEW CEO, or has had a bad year on Wallstreet..etc, etc. Tough decision to make.....whatever you do, get out of charter if you can! Just my .02 cents worth.

 

[340drvr]

You might look at air ambulance outfits, too. Most have pretty rigid schedules, 12 hour shifts, something like 6 days, 6 nights (on call at home mostly), 6 off. Don't know what a jet captain might make for salary in MSP, though. It might be on the low side. Just another thought.