USA Jet

[John2375]

What is the pay like for pilots? I know the schedule can be brutal, is the compensation at least worth it??

 

[pilotyip]

Starting DA-20 $51+/hr 55 hr guar (34K/yr+ DC9 $57+/hr 55 hr guar (37K+). Top DA-2O CA 122+/hr, top DC-9 $175+/hr. money is made by breaking guar, then selling days to start doubling up, I have seen $25K paychecks for one month.

 

[John2375]

Hmmm. I could deal with $25k a month LOL
I'm not familiar with how "selling days" works - can you elaborate on that?

Is it a requirement to live in Detroit, or just helpful to do so? I could see being more than happy working hard for a couple weeks then getting a little extended time off; is that where trading or selling days off comes in?

 

[pilotyip]

Hmmm. I could deal with $25k a month LOL
I'm not familiar with how "selling days" works - can you elaborate on that?

Is it a requirement to live in Detroit, or just helpful to do so? I could see being more than happy working hard for a couple weeks then getting a little extended time off; is that where trading or selling days off comes in?

You have DA20 11 or DC9 13 days off per month, you give back days to the company for money. The selling day rate depends upon seat and equipment, I think $250 for DA-20 F/O $700 for a DC-9 Capt. Selling a day; is where you tell the crew scheduler you are willing to sell days, then if a shortage arises, they call you to see if you want to pick up the days. This happens when we are busy like right now with March Madness starting on Wednesday.

 

[landlover]

I have seen $25K paychecks for one month.

what year was that?

 

[pilotyip]

what year was that?

2006/7, but guys have come close in 2010. A DA-20 guy got 144 hours flight credit in one month at $122+/hr, that was a good month

 

[John2375]

Well since I've never made more than 2 grand in a month, before bills/food, etc.. even a fraction of that would be sweet.
So basically, if you have days off, you "sell them" and the company pays you cash just for offering to work? Or only if they actually need you to work those days? Obviously living in and around Detroit would be a big advantage then.
Does anyone commute or do they actually require you to live near base?

 

[pilotyip]

Well since I've never made more than 2 grand in a month, before bills/food, etc.. even a fraction of that would be sweet.
So basically, if you have days off, you "sell them" and the company pays you cash just for offering to work? Or only if they actually need you to work those days? Obviously living in and around Detroit would be a big advantage then.
Does anyone commute or do they actually require you to live near base?

Well it works both ways, if they have no one they will pay you to be availalbe on that day, if they think they might be short and maybe need someone they pay you 1/2 of that to be available on a longer call out, like 2-3 hours. If they have a lot of local guys that have a Yes next to their name about willing the fly (That is the WTF board), they will pay no one and figure out if they need someone they can find a local who will do it. The last option is kinda junior manning where there is a crew manning shortage and the bid lines have days sold at 1/2 price in advance, these rarely go junior. Except for last month every DC9 line had two sold days in it, everyone got 11 days off instead of 13 because it was a short month. Yes you have to have a crash pad within a 20 minutes drive of the airport if you fly cargo, some pax guys like the MD-80 crews commute right into a line and don't need the crash pad.