Originally Posted by
atpcliff
Atlas HAS changed a lot, and for the better (except for some Polar pilots-some of the former Polar guys hate/don't like the changes, some are OK with it).
For example, when I started researching Atlas, prior to 2007, there was a base in Stanstead, England, and guys had to get there ON THEIR OWN DIME to start and end there trips. Just before I started applying, the company started airlining guys to Stanstead...then the base was shut down.
Atlas has gone through a bankruptcy. At the beginning, there was no union and no contract.
Read about Atlas and talk to people, and make your own judgments.
With the new contract coming up, Atlas will be better. How soon will the contract get done, and how much better it will be is HUGE deal....if it is a LOT better, a lot of guys here will stay. If it is MARGINALLY better a LOT of guys will leave, and I think we will have a big problem just staffing the current fleet, not to mention trying to expand.
The pilot shortage is just getting worse and worse, and will for a while...probably until this big bump of "Baby Boomers" all retire/stop flying. By then, maybe Asia will have figured out how to staff their cockpit without so much foreign help....if they have not, the pilot shortage will keep getting worse.
Nice summary in your last few posts, atpcliff...impartial, and fair.
I do have one comment (and yes, I am an Atlas guy, not a former Polar pilot...disclaimer)...Some of the Polar guys are not happy to be Atlas crewmembers and I'll leave that debate for a different forum (maybe around a breakfast table somewhere!!). But it is hard to argue how their career prospects have changed, going from a fleet of 5-6 airplanes to a company with about 55 total aircraft (about 40 747s and as of next January, 15 767s).
For those that have been at Polar (and went through the long merger), and have now seen the Atlas side of the equation, it may be a tough pill to swallow, but our collective futures are undeniable.
So, what did the Atlas side get out of the merger...likely the most significant single item is Polar's relationship with DHL Worldwide, albeit that customer came along AFTER Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings bought Polar. But still a significant amount of good flying.
See, and you thought this was going to be a hate-Polar-at-all-costs posting, didn't ya?!! I honestly did try to be fair about it!!
Good luck to those still trying to get here...it really is a good job, with lots of improvements needed.
744driver