Originally Posted by IFlyDaPlane

But...

11 days off when you're gone for 20 is very different from 11 days off when you're mostly home. Atlas' pay is ridiculously out of whack with the amount of sacrifice that one must make. I was hired six months ago. I had hoped then that there would be some movement on the contract. The opposite happened and the company dug in their heels and went the other way. I was truly shocked. Management must be oblivious of the current state of the industry. They also seem to really hate their own employees. None of the negotiations have showed any real progress, which was very discouraging. Yea, I had a couple of fun trips. But on $50 per diem? Really? Who the f*ck negotiated that? CONUS and OCONUS allowance rates that the US taxpayers think is fine to pay US government employees are substantially higher than Atlas's rates everywhere on Earth. Reasonable Per diem is tax free, so I really, truly can't understand why the previous contract negotiators f*cked this up so badly.

This job may have been tolerable back when the rosters didn't keep one away for the full 17 days + commuting on either end. In the present state, with the current ridiculously bad contract, and seeing little hope for a decent contract any time soon I told them that they could keep their peanuts and I (very easily) found work elsewhere. There are many, many profitable airlines who are abundantly willing to pay pilots a professional, living wage. Atlas is not one of them. Probably at least partially because they can't afford it due to their own management ineptitude. But that's another subject. . .

But hey, if you don't need to earn a living, are flying for a hobby, and want a 50-50 shot at flying the 747, go for it. Try not to think about all those sweet seniority numbers going by at the other carriers when you're enjoying min-rest in Bagram or CVG...