Few things for those looking to apply here:
Pay is great, especially for this job.
Flying is extremely enjoyable, planes are good as well.
If you get a good base, not having to commute is amazing.
You will get a lot of good experience here that introduces you to the world of commercial aviation.
There are no flow agreements, don’t expect to get hired by any of the airlines they mention on their websites, especially not at certain time periods.
You will not know your base ahead of time. You will likely not get the base you want. You will not get home based, don’t expect it. That’s how they rope you in.
You will get more pay than the standard they quote for most routes.
A lot of the cities they operate in have good standards of living.
Management is nearly universally terrible. The people themselves can be amazing, but no one department knows what the other is doing and communication is awful. Expect to not get answers or critical information without going out to ask for it. Assume the answers you get are wrong. The new ceo seems promising, but delivering on what’s promised seems to be a recurring issue.
Ameriflight will take care of you- probably. Have cash on hand to take care of expenses when you’re here, they might get you transportation and rental cars, they might not.
This is a great place to start your career, don’t plan on staying unless you fall in love with the flying and the schedule you get. Some bases have very dependable schedules, others will change it on you multiple times a week. There is no consistency here, until you’re very senior.
You will not get time off around the winter holidays-don’t expect it.
You will be in class with, and asked to fly with dangerous people. Do not assume they know how to fly just because they’ve been there longer than you or have been in aviation longer. The worst ones are typically the retirees looking for a second career, Ameriflight loves them, there’s reasons they should stay retired but Ameriflight keeps hiring them. If they break procedure report it-just don’t expect anyone to do anything about it. Keep yourself safe, follow procedure and speak up. Again, they probably won’t do anything about it, but don’t sacrifice your life just to get your hours. Lots of pilots here do things differently, that’s okay, but a lot of them do and say dangerous things because no one is watching them.
The training pipeline is awful, they have no idea what they’re doing week to week, much of the stuff you’ll learn is wrong or outdated, and you’ll be fed contradicting information by everyone. Study, in order, your GOM and opspecs(for Indoc), then your systems(for week 3), and then your flows (for simulator and checkride). You will be confused and lost and until they gut the training and get someone who knows how to run it, this won’t change.
You will get to fly some amazing airplanes in some amazing places while you’re here. Some runs will get boring fast, but that’s cargo life. As long as you follow procedure, keep your IFR skills up, and don’t get lazy, you’ll get paid well and get some good turbine time. Just don’t expect anything from Ameriflight management, and don’t let other pilots kill you, and you’ll be fine.
It’s not the best job, it’s not the worst. Solid B-.
For what it’s worth, I’ve heard nothing but good about FreightDog. Have them get you in contact with actual pilots if you have any questions.