For my .02, I was a 15 year guy at a regional, and made the jump to ACMI a year ago. I agree with the above post about the blocks of time off. It’s awesome. Yes, 16 days (plus day 0 travel) on the road gets tough, but the 14/15 off you have to look forward to is pure gold. I commuted for almost 15 years, and walking up to the gate with a ticket (first class most of the time) in hand and not having a crash pad is worth a lot.
I wouldn’t make the move to ACMI until you have 1000 PIC, though. Even if you were able to get a quick upgrade, it would take you a few years to get to 1000.
Personally, having (hopefully) another 25+ years in the industry, we’ll see what happens as far as whether or not I want to stay or go. I’m not moving, but I’m not going to commute. I like the cargo side of aviation, and MEM/SDF are both within driving distance. We are in contract negotiations right now, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that a career at FedEx/UPS would lead to career earnings of 2 million+ more than in the ACMI industry.
Again, I love it at my ACMI carrier, and it would be a good place to finish out my 25+ years, but I think I speak for a lot at my carrier that the incoming contract will speak volumes as to whether or not it’s going to be a career airline.