Originally Posted by
Joachim
Contract worker feel, you are on your own, some don’t have dispatchers, feast or famine, lots of adventure for good and bad, trucker feel, lots of “characters”, grimy equipment, pay can be very good during busy times, inconsistent “were making this a career” one year “leave if you don’t like it” the next, crappy benefits, questionable job security, does not have a feeling of stability to it. Use it as a steppingstone.
As is often the case with these things, Your Mileage May Vary. Generalizations are wrong.
The ACMI operators run the gamut from "could be a career place" to "wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole".
I have never felt like a trucker.
Yes, the airplanes we fly are (mostly) not new. Many of them were recently flying for passenger airlines. They sometimes need paint or a good wash, but "grimy"? No. I suspect that those who are flying 747-8s that are only a few years old would particularly disagree with that description.
You'll find "characters" everywhere you go. I guarantee every airline has them.
"Feeling of security" is frequently an illusion, no matter where you go. Those who are jumping on the tail end of the seniority list at Big Name Airline today might have a feeling of security, but as we approach a recession, that feeling is illusory. There were many who went to ACMI cargo carriers begging to fly "grimy" airplanes during the Covid furloughs while ACMI cargo got busier.