Originally Posted by
sandez
Planning to apply to Atlas, still have some questions, if anyone can help… would be great!- Most important one. living in Toulouse, France. Which would be the best base to do this commute? Is it a good base? nice routes? ORD or JFK or MIA. Direct flights from Paris for international gateway (yes, you can get a ticket from Toulouse). Better chance for FRA, AMS, or ZAG layovers.
- Can you choose the airplane you want to fly? (747 would be my choice)
- I already have a bit of an idea on how roster/bidding system works. How possible/factible is to get more than 15 days off in a row? Meaning I.E: January, fly the first 15 days, last 15 off. February First 15 days off, last 15 days flying With low seniority, your options for big blocks of time off are limited, but year 2, I did get 5 weeks off in a row using 11 days of vacation (Training Displacement turned it into 6 weeks off, winning). Our vacation bidding system did permit me to get all September off this year, and all August off next year. This feature could translate into some 56 days off with using only 14 vacation days, even as a junior FO.
- If not on number 3 (2 sets of 15 days off together) , what’s the minimum days off you could get in a row to commute overseas? Minimum time off between patterns is 96 hours. Most split lines are 2 blocks in 30 days or 3-5 over a 60 day line. This results in 8-12 days off. August this year I had 3 blocks in 30 days. I commuted FRA-IAH 3 times. One block of days off I had 2 nights home, my wife thought I was crazy but I the kids appreciated me coming home. Atlas buys the ticket, I have a guaranteed seat, I get tons of United miles and Premier 1K status, it really isnt a problem. Commuting PDX to DEN for United would be more stressful in my opinion. Worst I saw was one pattern in March 2023, pre international gateway, 767 PDX, where this was used and had 4 blocks of flying in 30 days. Luckily I wasn't bidding that month, I would have just stayed in the States the entire month.
- After taxes, roughly how much is the new FO salary (first year)? Depends on your deductions. Small check on the 15th covering 1/2 of MMG will be low to mid $2000s year 1, closer to $3000 year 2. I get about $3900 on my year 3 small check (767). Big check on the 30th is the same amount plus above guarantee hours, premium pay, Open Time, per diem, and quarterly training credit.. Our 401K DC now allows us to choose to not contribute our own funds, or a much smaller percentage, into retirement while we are on a lower pay rate. There are also many options with your health insurance choices to increase take home pay. The tremendous life insurance and AD&D options for you and your family are so inexpensive it makes little sense to skip them for a few extra bucks every month.
- Staff travel with other airlines, for example with Lufthansa and Etihad, is it confirmed or stby only? Business class? Or only economy class? S1 Confirmed on Lufthansa for commuting, but you probably will never need it anymore. I used it 3 times, economy, but I could have booked business. You can also book standby for you and your family, but when was the last time you saw free seats on an airplane? Best bet is to just use your massive bank of Miles to book a ticket.
- Is it true Atlas is getting Airbus 350F? No aircraft orders have been announced. Public comments by the CEO during media interviews make it clear he is disciplined in not discussing future developments.
- By living overseas and trying to get 15 days off in a row (per month) is it easy to get overtime to get bit of higher salary? Do not make your budget or go, no-go decision on OT or above MMG estimates. 64 hours per month, 64 hours per month, keep saying it like a mantra. Yes OT is possible, yes you could pick it up while you are at home, just like win the Powerball.
- If on my days off I want to go somewhere else apart from home (Toulouse), lets say to Spain or even Salt Lake City, can I request a ticket from the company or I have to cover my own travel expenses? Yes. I got a ticket "home" to Brussels vice Frankfurt so that I could meet my family on the beach in Zeeland. I can also ask for a ticket to anywhere in the States, usefull if I need to check in on my folks when I only have 5 or 6 days off mid week during the school year. The Brussels airport should be avoided at all costs by the way. Immigration is terribly inefficient and the Belgians running their Rail network failed out of Train/Rail management school.
- If at the end of your duty, before your long sets of days off you, you have a DH to your base, can you request a ticket directly home from the place you’re currently at?
- How often can you change bases?
- How does the actual vacation work? How many days a year and how often can you take? Minimum days and max in a row?
- Time to get to the left seat?
Sorry for so many questions, just want to get more info, exploring the options to see what's the best for my commuting.
Johnny gave you a terrific response, but I wanted to add just a bit. See above.
One thing I want to ammend though, and this is one of many things that separates us from the likes of Kalitta and National, is that we don't owe the company 17 days. Per the CBA, Atlas owes us a minimum of 13 days off (14 in a 31 day month). If you bid and are awarded a line with 15 or 17 or 22 days off, flight ops can't arbitrarily put you on for 17 days. We can be extended into days off for operational needs (2 Days domestic, 3 Days International). The company is penalized for this and we get extra money... sometimes a lot of extra money.