Originally Posted by
thestaton
My friends, family, girl friend are already used to me being away from home 14 to 21 days a month. However with the C-5's we always return back to Dover. When looking for a job with a regional airline or corporate how hard is it to get hired to work in a specific state?
While airlines tend to fly to many destinations, their pilots are based at only a few cities (domiciles). Depending on the airline, there could be 1-20 domiciles available. You would have to find an airline that has a domicile in the city you want to live in. You would also need to evaluate the seniority of the domicile (can a new-hire get it, or do you need years of seniority?)
Originally Posted by
thestaton
Do pilots get transfered to different states to work? Is it possible to retire while working from the same air port or state?
As a new-hire you will normally be sent to the junior-most domicile of that airline (hopefully you reserched that before you took the job). Once you get enough seniority you can usually transfer anywhere you want quickly and easily.
Originally Posted by
thestaton
One of the reasons I don't like the Air Force is the fact you can wake up one morning and find out you have to pack your family up and leave.
The problem with regional airlines is that they can be fired by their code-share partner or get their flying re-assigned to another distant location with just a few weeks notice. For this reason, I live where I want to live and commute to work (I try to make sure my domicile is as close as possible). This way if the domicile changes, I don't have to uproot my family.
The major airlines are more stable in this regard, but you will have to start at the regional level anyway.
Originally Posted by
thestaton
One more question I've ran across with pilot pay.
I notice most of the reginols guarantee FO's 75 hours of flight time and 75 reserve hours. Do you get paid those reserve hours as well?
The monthly guarantee varies bewteen 60-80 hours depending on company, training status, and line/reserve status. Basically, first year you will be guaranteed about 75 hours x $20 = $1500/month at most airlines. Second year pay is usually about $35/hr.
As you become more senior, you can work more and possibly get pay credit for well over 100 hrs/month, plus per diem when travelling (less than the government per diem though). A few companies have bonus and/or stock programs as well.