Monkeyboy, get a clue. You are at Pinnacle or Mesaba - how do you like getting bitchslapped by NWA management. You have reached your career limit at the regional.

I have worked at nonscheds and at a regional (I left Zantop to go to Henson to get PIC time sooner) and I would much rather fly with someone who has flown oceanic than someone who thinks because he flew a jet with 500 hours CFI time at Riddle he is entitled to my seat right now.

Focus and Cargo 360 and the others are a problem in some ways for the cargo pilot career because they undercut any established carrier to get contracts. Way back when you had carriers like Seaboard, TransAmerica, Flying Tigers and others that were established ALPA carriers with decent wages and working conditions. With deregulation anyone with cash to burn could get a supplemental certificate and start flying. While some made money, there were others who came in, undercut existing contracts, flew for a while then disappeared. And who gets squeezed the most? Employees, particularly pilots, who are the highest cost employees in any airline. This has happened with passenger charters and with freight. You have to get your costs as low as possible to eke out a bare profit thus you pay sh## wages to keep your costs low. Look at Ryan (US). You go back to 1st year pay if you move to a different contract. All part of keeping costs low but it screws anyone trying to make a living at this.

I do not blame anyone for flying for operators like this, the flying is interesting and you have a lot of fun on the layovers. But the reality is that it will be almost impossible to match wages like NWA or UAL or CO for widebody pay (much less FedEx or UPS) because of the nature of the nonsched industry. I am just glad that you guys at least have some decent workrules. Like one of the posters said, not everyone can fly for UPS or FedEx. This business is a crapshoot and luck and timing are everything. As long as you are happy doing what you do then F##k anyone who thinks you don't deserve to be happy.