AIrDriver1

Faced with a decision. 1,410HRs currently flying 40HR/Month in 135 world as SIC. Received a CJO from Atlas for the pathways program as I’m eligible for the R-ATP. They asked me if I would wait to go to ATP/CTP until I was at my full 1500 because if vacancies existed they would like to place me in the 767. Is this a recruiting tactic or has there been prior instances of well qualified Pathways Candidates (that meet the WB requirements) getting awarded 767? Thanks

Swakid8

bodies are needed on the wide body fleet more vs the 737 for 24 months for the duration of the seat lock. The only way you don’t wait is if you want to to collect your Seniority number ASAP. Otherwise, I would wait in order to be placed on the wide-body fleet.

Elevation

Welcome. Glad to meet you.

wingedmunkie

Is Atlas your dream job? In other words, do you want to spend the rest of your career here or is this a stepping stone to something better?

If it's your dream job: Take the 737 slot and get on the seniority list. Wait out your seat lock and move on to whatever widebody you want. Enjoy the rest of your career.

If it's a stepping stone: Get your 1,500 hours then come in to a widebody fleet. It's only another 2-3 months but the pay is better and you'll build hours quicker once you're on the line. The seniority numbers you'll miss in the interim are less important since in all likelihood you won't be here that long. If industry hiring does grind to a halt and you end up being stuck here for a while, it's one less training event you'll need to go through if you decide to make as much money as possible.

I'm not tuned in to what the recruiters are or aren't doing so I can't speak as to whether it's a bait and switch but I tend to agree with the other poster who said that staffing the widebodies is probably a higher priority so I would think they're sincere in saying they would rather get you onto those fleets.

CRJJ

Even if it’s not your dream job but you gonna be here for a couple of years, seniority really is everything, now that we are starting to see how enjoyable secondary lines are for example. Seniority means you can hold a primary line sooner and have BLG, and that’s a massive difference.

cchouse434

I’m looking into the Atlas Pilot Pathways program, as I’m nearing my R-ATP mins and it sounds like a good opportunity. On the website, Atlas doesn’t advertise a time commitment for the program, but people in this forum keep mentioning “seat lock”. If there is a time commitment, how many years is it, and how much do you have to pay to buy yourself out of the commitment? What is seat lock? Lastly, how many hours a month currently could a 737 FO expect to fly?
Thanks!

BrazilBusDriver

The 24 month new hire seat lock binds you to whatever aircraft you're assigned to. New hires without jet experience are currently going to either the 737 or 767. You can bid to the 777 or 747 after the seat lock expires. I am not aware of any training contract, training bond, or anything of that nature. With that being said, I wouldn't be shocked if any airline asked you to cover your ATP-CTP if you bailed after only a few months. 737 and 767 FOs can expect to fly somewhere between 0 and 50 hours a month, depending on season, staffing, their bid, and whether or they're paired with a Line Check Airman (training Captains for new hires and Captain upgrades). It's not unheard of for it to take 2-3 years to get 1000 SIC for an Atlas pilot doing domestic Amazon stuff. Upgrades run 5-10 years on anything other than the 737, which is probably in the 3 to 4-ish range.

You don't address this, but historically those upgrade times (and the lack of timebuilding in general) would have been a bad play if your end goal was somewhere else. These days, however, lack of total time and lack of Turbine PIC doesn't seem to be much of a barrier to employment at passenger legacies. It's still probably a more questionable move if you want to go to UPS or FedEx - solely due to the speed at which you'll build time in your first couple years, though they both do a fair amount of hiring from us.

If you go the traditional route, though, then you're hoping your regional keeps its doors open. At least you can have a nice career here if you never make it to the big 6. It would really suck to be at a regional that closes its doors after you don't fly much for a year or two because you're always getting dropped for DEC IOE and they don't have enough CAs when you aren't with a Line Check Airman.

C17B74

As BBD above stated: It’s better to be with us most likely than stuck at a regional for many years or their doors shut. Everyone’s priorities are different though. Granted, there is no guarantee this place or many others couldn’t take a turn for the worst either, but it’s been quite stable for awhile. If your intention was the “big 6” and you do get stuck here, there are several types of equipment, types of flying, schedules, locations and opportunities you can capitalize during your time here like no other. Pax charters, mil, boxes (horse’s, lobster’s, race cars, whatever), scheduled flying, night, day, both, domestic, international, both, long haul, short hops, live where you want, etc. Definitely can roll some predictable schedules or bebop around the world. You can have Groundhog Day, or not.

cfii2007

Question.........what FAA regulations does Atlas Air operate?

Twin Wasp

Atlas operators under Domestic, Flag and Supplemental rules, depending on the the airports. Ops Spec C70 lists about 600 airports for scheduled operations, everywhere else would be Supplemental.