Leave a LCC for Atlas
 

Thinking about leaving a US major for Atlas. I am 45. Retired miltary. I have experience in Military, ACMI, and ULCC flying. No widebody time though. I left an AMCI 3 years ago for a ULCC thinking that I would stay there until retirement. I miss homebasing. I miss cargo. I hate the FA 's, and passengers. Lol. I miss sitting for the sort at CVG. I miss the organized chaos of cargo ramps. And I miss my beard, lol! Am I crazy to think about applying for Atlas when the window opens? I know that there will be biased opinions here.

Hey, you got a pension that adjusts for inflation and TRICARE for life. Do what you like and what works for you.

Yeah, that does free up a lot of options for me. I just always hear that a US major is everyone's goal. I am at a ULCC, so it isn't one of the legacy majors, but I have it good. I work 5-12 days a month and pull long call reserve from my living room. Making 115-200 a year as an FO depending on if I want to hussle. And the airbus is a the nicest office I have ever had. But I am just not as happy as when I was flying Postive space down to CVG for an 8-12 day stint of flying night cargo. And I really don't care at all about destinations or schedule. When I am at work I am the companies and I don't care what they do. Except I would love to fly Airbus heavy, but not really an option in the cargo world.

As a Brown guy who can grow the beard and fly wide bodies around the world (but currently a domestic Bus driver), I’d say go for it so long as it’s not going to damage your family life. If this desire is a reaction to a recent or ongoing divorce, I’d say give it a year to let your emotions settle first.

ACMI as a lifestyle with homebasing definitely has an appeal for some folks. If that’s you go for it. If you are looking for a compromise between that and pax flying, a place like Brown or Purple could be a good fit. Obviously, we are both in the middle of ugly contract talks and Purple has ceased hiring for now.

Not a reaction to anything. I just feel that I have given passenger flying a real chance, and I don't like it. I would absolutely consider brown or purple, regardless of ongoing negotiations. With the pensions and tricare I can afford to ride our CBA troubles. I don't know if I could get on there, though. 3000 total hours, no 121 Pic, and no wide body. Plenty of international time in the Americas flying ACMI and plenty in erupoe and Asia flying miltary (actual airports and in the airspace, not just bases and training routes).

Atlas isn't currently hiring either, and no clear timeframe of when that will resume. I assume enjoying sitting the sort in CVG doesn't necessarily mean sitting in exactly CVG, but just in case you should know Atlas closed it's CVG base and we almost never fly through there any longer.

Not trying to discourage you - I really like working here, even with the current QOL changes and travel agency headaches we're working through. I wish you luck if you make it over here, there's a lot of good people and interesting flying that happens here!

You might be more competitive at Brown than you think with that diverse background. The only real fly in the ointment is I have no idea how many new hires we will bring on board this year. The MD going away will generate significant training center churn and we don’t have a lot of spare capacity.

That said, Atlas could be a great fit for you. If you want to be able to see your work trips as company funded adventures around the world. ACMI could be pretty sweet.

Thanks for advice! I don't really care about "seeing the world" . I look for the best food in the area and relax at the hotel gyms and pools. I usually bid my trips around food. Philly for Cheesesteak, NC and Tennessee for BBQ,Mexico for tacos, California for sushi and Ramen. I get made fun of often. Lol. I just like the relaxed pace of flying cargo and I like being off when I am off. I will throw an app in at brown. I only wish they would get modern airbus cockpits I will sure miss that tray table.

Airline flying/lifestyle isn’t for everyone. Go be happy.

To each their own. I would never do it in a million years, though.