Originally Posted by Loop

I'm extremely grateful for all the positive posts on here. Every time I talk to another pilot and tell them I want to work at Atlas they say they have a friend there and they love it. I'm In a crashpad now and there a bunch of guys in their 50's working for one of the big three who are still commuting and sleeping on a bunk bed in a roach infested house. My goal several years ago was to be at one of those airlines. If one of them would've called, I would've went for sure. The money is great, no doubt. Sure the work rules are great too in some instances. I jumpseated on AA with a senior 737 captain not too long ago. He said in 1997 he made $211K. Last year he made $169K and was doing nothing but complaining about pay, union stuff, work rules, and the company. Everyone has complaints about their job. I've worked construction, mowed lawns, served tables, did the cubicle thing, dug post holes, fueled aircraft, cleaned out animal cages, and even worked as a back up cook for red lobster. (That's the worst one) My point is being a pilot is a pretty cush job most of the time. As we all know, it can also be extremely difficult as well. The rewards make it worth it though. For some of us it's not all about the money. Personally, I'm in it for adventure and world travel. There are obviously problems here and hopefully all the pilots will ban together and make it better. I've done my research on Atlas and for me the positives outweigh the negatives. Congrats to those who just got on, I know you're just as excited as I am.

Originally Posted by rmr1992

I also have a military background, but I am now retired from USAF. I have been with Atlas for exactly 1 year. I have enjoyed flying here and the folks I've flown with have been great.


My 1 Year Synopsis

Training days in Miami- 63 days
Total Flight time 747- 604 hours
Legs flown- 35
Destinations-50+
Countries- 30+
Longest leg- 15:48 (CVG to PVG)
Shortest leg-1:00 (NRT to NGO)
Favorite Location- don't really have one... I like LUX and Pisa was cool
Least Favorite Location - Niamey, Niger (not a normal overnight, but we got stuck there for a night... Not a place I want to stay again)
Days off- idk, don't track it
Work Days- idk don't track it, but I wasn't sent home early so it was 17min per month since I hit the line in May, after OE in April.
Days away from home - don't know, haven't tracked it, but it's probably close to 200 with training. I have volunteered to work a little overtime, but not much. Have had to commute a day early a few times due to early departure on the Zulu day and my PT conflicted with days off as well.
Most consecutive days off - 14
Most credited hours in one month- 120hours (some OT and haz flying)
Most Block Hours 1 month - 92

First year pay- $70,000 (that's what my w-2 had)
I did volunteer some days off and also flew a few flights into hazardous areas.


Destinations:
Miami, Niamey (Niger), Sydney, Honolulu, Shanghai, Anchorage, JFK, Luxembourg, Liege, Narita, Nagoya, Hong Kong, Incheon, Malabo, Hahn, Delhi, Houston, Nairobi, Los Angeles, Camp Bastion, Lagos, Liberville, Cincinnati, Kuwait, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Leipzig, Al Udeid (Doha), Munich, Brize Norton, Baku, Dover, Seattle, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Kuwait City, Travis AFB, Baltimore, Veri Copas, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Quito, Ramstein, Stansted, Minga Guazu (Paraguay), Seattle, Graz, and I may be missing a couple more...

Countries:
Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Germany, Kuwait, Thailand, Niger, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Kenya, Qatar, UAE, India, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and I know I'm missing another 1-2.

I'm Huntsville based and was able to bid out of ANC after about 6 months. Anchorage wasn't bad, it was just the commute that was painful for me, ymmv. I would venture to say that my first year experience was maybe a little different than most, as I had such a wide variety of schedules. During my last 2 months based in anchorage, none of my patterns started there (due to a bunch of changes, I didn't even come close to flying the schedule I was awarded) and I somehow wound up on a couple of Miami type schedules which explains all the South America stuff. As I mentioned, I did volunteer to work some overtime, but I'm not sure I'll be doing much of that this year.

I also have enjoyed my time working for Atlas this first year. I agree that there's a lot of areas that can be improved upon with a better contract. I didn't have any major issues with scheduling or dealing with the company. I also enjoy the long periods of days off and working all my days on up front or in one chunk.

Originally Posted by BayBum4Ever

The company is in full attack mode with the pilots, just apply to Delta and American and avoid all this drama. You will never fly a 747 but you will retire with at least $1 million more in your 401K. I wish I had some friends ( at all ) in aviation who may have steered me in some other direction.
I,m just sayin

BayBum

Originally Posted by Loop

I'm extremely grateful for all the positive posts on here. Every time I talk to another pilot and tell them I want to work at Atlas they say they have a friend there and they love it. I'm In a crashpad now and there a bunch of guys in their 50's working for one of the big three who are still commuting and sleeping on a bunk bed in a roach infested house. My goal several years ago was to be at one of those airlines. If one of them would've called, I would've went for sure. The money is great, no doubt. Sure the work rules are great too in some instances. I jumpseated on AA with a senior 737 captain not too long ago. He said in 1997 he made $211K. Last year he made $169K and was doing nothing but complaining about pay, union stuff, work rules, and the company. Everyone has complaints about their job. I've worked construction, mowed lawns, served tables, did the cubicle thing, dug post holes, fueled aircraft, cleaned out animal cages, and even worked as a back up cook for red lobster. (That's the worst one) My point is being a pilot is a pretty cush job most of the time. As we all know, it can also be extremely difficult as well. The rewards make it worth it though. For some of us it's not all about the money. Personally, I'm in it for adventure and world travel. There are obviously problems here and hopefully all the pilots will ban together and make it better. I've done my research on Atlas and for me the positives outweigh the negatives. Congrats to those who just got on, I know you're just as excited as I am.

Originally Posted by Cabochu

I see things just as you do. Great thinking brother, just remind yourself of this every now and then. Still, come with the mind set that there is a lot to improve.

Originally Posted by Loop

I'm extremely grateful for all the positive posts on here. Every time I talk to another pilot and tell them I want to work at Atlas they say they have a friend there and they love it. I'm In a crashpad now and there a bunch of guys in their 50's working for one of the big three who are still commuting and sleeping on a bunk bed in a roach infested house. My goal several years ago was to be at one of those airlines. If one of them would've called, I would've went for sure. The money is great, no doubt. Sure the work rules are great too in some instances. I jumpseated on AA with a senior 737 captain not too long ago. He said in 1997 he made $211K. Last year he made $169K and was doing nothing but complaining about pay, union stuff, work rules, and the company. Everyone has complaints about their job. I've worked construction, mowed lawns, served tables, did the cubicle thing, dug post holes, fueled aircraft, cleaned out animal cages, and even worked as a back up cook for red lobster. (That's the worst one) My point is being a pilot is a pretty cush job most of the time. As we all know, it can also be extremely difficult as well. The rewards make it worth it though. For some of us it's not all about the money. Personally, I'm in it for adventure and world travel. There are obviously problems here and hopefully all the pilots will ban together and make it better. I've done my research on Atlas and for me the positives outweigh the negatives. Congrats to those who just got on, I know you're just as excited as I am.