I know there's been military pilots hired with less, not sure about other pilots though.

 

I need some real world advice from current Atlas pilots....

Interview scheduled in November. Atlas was a place I sought for a long time but I couldn't get them to give me the time of day. Fast forward to now and I've been offered to interview 4x, I'm finally taking it. I've got 12+ years at my regional, I'm fairly senior in domicile. No kids at home, just a wife that works. We love to travel, so losing the travel for the wife may be an issue. We are talking through the 17 day work schedules now, trying to gauge if my wife will be okay with it. Currently I'm home about every 4 days, with 3-4 days off between trips. 4-5 years ago I would have left in a heartbeat, but now... I just don't know if leaving is the right thing. Pay cut, but get to see the world. Commute, but no longer worry about a seat. Chance to make wide body captain relatively quick, but long periods away from home.

Always a yin to the yang. This is a very difficult decision for me. Before you suggest I read the previous 1200 pages.... I've been following this thread for a very long time. I've read all the pages, some of them several times. What I'm looking for is real-world, real-time suggestions of what you'd do if the tables were turned knowing what you know. I'm in the top 1/3 of my airlines seniority list with decent domicile seniority (i.e. I can get most weekends and holidays off) and I generally don't have a difficult time traveling non-rev. My wife and I try to get away for a few extended vacations 2X a year, usually a winter and summer vacation, taking advantage of travel benefits.

I know Atlas isn't FedEx or UPS. I also know that they are making a lot of profit per pilot compared to their freight dog contemporaries. I also know that the 4.5 years of 135 freight flying I flew was some of the most fun flying, with some of the best guys and gals that I could ever work with. I miss that. Scheduled 121, the babysitting, hand-holding, and bottom-line management style of the regional life wears on a guy. I come home exhausted and I don't look forward to going to work...at all! If you ask me today what my favorite part of being an airline pilot is at my current airline, I would say day 4, last leg, going home. I enjoy that more than anything. This makes me happy.

I'm looking for real world advice here. Flame away if you must, but this is a very big decision for my wife and I. I know that I'll trade frequent time away for larger blocks of time off. Is it worth it? Was it worth it to you?

Thanks in advance for all your replies, guidance, and advice.

-BYOB

 

Family travel benefits:

We just lost reduced fare travel on usair. But, we must added Lufthansa. The prices are great, but it is ONLY Lufthansa, none of their code shares. If you live in/near an LH city that could make a difference.

 

I'm looking for real world advice here. Flame away if you must, but this is a very big decision for my wife and I. I know that I'll trade frequent time away for larger blocks of time off. Is it worth it? Was it worth it to you?

Thanks in advance for all your replies, guidance, and advice.

-BYOB

My experience is not typical of most Atlas pilots, but I'll throw my $.02 in anyway.

I spent about 10 years at a regional before coming to Atlas 3 years ago. I am on the 767, CVG based. The reason my experience is likely atypical of most Atlas pilots is that I live in domicile.

I do not regret coming here for one moment. It is a radically different work environment from the regionals (and all 121 scheduled domestic flying). Knowing how exhausted I was after a 4 day trip at my regional, I couldn't imagine what it would be like after 17 days. The truth is, I am less exhausted after an Atlas 17 day trip than I was after a mere 4 days at my previous carrier. A "short" layover here is typically around 14-18 hours, and I've had many, many layovers that were 24+ (some as much as 5 days). Even with the time changes, I find I am fully recovered from a long trip in the same, or less, time than it took to recover from a regional trip.

Being at work at Atlas is far more enjoyable than it was at my former regional carrier. The crews are all excellent (yes, we do have those 2%-ers that you find everywhere else, too). Every time I'm in an airport taking a commercial flight to my next assignment, I am reminded of why I don't miss those 121 days.

For me and my wife (no kids), even the 17 day long trips (which are not nearly as numerous as they used to be) are totally worth the 13-14 days off in a row. By bidding a trip at the start of month 1 and one at the end of month 2, it's possible to get up to 4 weeks off in a row, without using any vacation. Of course, that all depends on the trip mix offered, and your relative seniority in your base, but it can and does happen here.

And with the amount of growth management claims to want for next year, anyone hired in the next few months should see a sizable cushion of pilots below them by the time they are off probation. Of course, like everything in this industry, you can't count on that until it actually happens, but this company has seen incredible growth over the last 3-4 years, and every indication points to it continuing (if not accelerating) over the near term.

Regarding your travel, this year alone I have accumulated enough frequent flyer miles to buy 2 round trip domestic tickets for a sister-in-law and her husband, 2 round trip domestic tickets for my wife, and a one way domestic ticket for myself. I currently have enough miles on my preferred carrier to purchase another domestic round trip ticket. Since Atlas is in CASS, I can jumpseat on all the major airlines (and most of the minor ones), which means we can usually get away with purchasing just a single mileage ticket for the wife. Having mentioned you like to go on a couple of vacations each year, I would think that your frequent flyer miles should be able to cover those tickets, and the best part is you are positive space, not standby. And with the large chunks of time off, you don't even have to burn any vacation weeks to go on vacation. Both of my vacations this year were taken on regular days off. Oh yeah, and then there's the hotel points you will accumulate here as well.

I can't tell you which decision to make. All I can say is that my decision to come to Atlas has been the best one of my career. But don't get me wrong. There are a number of things at Atlas I'd like to see changed. You asked if it was worth it to me to come here, and my personal answer is a resounding yes.

I'm sure others will chime in with a different perspective (different equipment/base/commuters), but the bottom line is that Atlas is far from perfect, but it's perfect for me.

 

I had a great regional job before Atlas. 12 minutes from the airport, one and two day trips. senior.

No regrets. Nor have I ever heard the words "....I should have stayed at [insert regional]" uttered in the cockpit, not matter how mad the other guy was at scheduling. Of course YMMV.

Do not over think the travel part. Not everyone builds up lots of airline miles at Atlas, but most do. And in any case real tickets are not that expensive and the hassle of pass travel seems to keep getting worse. Just buy your wife a ticket.

The bigger issue for the two of you to consider is how comfortable she is dealing with the full range of house issues when you are on the other side of the world. I have written about this before on this thread, and will simply say that this can be good job for both of you IF your wife can deal with whatever happens and you do not try to micromanage. On the other hand this will not work for you if your wife never mows the grass, you never fold laundry and the only thing that she knows to do when the car breaks is to call you.

 

I've been hearing lots of Southern Air and Kalitta Air pilots applying and getting hired here at Atlas...can anyone confirm that?

 

Blue, do yourself a favor and throw your resume in the ring. I meet the new hires at the Training Center, and you are not too far off from a bunch of them. Most guys are RJ pilots, some have never been in the left seat.

 

BYOB, Your decision is very simple.
Your wife MUST be self sufficient and look forward to your long stretches of time at home. If she focuses on the 17 day stretch of you being away it will never work. Do not BS her.
The interline travel is a non-issue with your milage that you will acquire.
Also, where you live and which airframe you are on will make huge difference. Being a DINK makes it much easier.

 

Gentlemen,

Thank you very much.

 

Any Atlas recruiters hiding on this thread? I applied with a req a couple of weeks ago and wanted to reach out to someone.