Like you would manage a family at any other airline where you are gone from home. Put in the work and effort to succeed. It takes both spouses to make it work, so make sure your spouse is willing to do the same. If s/he isn't, it probably won't matter what airline you work at.

 

Exactly- I just finished up from 4 weeks off with no VACA- take the good with the bad...

 

And I'm 8 days into 24 off. It's a 17 day stretch when I go back to work. Yin to the yang.

 

You sound like you have the flu.

 

Nope... I feel great! Apparently there isn't enough flying to call a guy in from home to come to work!

 

My family has been used to the 17 / 18 / 20 days on and then a block off type of schedule. Works well, there is always a weekend in it to go somewhere, or you can make it a mini vacation. At least the time off is your time, you don't lose several days a month commuting. Drive to work once a month, a whole lot better than having to worry how bad the traffic is going to be every time you need to show up for work.
This is one reason I want to get on with Atlas. If someone just could pull my resume out of the pile....

 

I have a question about training center attire. Email says it's business casual, no jeans or sneakers. Do I need to wear a long sleeve button up shirt, or is a polo and khakis sufficient?

 

Polo and khakis works. A lot of folks wear jeans on the weekends (particularly the night sims). I once saw an instructor wearing Teva watershoes and jeans on the weekend but he was so cool I've left his name out to protect his ability to be cool in the future.

 

That's what I had at my first ACMI job (Southern). I went to Atlas and was commuting to ANC twice a month, that's six of my days off every month for the company - unpaid!! If you live in base it is ok. Sorry, I wasn't going to move the family to ANC or CVG.

 

Be careful with what you wish for. I get it that Atlas may be better but if you get your experience where you're at it'll put you at a Major faster. The FO pay here is about equal to an RJ Captain once you're on 2nd year pay and you'll be stuck in the right seat for some time. We've got 1400 pilots and we've hired about 500 in the last 18 months. Uprgade comes once you're in the top half.

Many people are busting type rides right now and that'll stall your progress as well. Management is attempting to merge our pay and work rules with Southern's, call it a "New" contract and then push Section 6 Negotiations 5 years down the road. We could get a pay CUT out of the new contract. To make matters worse if we lose our right to vote on our contract you'll see the reduced rates in about 12 months, so you could be sitting in the right seat of a 737 on second year pay and making $50 an hour since the intent of management is to merge contracts and slam the new contract down our throats through an arbitrator.

It could work out but it's a very risky move. I've had a ton of people tell me their exact situation and after hearing it I tell them to stay put. It's that bad. As people have mentioned take a job at Allegient or Jet Blue, or Virgin American or some other middle of the road airline if you really need another job. If you're at an RJ just stay put and get your PIC time. Try to add something to your resume like being a Sim Instructor. Most of the people that I know who've came here in the last 3 years regret it. I'd be a military instructor right now if I'd been more patient. It was a massive mistake to take a job at Atlas.