2nd year pay on the 767 is nothing to write home about. And even if 2nd year pay on the 747 is so much better, if you're stuck in ANC with a commute that makes you give up most of your days off to get to work...

Three years ago, this felt like a great place to hang out. Now, not so much.

 

Get your apps in and make room for others!

All joking aside, as a wishful new hire I hope things improve. As bad as everyonesays it has become in just the past few years it still sounds like a much better place than every single regional.

Have you been at Atlas 3 years?

 

To each his (or her) own. I've been here 4 1/2 years and am still enjoying life. I have a 747 perspective and fully understand that life is different on the 767. To be certain, there are things that can improve; particularly in the work rules area as well as stronger contractual language and beefed up retirement. Having said that, I still very much enjoy wandering the planet, the adventure of changing schedules and leaving home not knowing really where I'll end up.

It's been said in these pages many times before but this life isn't everyone's cup of tea. If you can deal with the ACMI life then this is a pretty good place to hang your hat. If not then I guarantee you will be miserable since this is what we do here. That's not said to cloud the issue, just an honest assessment of how things are. I'll also caveat that I am nearing the end of my career and only have five years left. Were I just starting out it would be harder to choose between eminently enjoyable flying over greater earning potential over the years.

Short synopsis: Take in all the information you have available and then fit it into your own personal goals and desires. Neither leaving or staying is an incorrect choice in itself. It all depends on your own situation.

 

+1 Been here just over 1.5 years and on the 767. There is a lot to improve, but there is a lot that I really enjoy as well.

 

3 years in October.

A bit of perspective - I was stoked to escape the graveyard spiral that was my regional airline and get hired by Atlas. It is much, much better than being a regional FO in most respects, and surprisingly worse in others (work rules, mostly). A lot of my new-hire buddies were RJ captains, and other than the see-the-world/fly-big-airplanes thing, they're worse off than they were. Certainly on the 747, the pay would be a lot better.

I loved the job when I first came on line, and there are many facets that I still enjoy. But a lot has gone downhill in the last three years. Atlas in a lot of ways still has a small airline/flying club mentality, certainly they staff HQ as if were were a 400-pilot airline instead of 1,000. A lot of the support structure is run on a shoe string and is showing signs of wear. Everyday QoL has suffered tremendously. I don't mind schedule changes, when they're legal, or any of the other ACMI tradeoffs I was fully aware of when I got hired. It's the illegal schedule changes, insufficient catering, and constant hotel/travel battles that get old. I'm happy to defend my CBA, but to do so on an almost daily basis is evidence of a much more serious problem. (In fairness, I talk to a lot of people, so perhaps I hear about a lot more problems than the average guy.) At my former regional, to have to quote the CBA to a scheduler/travel/chief pilot was an extremely rare occurrence. Here, it's commonplace, and even then it's not unheard of, especially for certain people, to say, "No, we're not going to do that." Yes, the union sets it straight almost every time, but it gets old. Supposedly they are making some internal changes, we'll see how that turns out. The daily scheduling crisis shows no signs of slowing down, however.

Atlas is "the Cream of the Crap" and yes, we're far behind the majors in almost every respect. I am hopeful the next contract will show gains in every sector. I am fully engaged in trying to make this a better place, regardless of whether I am here to see it. I try to convince my brethren here that by simply insisting that the company follow the contract, as they demand we do, will give us huge amounts of leverage in the days ahead. But we are often our own worst enemy - accepting non-compliant hotels, travel, catering, schedule changes without so much as a peep. It is astounding how many of us will trade our integrity for a $50 meal.

I have my app in at one major airline. If they call, I will leave - the staggering difference in retirement contributions is reason enough. But I would be sad to leave. I'm convinced Atlas will be the most fun job (at times, anyway) I'll ever have. I would be perfectly content to stay and help build this into an airline I'll never want to leave, but we're not there yet. Getting to crew force to simply read and live by the CBAG would go a long way into making that happen.

There's a lot of chatter about the upcoming union elections, as if picking the right name will make all our dreams come true. WE are the union. If the company is violating the CBA, it's only because WE allow it to happen. I don't put in even a tiny percentage of the work of others, but I try to do what I can. Can you say the same? (I ask in the general sense, not picking on a specific individual)

 

Easy there guys or you'll ruin the things that need fixing in 2016, management trolls these threads . As far as i'm concerned this place sux until it gets markedly better. We deserve more flexibility scheduling wise and to be better compensated in all segments for this lucrative all hours, all ends of the safe/unsafe globe. These aren't just miami nor la turns for the day.

 

Just to give you a taste of life at Atlas, was awarded a Boeing LCF line, doing PAE, NGO, ANC flying, started fine. Then drug into a DHL trip, now headed to Africa. "This is the life you have chosen."

 

[QUOTE="This is the life you have chosen."[/QUOTE]

Not me.. I didn't choose this life, I was merged into this nightmare. I'd go back to my old Polar pay if I could get my life back. I'm bidding in the top 5% in my base and it doesn't mean a damn thing other than days off. We're all just a bunch of charter pilots. I am hopeful though for contract 16, I think we've got allot of young talented guys that are ready to take the gloves off and fight and I'm ready to give my support 100%.

 

Wow...I knew that sentiment was out there, but I have not heard it (or seen it written) out loud, out in the open.

 

BTW, remember, there would be no "Old Polar" way to be at, if Atlas had not bought and then merged the two.