No Land 3

I remember riding the crappy shared van to a Motel 6 in DFW because either had an early departure next day or the last flight of the day CX due to weather. Was a mainline AA pilot in the van doing the same thing. That day I had gotten the call that I was hired at K4. The AA pilot told me that I should apply at AA... I thought to myself, "why in the hell would I want to continue this lifestyle?" Mainline guy doing the same exact thing as a Mesa regional guy... Not for me!

point432

I understand that totally. DHL isn’t going anywhere...neither is Amazon anytime soon. The life of contract work might not be for everyone. If you get stuck there by missing a wave, come to like it, or can’t seem to make it work going to a major then so be it.

Either way I would be fine. I can’t remember where I heard it from (here or somewhere)...homebasing costs nothing. If they want it, they’ll give it to us. The hotel would help me, but I find my own way down.




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No Land 3

Kalitta doesn't feel like contract flying, not like a regional where there is only one or two customers. So many customers and variety that you can bid to change things up. The loss of one contract basically amounts to fewer overnights at a particular hotel you might like. Everyone at the ACMI world covers each other for various reasons.

point432

Yeah I know with us the cutting of flying has been taking a hit on some guys. Losing flying in general isn’t a good moral booster. The DoD/UPS flying just feels like a sneeze in the bucket compared to DHL or Amazon.

I love variety too. Sadly at ABX there is none of that here. Pretty boring. If we added overnight in Bogota and Costa Rica that might be nice. Some guys just love overnights in Baltimore and having dinner at Chill’s. If guys want more adventure...its not here.


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dtwsaab

The AA guy was being put up at a Motel 6. Uh huh. Right. Look, you and Cujo hate AA and desperately try to justify your ACMI decision - we get it. But there’s no way in hell anyone over there is looking at what you do with envy.

My company has guys leaving for AA and there’s not a single one of us that’d see a job at K4 as anything but a step backwards. “Hey honey - I just quit my three on/four off gig to be gone for 17 straight!” Riiiiiiight.

Cujo665

I don't hate AA; I dislike what the management is doing to AA and their owned regionals. BIG DIFFERENCE., but management stooges wouldn't understand. Great second post for a supposedly new to APC guy.... How's Spirit doing for ya?

It's not for everybody. Not all schedules are 17 straight, many are in two large blocks. If you like JSing to/from work for the rest of your career, then crashpadding again when you upgrade, and doing 3-4 flights a day by all means go to any mainline/major. If you don't mind doing a load of laundry on a longer trip, value large blocks of time off, positive space travel everywhere, hotels everywhere, even after upgrading, then ACMI may be for you.

Different folks will have different priorities; what is great for one person would be hell for another. To me, I'm not going back to jumpseating to live in crashpads like a college kid ever again.... then do it again after upgrading. No thank you. My paycheck may be slightly less than my legacy counterparts; but the difference isn't worth the added headaches IMHO. It works for me, if you don't like it, don't do it. pretty simple.

I'll tell you one thing; you won't find me online calling out another pilot and trying to belittle their choices.

crbnftprnt

Quote: >>The AA guy was being put up at a Motel 6. Uh huh. Right.<<

Sounds like the guy was a commuter staying at Motel 6 on his own dime. Nothing unusual about that.

goinaround

Sadly, ABX does not even attempt to attain new customers. Joe is perfectly happy to rattle his tun cup on the DHL steps. I don't see ACMI as all that different from pax flying in the respect that the company simply sells space on the airplanes. If you have an aggressive sales and marketing department....ACMI flying can be just as stable as any other sector of aviation. If you attach the success of your business to one niche market (Detroit auto parts, single customer contract flying, etc...)...that's dangerous. Places like Atlas and Kalitta could go forever as long as they can hire pilots. ABX is one contract away from being out of business.

4runner

I’m platinum pro at AA and I don’t like them as a customer. They’re not an airline, they’re a company that happens to own aircraft and begrudgingly flies self loading freight with hostile employees that take out their poor management on their customers.

Rolloutflare

To all you legacy guys that have to keep reminding ACMI pilots how much better THEIR job is compared to the sewers of ACMI. Yes, the legacy penis is bigger and their boyfriends are prettier. Not that there’s anything wrong with having a big penis, but who cares about what the Jones don’t or do have?

Want to place blame on ACMI sub standard contracts. Blame the legacy furloughs coming down to the ACMI world when times are tough or the stagnant regional migration to the said dream job. So much for this soapbox lectures on “I would rather work at Home Depot or Walmart” than an ACMI. Now that the industry is on a good run, contracts in the Sewers are seeing more green poop and less crap, but it’s still a works in progress on every contract.