redbaronahp

All civilian background, however I was a contract instructor at an Air Force base aero club.

After some time at AA a purple tail cargo airline made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

AAfng

I havent seen a true off the street civilian hired at AA who didnt have a relative working at AA as a pilot already. Unless you have a military background then I would count on the off street option.

There is a HUGE wave of retirements coming to AA in the next year or two and staying at a high level for 9 years. That flow time has to go down (correct me if I am wrong I believe it has been coming down here recently).

I worked at an ACMI carrier prior to AA and I could drive to CVG. Now I commute to AA. I just dont see any decent contracts coming to ACMI pilot groups because of the whipsaw factor. Costs at Atlas get too high then boom ABX gets the contracts. If ABX gets too pricey, boom, ATI gets the airplanes, ect, ect, forever. Just look up the history of DHL contracts over the last 15 years. If Amazon were to start their own cargo airline or buy one then OK I could see staying but barring that then you are hoping something changes at Atlas. Those retirements at AA, and the rest of the legacy carriers, are set in stone. Even if they raised the retirement age to 67 the retirements/people going out on medical is going to happen. Cant stop father time.

redbaronahp

I was hired off the street with no military and no family background last year. It’s possible.

atpcliff

AA just hired 12 check airman from Envoy outside the flow. The poster said AA decided that if they didn't hire them soon, then they would leave for an organization competing with AA for their services...were they all military? Don't know...

G550Guy

Flying with a young Atlas guy right now on his IOE. 37 years old, rock solid pilot with a great attitude. No wonder we keep hiring these guys... Everyone speaks highly of our Atlas newhires.

When are we gonna get another together trip Salty? Hope you’re doing well.

vroll1800

The thing that's jumping out at me is you leaving Atlas after only ~7 months for a position widely regarded as a step back or sideways. Such a move is not well regarded by HR departments.

The picture I'm getting is you're torn between the dilemma of burning some bridges, or making your life miserable until one of your big 5 comes calling. You've already expressed buyers remorse at moving to Atlas, which tells me that you're not that enthralled about ACMI flying, and/or Atlas as a company. While the 10 year spreadsheet seems to favor Atlas, you seem to be placing a lot of value on PSA AA flow.

It sounds people are getting hired outside of flow (I wonder how many AA WO pilots are getting hired by the likes of DL, UA, SW, etc.)
So, you have other options besides locking yourself into AA flow during the interim 6 years or so. If other PSA pilots are getting hired elsewhere, or out of flow AA, that should bump the flow time downward. If outside flow, just be prepared to explain short Atlas stint. Hopefully, you've put some distance behind that by then, plus upgraded to Captain with some resume polishing additions. (LCA, volunteer, "good" union work, etc.)

Lastly, if your gut or the little voice keeps saying something different than the spreadsheets, don't be afraid to listen to it.

JackStraw

My point is that I have zero sympathy for anyone who comes to atlas these days and even less effs to give for guys who come and then complain about how bad it is. You knew what you were signing up for. We all told you. So, I don’t give a rat’s posterior what this guy does with his career. Be a man and make a decision, with your 1800 turbine.

Elevation

Well said. You know, I remember saying the exact same thing when I'd listen to folks complain at my last airline. We all knew what we were signing up for, so I agree with you.

If, however, someone thinks they've made a mistake and is trying to assess a situation to make an educated decision, that's another matter.

I don't know for certain, but I'd hope this situation is the latter.

No Land 3

In all honesty, does anyone actually want to work at American, or simply just accepts it for being a legacy? I can't imagine anyone who provides lift to them as a regional pilot loves AA for being AA, rather that it's simply the destination of the path they are on, and it's a legacy. I personally haven't ran into anyone that loves AA for being AA. I have however for DL and UA.

Cujo665

Bingo. Parker has walmarted AA into the worlds largest global LCC. Even spirit is getting higher marks in all metrics except total revenue.
It’s last on the list of target legacies for most unless they live in an AA base. Delta, United, UPS/Fedex, Southwest, then AA. They’ve had guys leaving AA indoc for Southwest lately. If you lived in an LCC Base you’d probably have a better career with JetBlue,Spirit,Frontier rather than commute to AA. Parker, along with Isom, Hashimoto, Fabregas have wrecked that airline. Kirby was smart enough to bail out. Their stock is falling, even after they just spent huge money on buybacks, their debt ratio is atrocious again, and they're trying to demand legacy pricing on sub LCC service. They’ll be back in bankruptcy by 2021 at this rate... which is how Parker has run all his airlines.