Jatinsel

Hi! Please give me some advice... and I would appreciate it if only helpful feedback is given...
My husband (the pilot) and I immigrated to the USA in 2017. My husband has in excess of 12000 hours, but no degree. He has been flying with a regional since our arrival here and upgraded to captain a few months ago. Obviously we are keen for him to move on but without the degree, I realize options are much more limited. I know he would love to fly cargo and was wondering what the suggestions would be. Here is what I have gathered from reading posts here:
Atlas (seems very uncertain and has a poor contract, but the 747 seems appealing - would living near CVG make this a more bearable job?)
ATI (would love further information - I have also gathered there is unhappiness there?)
Kalitta (I believe citizenship is necessary which is only possible for us in 2020)
I am sure UPS and Fedex are not even options due to the lack of degree so between ATI and Atlas which would be a better option? Is it stupid to go to one of these companies, should we just hang on until citizenship and try for Kalitta? Are there any other cargo airlines I have not mentioned that may be an option?
I thank you in advance for your input!

Riverside

I stopped reading at Atlas.

orka

Your husband would be better off staying at his regional captain position than going to Atlas. Kalitta is a good gig for people already there. If the economy slows down it could be bad for a new hire anywhere.

Reactivity

Living near CVG wouldn't make a difference for Atlas. They use gateway travel which means they will buy you a ticket from any of a long list of major airports in the country.

There's no unhappiness at ATI...yet. But their upgrade time is ridiculously low and they're short on experience.

Much of the unhappiness you might hear of is at ABX. Living near CVG is helpful for that one.

There is also Southern, owned by Atlas, which is looking for pilots who can upgrade quickly in a 737.

Then there are the Miami cargo operators - Amerijet, 21Air, etc. Proceed with caution around any of those.

tbmpilot

Not correct.

Reactivity

Great. Would it be too much trouble to explain why?

CA Deplorable

Is your husband a US citizen?, if he is not; Atlas, Kalitta. ATI, Omni, National are all Department of Defense contractors which I think require US citizenship. So staying at the regionals and upgrading sounds like the most sound idea.

tankerdude

Get a degree, stay at the regional until it's done.

BluePAX

Don't get trapped at Atlas. Personally seen a few bummed out co workers in the past who couldn't get the call because little/no PIC and/or no degree (or even worse with the DUI trifecta).


Best of luck

Aerospeed

Actually, the pilot group at ATI has super high morale. The majority of pilots here are very happy. We make a very fair wage, working on contract language and soft pay in next year’s negotiations and we have home basing. We are exploding with growth and will soon be taking all of the Atlas 767s flying for Amazon. We’re the primary carrier and only Amazon carrier that Amazon actually likes. We have the best on time performance. ATI is hands down the best bet for you because the future looks amazing here! If you want money, quality of life and a golden goose future, ATI welcomes you! Message me if you want more info and have an honest conversation. To many people on here are bitter about the success of ATI and you won’t get a fair review. If he’s eligible for the job, have him come here!