how long have you been at Omni and where were you before?

 

This is the wrong audience for your message. All of us in the land of misfit pilots found our way to ACMI for a host of reasons. Many of us would be at an LCC if we actually wanted to fly passengers in a hub and spoke system. Some of us are paid enough to not have money as the #1 priority either.(#2)

 

yep

filler......

 

While many thread respondents are confirmed ACMI lifers, OP is a regional pilot at a crossroad trying to decide whether ACMI or ULCC would be a best for getting him/her to Big 6 airline. Also likely determining which would be best to hang their hat for protracted stay should dream airline offer not pan out. The fact that a present ACMI pilot is looking to get out of ACMI orbit, while no ULCC pilot has come on this thread (yet) expressing a desire to join ACMI outfit shows that posts like nfd's has some merit.

 

As others have said, it depends upon your needs and priorities. For some, hub & spoke LCC is fine, for others traveling the world is more appealing. For some a bigger check is worth commuting, for others it isn't. There are good points and bad points about each. A younger guy may not mind commuting, but after 15-20 years of commuting and crashpads, the ACMI starts looking pretty easy. Some may like 2-5 legs a day with multiple plane swaps, others may like 1 flight per day and a few days off before the next one. It's all different. One is not better than the other, they're both different.... however, for each individual, one will be better than the other.

 

^This.

I'd add that I hope very much not to be an ACMI lifer, for all of the reasons outlined in this thread. That said, I'd similarly not want to be an LCC lifer...for all of the reasons outlined in this thread. All of this "my Dad could beat up your Dad" stuff belongs on the playground.

 

It's worth noting that even at Delta, you still work for your money, been told that management has become efficient. I completely agree with the above, each has their advantages and disadvantages. People should not care what others think and simply pick a path that makes them the happiest.

 

You're not being a very good AHole.

 

I have yet to meet one person at my LCC who doesn’t want stay for life with the money being made / qol and work rules. I enjoyed the experience (ACMI) but wouldn’t want to do it for life. We had several ACMI guys in my class a few years ago. How many spirit / frontier / JetBlue guys go to omni or Kalitta ?

not saying i wouldn’t enjoy staying at ACMI and having a good life there too but at least to me it’s not a comparison.

Me: I like my Starbucks at the terminal, I don’t mind people (actually enjoy it ) like interacting with my FAs, enjoy flying new planes and mostly very easy 1/2/3/4 day trips. by day 3 I’m ready to go home. Add to that the money, DC and work rules and I am very happy.

that being said I took a lot of pride in flying a wide body and the adventure was far greater than what I do now. Ultimately for me it’s happiness and not wanting to be chronically fatigued all the time. Qol health and happiness is the only thing that matters.

that said it always makes me cringe when posts come over as “I have it better than you..” so in closing I would definitely say if you have a good job that pays well and you enjoy your life then who cares ?

 

I don't think you would find many people who would leave a Spirit or a Jet Blue for an ACMI, simply because most regional pilots also wouldn't leave for an ACMI. Pax pilots for the most part only know one world, flying 121 pax. Some did 135 cargo and probably left a bad taste in their mouth. Once they get to a Spirit or a Jet Blue, they have absolutely no reason to try something different.
In the ACMI world you have a lot of guys from the military who are constantly being told by their military friends to come on over to the pax world at XYZ. It is not realy surprising to me why that is.