ADHOC cargo or regional ?
 

Hello.

Seeking advice
My background :ATP , mostly light aircraft , some flight instruction and presently I fly as a first officer on a corporate Citation 500.
About 20 years ago I flew a private B727 as a second officer and logged 650 hours on the panel.
With all the hiring these days I was wondering if anybody could list the pros and cons of choosing AD HOC cargo airlines ( DC9 MD80 B727 B737) or a position with one of the regional carriers .( EMB or CRJ)

Cheers.

I flew ADHOC cargo for about 4 1/2 years, though on the Falcon 20. Being that you would basically have your pick of what regional you wanted to work for, and the fact that you could expect to make about 60k your first year at so many of them, and that there are so many flow through agreements, etc. I cannot bring myself to ever recommend that anyone ever fly for the Kalitta 2 / IFL Group / Ameristar / USA Jet / Royal Air types. I had a lot of fun while I was in that section of the industry, but you will not find a more difficult / less rewarding niche in aviation. What they do (in terms of crew scheduling / rest rules) is illegal and extremely unsafe.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

Thanks very much .

I did about a year for a DTW area based 121 supplemental. The people were great for the most part, the flying was decent, the airplanes (while old) were in good shape. But for quality of life, money and just career progression (which you may or may not care aboue), getting into the regional game made life so much better. Sitting around within the callout period of whatever airline you fly for, 24/7 while you're on call, gets very old quick. You can't do whatever you want, because you're tethered to the phone. I made more money year 1 at a regional than I did in year 1 at a supplemental on a DC9.

Now, if you happen to live where one of these adhoc carrier is based and you don't care about moving on from there, the game changes slightly, but you can only polish a turd so much

I'm going to guess most people here are going to tell you the regionals, and I agree. Quick progression right now, and you're most likely going to see better schedules and QOL.

+1 agree 100%. I did auto parts for the same amount of time. If it came down to it and I needed a flying job to pay bills I would go back b/c I know what the deal is but with the industry the way it is there is No reason to waste time at these places anymore.
On my 121 interview I had to basically get on my knees and explain to the DO and CP why I had been operating illegally for the last 4 1/2 years it wasn't pretty or fun but somehow I pulled it off. (They had both done freight back in the day) got lucky I guess and I imagaine a legacy would not be as accepting. I guess what I'm saying is if your at a place like this u may have to leave for something else, somewhere that actually abides by FAR's to "washes your hands" per say, to move on anyway assuming u don't die. Good luck.

Regional for sure.

On call isn't as much fun since the DC-3's and piston Convairs went away, I'd vote regionals too, though the 727 was joy in jet form ( I flew pax ) : ) cheers, take the flow !!!

Right now, actually the regionals are looking a lot better than ACMI or even some of the ultra LCC.

In addition to a starting pay of anywhere from 45K-60K as advertised, you get excellent travel benefits, decent day schedules with predictable days off and in some cases a chance to flow/interview.

Many of the ACMI outfits require you to be on the road for 15 days in a row. Great for some but a deal breaker for someone with a "life" at home.