Lear Driver

Interviewed the other day at the FLL job fair. Any F9 pilots able to give a rough idea of upgrade time...First 3 years pay range based on picking up time vs working minimum. Also is the Orlando base jr?

sled14

Right now upgrade is 2 years, and with all the orders on the way I bet it'll stay that way, although with this industry it can always change. There are senior FO's (around 150 or so I believe) holding out on upgrading so thats another variable.

As far as pay goes, its a little tricky picking up open time on reserve if you don't live in base as you have to be put on a list to be called to be voluntarily junior assigned.

Yes Orlando is junior, with Chicago being next then Denver the most senior. I started this year in July, holding medium call for November and will have a line in December.

Lear Driver

APC has the hourly rates calculated but at the job fair the presenter was speaking of how some guys are able to credit 130 hours plus a month. Is this realistic? If not what is...I live 2.5 hours from Orlando. Thanks for your time sir!!

DENpilot

Yes, in a vacation month or if you want to take yourself down to 8 days off a month and don't care what days those are.

In MCO, you could maybe pull off 90 and not completely kill yourself. The open time sucks right now in MCO due to the small size of the base and if you want to pick up, there are only low hour trips.

OpenClimb

Yes, it's possible to have a really big month here and there, but I certainly wouldn't plan your family budget on 130 credit per month. I think a more realistic/sustainable target would be in the 85 to 90 hour range. Many people make a bunch of extra hours during vacation months. Managed correctly, a single week of vacation can net you an additional 25 to 50 hours credit. Of course you'd have to be willing to work on your vacation.

I'm not advocating that you do any of this. I'd much rather see our pay rates improve rather than encouraging someone to work a bunch of overtime to make up for substandard hourly rates. I can tell you from past experience maximum-allowed FAA block time sustained over many years takes its toll. Certainly NOT recommended for a long term plan.

If you live 2-1/2 hours from MCO, you'll effectively be a commuter. Our regular reserve callout time is 2 hours from initial call to the crew room. We have a long call reserve system that allows 10-12 hours for a callout, but you probably won't be able to hold that right off the bat for at least a few months. You'll want to make arrangements for a crashpad for at least a short time.

Lear Driver

Excellent, thanks for the quick responses to all the guys that responded. I only planned to "kill myself" during the first year probation pay. After that I'd settle in. I currently clear 90K at a 135 gig but I am anxious to leave 135 behind and find that "last job."

Shrek

You will NEVER know if it is your last job until age 65

Arty13

Unless you're a UAL guy who lost your pension (thanks Glenn Tilton!!) and turned 60 in 2006. Then, because of your mortgage, you would not know what your "last job" is until you are about 80.
Living the dream!

skater3260

"Killing yourself" during first year pay is not the answer. The company barely values your skills while on the clock, you should take a similar stance toward having to be on the clock. Your time at home is much more valuable that first year unless you need to work extra to pay the bills. The increase in pay after taxes between 70 vs. 100 hours credit will be around a grand if you include per diem.

Wait until your second year to really put your nose to the grindstone. My .02

doz4dllrs

I agree. Driving for 2.5 hours to make $37/hr is not the answer. Your goal should be to do the absolute minimum amount of work at Frontier during your first year. Use that time to do anything that your skill set affords that your can do from home to bridge the gap. Leer contract work, flight instruct, hell, even Uber would beat 5 hours of driving to pickup work at $37. All the while, I'd be updating my resume with the legacies to work for a fair wage.