Kalitta, The Bad
 

I’ve got a class date offer at K4, and I’ve read a lot of good stuff on here about Kalitta. I’m currently at a regional, with lots of time, but can’t seem to get a call anywhere. I’m over commuting, and 13 days off a month (even after 10+ months at my current regional). Again, I’ve read a lot of “the good” about Kalitta, but haven’t read much negative. There has to be some. What are the “bad” aspects of K4?

Thanks in advance!

If you are having trouble getting calls and looking for cargo spots you might try ABX. Quick note that Kalitta has home basing along with Omni / ATI etc if you don't like commute stuff.

Another question you might as is how does Kalitta compare to the other companies you've gotten an an offer from.

My advice, do not "try" ABX, Atlas or Southern.

Those are sure to disappoint in the short term. Way too much labor unrest right now and you'll be jumping into the middle of smoldering war between the union and company. NOT FUN.

In the short term, yes, Kalitta has the best deal. Relatively peaceful labor relations with their new contract, short upgrades, lots of expansion. What's not to like at this point?

The long term picture at Kalitta however is a little foggy. It's a privately owned company and the owner is very old with no clear (at least not publicly) plan for his succession.

I think if you're looking for a long term career at a Legacy or FedEx or UPS, then Kalitta would be a good place for a couple years to pump up your resume.

Keep all those apps updated as retirements industry wide continue to ramp up until 2023. Still lots of hiring to be done.

I am not at K4, but am on the 74 in ACMI.

This ACMI world is not like flying a schedule that Delta/American/United had nailed down three months ago. It is not like flying into stations that work 5 of your flights a day.

The schedule is jello being nailed to a wall. The quality of ground support varies from excellent (Japan) to awful (Africa). You will fly in areas where ATC could care less if you die, as long as they have your tail number for billing purposes. You may find yourself turning off all your lights for descent and landing, and I do mean all of them.

And you will see and do things that no one flying for a Legacy will ever see or do. You will begin to speak an aviation dialect that your friends at conventional airlines will not understand.

Some people love it and thrive, others hate it. But understand that it is what it is.

How adventurous are you? How bored do you get flying your current schedule? When things don't go the way that they should are you still mad/frustrated about it 2 hours later? Do you like having a FA, or does the idea of making your own coffee and taking a [short] walkabout in the upper deck when you want to stretch appeal to you? Can you still fly a good airplane in jeans and a sweatshirt while your uniform is on a hanger in the back?

One man's wine is another man's poison.

Kind of like that twinge when you hear a WO opine about their “educational background”.....

The bad.... hum.. the scheduling department has been in constant disarray for years.... mainly due to huge turnover and exponential growth. Work / duty rules are fairly weak. ex... my last trip of the month... was this...

CVG-NGO....14.4 hours... followed by abosolute min rest of 11 hours behind the door. Followed by NGO-HKG(4.6 hours), 6+ hour sit for cargo, then HKG-ANC(9.9 hours) all in one duty day.

Bottom line occasionally... you will do some LONG LONG days... commercial DHing is on the increase due to short staffing. more later

Let’s not forget that one is no longer allowed to sleep in the bunk naked.

Bad #2: sometimes the greedy capts take all the pound cake.

Nailed it.
Great post.
:D

This won’t apply until you upgrade, but we only have flight followers, not dispatchers since Connie doesn’t want to pay a higher wage. Because of that there’s no skin in the game when it comes to flight plans. Sometimes it works out great, while other times they’ll ask you to do something completely illegal and you have to tell them to pound sand.

If you hate the pax world, the airport appreciation, commuting, crash pads, and cargo that talks back to you, you may just end up loving K4.
It is good that you are experiencing pax flying first, will allow you to appreciate this place more while others will ***** because they have this, "Catch Me if You Can" idea about the pax world, but no experience with it.