Originally Posted by Dead Serious

....Here's the overall situation:

You must take all previous concepts of airline flying, aviation management, common sense, logic , order, and/or the Laws of Physics and the Universe and throw them out the window.


- There are no schedules. You may bid for a Hard Line, but you will rarely fly any of it. There are no contractual protections for this.

- Everything is random and chaotic. Scheduling rarely knows where you are, let alone what you are supposed to be doing. Every time there is a shift change the schedules change.

- Junior pilots don't have to worry about getting the worst stuff. Everything is done with no regard to seniority so you will get the same amount/type of flying as the guy with 20 years seniority.

- Day one Connie buys a ticket to wherever they want you. Day 17 Connie buys you a ticket home. You will probably fly 4-6 days of the 15 in between.

- Where? Very little domestic. You might fly a few domestic legs a year. The rest...throw a dart at the map of The World and you'll probably find yourself somewhere close at some point soon. There is a lot of DHL flying : CVG-BRU, LEJ, HKG, BAH, are common destinations.

- Day or Night? Yes.

- Days off are yours and are inviolable. 13-14 depending on month. No trip extensions.

- Great guys to fly with.

- Very comfortable flying. Especially with 2 pilots and an IRO. Everyone gets a 2+ hour nap or movie break on a typical 8 hour flight across the pond. Upper Deck is the Club House with 6-8 first class seats and generally 4 bunks per a/c. On some just 2 bunks, but in private staterooms. More food than anyone could ever eat. Full galleys, ovens, microwaves, chillers, real coffee pots.

- Excellent hotels Internationally ( a few domestically that could be improved upon but you rarely see them ). All airline and hotel points are yours. I've put in 5 years and took a weeks vacation in New England this summer.... Hotels, Rental car, Airfare = $80.00 out of pocket after points and travel awards. I still have several hundred thousand hotel points left and many,many,airline miles.

- Health Insurance - BEST IN THE INDUSTRY. FREE AFTER 5 YEARS. About $80.00/mo for the first 5 years.

Basically if you can wrap your mind around tolerating the idiocy, accept randomness as the rule, use the madness to your advantage and want to have fun flying the Queen and seeing the World with some really fun people...go for it.

If you really need structure or logic...Stay far away.

And if you have a Wife, Girlfriend, Kids, a Dog, a Business or ANYTHING else that requires your attention while you are away.... this job will eat at you as you sit for the 3rd day in a beautiful hotel in a distant country doing nothing for no good reason when you could be home attending to the aforementioned.

I've had a lot of fun here so far.

YMMV

D.S.

Originally Posted by PiperPower

Honest question. I've been interested in Kalitta for a while now, but have been patiently waiting to see how the labor dispute worked out; especially after seeing the resounding strike vote. This post I quoted sums up exactly why I'm interested, and for me personally, it'd be a great fit. I'm wondering if it's still a good idea to come over during this labor dispute, in anticipation of it getting resolved. My thoughts are that when you guys actually get the pay rates you deserve, Kalitta will be a highly desirable place for a lot of people, and the apps will come flooding in. So is it better to take the gamble and get on the seniority list now? Regardless, on the list or not I'm ready to stand with you guys. Good luck. PM me if need be.