busdriver12

I think much depends upon your personality, as far as what you prefer. I am introverted, and too much social contact is draining. I felt like I was always walking some old lady to the gate, people staring at me and wanting to talk to me, asking for directions to this and that at the airport (Jeez, I don't know, this is the first time I've been here). Jogging to a different gate to work a flight, people glaring at me after I rush up to the cockpit after being called off reserve, thinking they were waiting for me because I was late. Just dealing with flight attendants, time in the crew van doing small talk with people I had little in common with.....did not enjoy it at all. Exhausting!

But there's something for everyone out there. Many people enjoy and are rejuvenated by the social contact. I'm a slam clicker, I just want to fly airplanes and enjoy the layovers.

robxjt27

I flew passengers for 11 years (COEX/Omni). If all 3 legacies offered me a job tomorrow with no interview required, I would tell them all no thanks. Cargo= best flying job out there, as long as its UPS or FedEx.

EMBskillz

pleeze bruddah🤡. Let's just assume 90% of the folks going to cargo are going to fly at night. Just because a fringe amount is senior enough to fly days and probably won't upgrade for a long time does not mean that is the normal. Totally misleading. Night flying is hellz on the body and you will try to convince yourself during your entire career that it is just fine. But you always wonder if maybe it is that bad? Wërd

busdriver12

90%? On my airplane, more like 50%. And almost half of the fo's I fly with are new hires. Times are good right now.

webecheck

For the vast majority of pilots life revolves around money and women. Legacy carrier pay is equivalent and you can bring her along if you want.

SpeedyVagabond

I whole heartedly agree! Couldn't have described it better.

crflyer

I'd say the thread is hijacked sufficiently enough by now

fly4unclesam

I agree. While I really do appreciate all the comments and all are valid in the decision making process, not one of them actually answered the question. "Pax vs Cargo" could be discussed and debated from now until the end of time...I was simply interested in who offers the best retirement plan for a pilot starting later in life with only 15 to 20 years left until age 65.

Andy

Because it's an unanswerable question until you retire - you won't know until you retire if there were a better choice than the one you made. If you want to base your question on today's contracts/compensation, you can do that yourself. All the data's available.

maxjet

I remember thinking that way. I love being around people. Thru no fault of my own I ended up in freight. I got here and asked myself, why did I wait so long? Clean, well maintained aircraft, no aircraft swaps, great schedule, and good pay. What life is all about!