Sliceback

Asked a friend “enjoying the left seat?”

LOVE the left seat. Nothing has energized my career more. Had NO IDEA I would like it. Lots of people think the 777 is the life. Whatever. I’ll take being the boss.


Different people have different reactions. Until you do it you won’t know.

KSwift76

First opportunity in base. After 15 plus years as an FO... it's FANTASTIC!. Not that I was ever really bothered by it, but knowing and liking what Capt(yourself) you are flying with everytime is great. You can always set the tone of the trip. Even though I'm on reserve, I live in base so not terrible. Approximately 20 hours flown this month so far with only 4 more work days. The equivalent of 85 FO pay hours of credit on the WB.

GuppyPuppy

I can see if you are single to go for the money grab.

However, in a relationship, married, children, even elderly parents can influence your decision.

For me, I could transition to a larger plane right now with an increase in hourly rate. But, my relative seniority will go down. My trips become less productive, so it would take more days of working to realize a true gain in pay. I figure I'll just stay on the smaller plane for now, get the exact schedule I want and transition when it makes sense for me.

That last sentence is the key. Upgrade/transition when it makes sense for YOU. Schedule vs. pay. If you are senior enough to upgrade then you can find your happy medium.

Gup

vroll1800

Initially, I took the first available upgrade slot to Captain. Once there, I didn't transition to larger/higher hourly rate aircraft until I was ~ 50% on larger aircraft.

IME, there wasn't much difference in my QOL between the (top) 25% to 60% bracket in 3 different aircraft/seat positions over the course of my career.

Marlin

Like AA73... I took first available upgrade(17years). Going from bidding 10% , to reserve was eye opening, but having spent 27 of my 30 years of airline flying (10+at a commuter) as an FO, I love the job. Sitting in the right seat for so long, I had become bored. I certainly know the books better than I did(Capt will know that), it is both challenging and rewarding . No long winded briefings, ANY decision about the AC starts with asking the FO “what would you do ?”, and when we are in agreement ... we go . Hated being left out of the decisions as an FO. Empowering my copilots , even if it seems I’m making them do all the work , makes them and me better. I was always better when I felt more of an equal than just nose ballast. Money is nice, but the job is better . Like others have said, you never know when the music will stop!! I learned so much from the captains I flew with, most I would think”that’s exactly what I would do”, others just the opposite . Start at the hearing and work backwards , make smart decisions , use all your resources , and just have fun... but most importantly.. don’t be a DICK to anyone , because you are the boss and people are watching ... oh ... and don’t get yourself on CNN!!
Joe

Albief15

Setting the pace and tone on the line is nice. Not being paired with a jumpy or difficult captain for recurrent training is PRICELESS.

I'll echo the guys above me. I had the best of all worlds for a while--captain pay while in right seat on passover pay. Even so--I was ready for the upgrade. It isn't just the money--we all (mostly) joined to be captains one day. Go be a good one and enjoy the ride... Just save some of those bucks to buy dinner and beers when you can for your team....