I am in my early 20's and currently am a captain in a learjet and am home every night, on call a lot, not too many hard days off which really get old, and make ok money.

I have an interview set up with Frontier and am really torn because I already tried the regional thing and only lasted a few months $$$, QOL, time away, etc. Friends tell me that its much different at the Majors and that its not near as bad as the regionals.

So my question to those of you who fly for a Major, are happily married and have children, what do you think? I am home all the time, and get to see the day to day stuff with my child and love it, but I feel like I am really not advancing my career much. At frontier I would eventually make more money and have a schedule and a retirement, but I would be gone for 3-4 days at a time.

I am so torn, I honestly think about it day and night and really could use some advice from those of you who fly for a Major and are gone. Do your kids regret you bc your gone or give you a guilt trip every time you leave?

thanks in advance.

 

I am in the exact same position as you. I enjoy my lifestyle, make descent money, but the on call is starting to get old, very old. The advantage for me is that I just exited a long term relationship, otherwise early 20's, paid for car, pretty much no debt, and can maybe take a risk. Soooooo....who wants to be my internal rec?


(Gotta love the small FBO at CHN, that man taught me everything. I swept alot of floors and blew off many tarmacs to earn those lessons for my PPL. HAHA)

 

well....another factor I forgot to include is that I would probably be a commuter so I know that would dig into the days off.

Debt....I wish I could say the same as you bluebravo, but I still have some hefty loans and a few mortgages (investment property) so I would be taking a risk.

 

The schedule is the best part about the job and the worst part about the job!
You will miss the Saturday soccer game, but may be able to be at the weekday practice; Same with every other event. On a day off, make the best of the hours 1500-2000 when most other business parents are at work. Expect your Xmas gifts t be opened early, Turkey dinner on Tuesday evening and 4th of July camping in August........Hopefully F9 will allow trip trades

 

I have always been a pilot to my wife and kids and they know that Christmas dinner is when Dad is home. I try to schedule their birthdays off but all other holidays are scheduled to fit my schedule. If your family is behind you in taking on a career at a major airline then you will do well. Commuting can be a stressful experience at first and being away for days at a time will give you doubts. But if you are not completely satisfied where you are then the answer is easy. I would definitely get my expenses in order before hand because this could put great stress on the household along with the big changes that being away will cause.

 

If you want to be an airline pilot, you must take the good with the bad. Good...the flying, good pay(relativly)good time off, passes, retirement, medical and dental. Bad...reserve, commuting, FAA, check rides. Hate your present job? there`s a club for that it`s called "Everybody". Everyone has to start at the bottom, it`s call senority. Reserve, crappy lines. Gonna commute? makes everything worse. Think it over carefully before you make the move.

 

If you end up with F9 then I'd suggest you not commute.
I've been married for 22 (some good...some bad) years and have a wife and a 15 year old son who has known nothing but dad living out of a suitcase, getting cranky the day before a commute (because of the high loads/weather), being tired and cranky on the first day home, and missing most family get togethers.
Yes the money is good in the left seat of a 757/767, but knowing now what I know I would never have commuted in the first place (which I have done for 20 years). Now my son is on a dark path of alcohol and drugs, and I feel at lot responsibility is at my feet as I haven't been there for my son.
As a result we've put up everything we own for sale at a loss and we are moving to where I can drive to my base, that way after my son returns from the wilderness camp for troubled teens we can start fresh and hopefully be able to restore my son to a better path as we only have 3 short years with him, before he leaves.
I've wanted to be an airline pilot since I was three years old, it's a very satisfying experience to be here, but comes at a potentially very expensive price. Nowdays airlines treat their pilots with less and less dignity, and you will be just a number in a sea of pilot uniforms. So my advice is do what you think is right for you but not at the expense of family. Good luck to you !!

 

killship, thanks I really appreciate your advice and hope the new move goes great for the family and to everyone else who has posted, I cannot thank you guys enough for giving me some of your "personal" experiences, it really does help.

I guess I feel like being a lear capt really isn't that prestigious (not to offend anyone), but when I worked for a regional and would jumpseat on a major I really looked up to the guys/gals and felt like they have earned so much respect and that is what my ultimate goal was....but 2 seconds after getting home and seeing my beautiful wife and baby I forgot about flying and wanted nothing more than to just stay home.

 

I've worked for four majors (so far) and wife is also a pilot for a major. Having a spouse in the industry is definately an advantage when it comes to explaining about schedules, time off, commuting, etc. First, I would say from my experience, make the move. I did the Lear on call thing for 5 years and while it's interesting flying, there is no substitute for a schedule you know ahead of time and the other benefits of a major. I don't know what you make now but it should not be more than 3 years, if that, until you are making more at F9, and it keeps increasing every year thereafter. You will get more time off as well. They now have a retirement plan (although I don't know the details) and all 20 pilots I know there are very happy with the operation. I have been lucky and had most Christmases, birthdays and other important dates off in the 10+ years I've been in the 121 world. The ability to change your schedule around as said above is a huge deal IMO. I would also agree that if you can live where you are based, your QOL will increase by about 90%. There are some drawbacks to any job but I would not trade the 121 package for all the other jobs I've had.

 

I have flown corporate, and left for the airlines back in 98. Flying corporate I had somewhat of a schedule but for the most part was home every night approx 80 % of the time. Since then , I have been at three arlines, one major, two regionals and although seniority determines your QOL, the fact remains you will be on reserve and commuting REALLY adds to the stressand takes away some days off. I havecommuted since 98 and it is getting harder and harder dueto smaller gauge aircraft , plus full airplanes. In my personal opinion, if you enjoy QOL, pluse enjoy your current job, it is not much greener in airlines. I would recommend staying put. Ironically I am also looking to get back into corporate now just to able to fly out of my hometown and not reside in hotels in a different city 4 to 5 nights a week. Good luck in your choice.