Originally Posted by FlannelDaddy

Hey y'all. I'm considering making a switch to charter flying. Currently a furloughed RJ driver awaiting recall training. I have a turbo-prop back ground flying large turbo-props, never flew a KA before though. I currently live in a hub in PHL and drive to work, but there's a lot of uncertainty at my current carrier. And I don't really like where I live. My airline is very overstaffed and I'm on the verge of making the cut or not making the cut. Somehow we did just announce that we're hiring again which doesn't make any sense. So this is a gamble for me. Sadly I don't really know a lot of folks at WU and I apologize if these questions have been answered before. I just want to get a more up to date info on the company.

I'm a young guy, that's looking to start a family next few years and home basing is becoming important to me. Ideally I'd want to move closer to family in BOS or in DEN.

Recently interviewed for a KA FO position.

How is life in the King Air?
How many legs a day do you do?
How much rest do you usually get on the road?
Is there a day off in the middle of your 8 day stretch to account for 135 24 in 7?
Is the DH time counted in your duty time?
Is it easy to get vacation time?
Is the company overall good to you?
Is open time available or is it limited to a few bases?

I didn't quite understand the pay system either. If you're a 2 yr KA FO and upgrade do you go to year 2 KA CA pay or do you go to year 1 CA pay? And if you're a year 5 KA CA and go to the citation X FO do you restart at year 1 FO/CA pay?

Thanks y'all.

Originally Posted by Busdriver91

Great questions...and EMAW was kind enough to give you some recent info.

A couple of items from your post I’d like to touch on:

1) Home basing is a huge perk. I’ve had to move around the country a couple of times for my wife’s job and it is nice being able to change my base (Gama calls the gateways) with minimal effort.
2) Regional pilot moving over to the charter world...This one is kind of a doozy and you will get many different opinions. What Wheels UP wants to see is that you are customer service driven and have no desire to go back to your regional carrier. Why are they going to spend the money training you when you are just going to leave?
I’m a formal regional pilot as well and can tell you that the 8 days on is a bit much when you are used to doing 3-4 day trips.
If your long term goal is a major airline flying for the big guys then my suggestion would be to stay at the regional. Every job has it’s pluses and minuses, it’s your choice to make. I had to make the same hard choice when I got hired several years ago and I’m mad that I didn’t move over even earlier! Good luck!

Originally Posted by FlannelDaddy

Thanks to you and for EMAW for your feedback.

Yeah I know a lot of people might call me crazy for considering making this switch. The way I see it is nothing in life is guaranteed. I don't know how many more laps around the sun I have and I want to make the best of them. If I decide to come over to the charter side I'm gonna do my best not to look back at what could've been. There will always be "what ifs" in life. And flying an airliner is no bigger guarantee of happiness than flying a KA. I've sat on too many mainline jumpseats where the pilots were miserable despite seemingly "having it all".

The second part of it is staying at my RJ operator right now is a huge gamble for me as well. Staying might pay off big and it might not. There are some suspect things going on where I'm at.

I forgot to ask about retirement. Does the company match anything?

Originally Posted by FlannelDaddy

Yeah I know a lot of people might call me crazy for considering making this switch
...
The second part of it is staying at my RJ operator right now is a huge gamble for me as well. Staying might pay off big and it might not. There are some suspect things going on where I'm at.=10pt

Originally Posted by WhiteMorpheus

Definitely not crazy...or I'm right there with you. Same current employer, but with more longevity. Being a victim of a base closure, downgrade, or furlough is a big nudge toward considering other options.

Some of us never had the goal of flying heavy metal for the majors. Some of us just want a solid paycheck that pays the bills with a good work/life balance. Gama/WU sounds like it can fill that role nicely for those with that mindset.

PS: Until we see something official, I'm skeptical of this growth at our regional. I really think they are leveraging for bankruptcy "negotiations," such as scope relief, which could keep us where we are for another decade or more.

Originally Posted by EMAW

GAMA has a small match, up to 3 or 6% I can’t remember. However with the consolidation under the WU brand, that’ll probably change. We’ve already switched companies to Fidelity.

Originally Posted by Das Auto

50% company match up to 6% of pilot contribution. Now fully vested after 3 years. (Used to be 5 years.)

Originally Posted by FlannelDaddy

What would y'all say the opportunities for upgrade are for someone coming in to the KA fleet in the upcoming classes especially considering the merge with DPJ and TMC? I was told something from a year to two years in the right seat does that seem accurate?

Originally Posted by Busdriver91

I’ve unfortunately seen the upgrade going up. The old Gama way of doing things were to have as many people rated as Captain as possible since that allows for flexibility with scheduling crews. WUP is being more money conscious and this has caused upgrade times to increase to closer to two years. The biggest hurdles are having the minimum flight times and staying off the naughty list. The minimum total time for upgrade within the company is 3000 hours.