If you don't mind taking one of the out stations, then it shouldn't be a problem.

 

Thanks for the info, Freightdog. I sent you a PM.

 

What are the chances of getting based out of BUR with Ameriflight ?

 

Is KHWD(koak) closing or shrinking? Fleet seems small these days.

 

I heard is on the slow way out. Recently a senior BUR based AMF pilot was jumpseating on us and said the base has been losing money for some time now. Too few checks needing transportation any more was what he said.

Any HWD pilots could probably expand on this.

 

Some newbie questions.

-What are the odds of Ameritflight pilot making it to Majors straight without going regionals? Or is regional necessary or recommended steps before major? I'm asking if its common as I'm sure anything is possible.

-if going to Major from ameritflight is common, big disadvantage during training and interview compared to regional guys? I ask because RJ would be close to major jets than the planes at Ameritfligt.

Thank you!

 

There have been folks who have gone directly from AMF to the majors. Is it common? I guess that would depend on how you are defining "majors" and "common." If you look under the "Major-National-LLC" list for general airline information here on APC, you will see Southwest, one of the largest airlines in the country as well as Skywest, ExpressJet and American Eagle, all generally referred to as "regionals."

I personally don't know anyone who has gone to any of the Legacy carriers from Ameriflight. (Heck, I don't know much of anyone that has gone there PERIOD in the past 10 years.) But I know several who have gone to Southwest (though not for about 7 years), 5 or 6 that have gone to Allegiant in the last couple years and even one that got on with UPS about 5 or 6 years ago. There have also been quite a few that have gone to Skywest.

One thing to keep in mind when considering the Ameriflight vs regionals question. If you go straight to the regionals, it will be quite some time before you will be logging any PIC time. Every major I have looked at requires a minimum of 1000 hours turbine PIC time. So even if you believe, as some do, that 121 time is a plus for getting to the majors, you might consider AMF to get to the 1000 turbine PIC mark and then make the switch.

 

You have to also take into consideration that at Ameriflight, you're not flying with other Captains very often and so it's hard to network to know when someone gets on somewhere "bigger and better". At the regionals, one thing you have is strength in numbers. With a bigger pilot group at these regionals you have possibly a better chance of networking with other pilots to get to that next step. With that said, I wouldn't trade my time at Ameriflight for anything. Some of the most fun flying I have done to this point in my career. They helped make me a pretty darn good pilot.

Also, don't let some of these guys fool you thinking you need "121 time" or "jet time" to get with a national or legacy carrier. Myself and one of my friends from AMF are over hear at Allegiant in the MD80 and we both couldn't be happier. We also raised some eyebrows from the guys in the training department; apparently Freight Dogs who fly Metroliners who never flew at a 121 carrier, no FMS experience, or swept wing jet experience, can fly an MD80 pretty well. :-D

What it comes down to is good networking, do well in all your checkrides, and when you interview at XYZ Airline of your dreams, you convince them that you are trainable, that you will pass their training, and that they can stand to be with you on a 4-day trip.

Hope this helps.

Side Note: In regards to your last statement, I felt the MD80 was an easier step for me coming from a Metroliner than some of my classmates coming from Airbus, Embraer, and RJs. The MD80 is literally a step back into time.

 

I've flown older.



And bigger.

 

No need to go bragging about it Ted. ;-)

Just because my airplane doesn't carry nuclear weapons doesn't make her any less magnificent. Ha