I have seen people go to Frontier and JetBlue from AMF. Helps if you have a "silver bullet" or "blue dart." Always try your best to get along with your coworkers, you never know who is going to end up where.

 

Who knows how things are going to be at AMF in 6 months. Between adding new flying in ABQ, SUS and now Wiggins coming into the picture, it could be a turbulent time.

If you want to fly 121, honestly, just go do that. There is very little advantage to coming to AMF then going to a regional.

 

Wiggins Airways, an independent cargo airline in Manchester since 1929, is being sold - NashuaTelegraph.com

 

I hope they make the transition as smooth as possible. It could be a win-win considering they'll gain flying out of BUF, which seems to be one of the more difficult ones for AMF to staff.

 

Don't count on it but it is a possibility if you play your cards right and you have internal recs, and you go to job fairs. But you can get to JB, Frontier or Allegiant by doing all that and not being at AMF too. As somebody already mentioned, AMF has an interview program with Allegiant. Not sure if anyone has used it yet to get a job there. I would say less than 10 people in the last 5 years have gone to Allegiant, Frontier or JetBlue right from AMF. Not fantastic odds when you consider the size. The majors are all ramping up hiring so guys are leaving Allegiant, JetBlue and similar to bigger and better airlines, so that is opening up opportunities for guys in the cargo world to get into 121 without going regional. Just be realistic and look at how small the percentage of AMF pilots that do make it there are so you don't get false hopes of a guarantee.

 

Thank you everyone for the input.

 

That's probably an accurate number just for Allegient, But that was without the flow through and I don't know of any that applied that DIDN'T get hired there. The first guy that I knew personally that went there (he went in May '08) just made captain.

No guarantees in life, be it aviation or anything else. But I would say your odds are good if that is the direction you want to go.

 

If you are looking to become a good pilot, AMF isn't a bad place to go. Flying single pilot in a Metro, in heavy IFR, will make you a good pilot (or a dead pilot). As far as career advancement, however, it depends. If you are looking to go part 121, then AMF is almost completely useless. There is essentially no chance of getting to a major without going through a regional. It may have happened years ago, and there are stories about a "mystery person" that went to a major from AMF, but no one knows exactly who this mystery person is.

If you want to go corporate, then AMF has some real value. Guys are getting hired from AMF left and right right now for corporate flight departments. And is seems that once one guy gets in somewhere, he is bringing 3-4 of his buddies with him over the next couple of months.

As far as getting on with JetBlue/SouthWest/etc... - it will be REALLY hard to do from AMF. One recent captain that left AMF was told in an interview with JetBlue that he needed 121 time and jet time to be considered competitive with the applicants that they are currently getting. This person had more than 3000 hours of turboprop time at AMF with 2 type ratings and a total time of more than 6000 hours. The problem is that there are hundreds of regional captains that are also applying to JetBlue/SouthWest. They stand out in the hiring process, and the guy that has been flying boxes just doesn't measure up.

As far as Allegiant goes, I would do some research on the company and Frank Lorenzo. If Frank Lorenzo is affiliated with it, run away screaming!

 

I can name at least 5 or 6 "mystery" people who went from AMF without any 121 time. But like you say, the likelihood of going direct from AMF to SWA, United, Delta or American today is pretty slim. I think the reasoning is ridiculous, but it is what it is. When you have tons of people who want to come there and they're all qualified to do the job, anything you can do to narrow the search saves time and money in the hiring process.

 

It doesn't matter if it is ridiculous or not. That is not our call. It is the truth that legacy airlines no longer put much value in the type of flying that AMF does anymore. I am sure that I will get flamed for saying that, but look at what those companies are looking for in terms of pilots, and AMF doesn't measure up. They want EFIS, jet, passenger carrying experience. AMF's 30 year old turboprops with round gauges are just not what they want.

There are some REALLY GOOD pilots at AMF. There are guys and gals that would make really good airline captains some day. Hand flying old airplanes that are minimally equipped, in terrible weather, with a handful of things MEL'd is a great experience.

Feel free to PM me the names of the 5 or 6 people that went directly from AMF to a major airline in the last 5 years. I would love to see that. (BTW...Allegiant isn't a major - it is barely an airline. It is a glorified travel agency.)