hey guys, if I could i'd like to add to the discussion with a question.

I fly a Shorts 360, 1300 TT 300 Turbine 500 multi. I was offered a position on the 99 but applied for the metro in Miami where i'm currently based. I was told that I could be sent to the Miami base in the Metro in about 6-12 months.

I was wondering firstly:

1- what is the pay? I was told 44 a year. is this anywhere near correct true?

2-I'm thinking about flying out west, California/Salt Lake city. any info on these runs? domiciles? schedules? living areas?

3- is the transfer/upgrade back to KMIA true for someone with my time, or is it a bait and switch to get me in to a route no one wants?

any information on these would be greatly appreciated, as much of the info I found here was a little dated, and I do not have much contact with many Amflight pilots in this area.

Thank you

You can have my old run... Still a different guy on the radio every week. Seriously though, for a while there they were bleeding 99 guys because folks weren't getting the upgrade. After being on the 99 for 10 months I called and emailed the CP and asked for an upgrade. No response. A month later, I called the VP. Asked for times etc, and said I was "right where I should be" for an upgrade. No further contact for a month. I even talked to the regional manager and volunteered to be a TDY ***** if they would simply upgrade me and help me get my family out of the ghetto sh..hole we were forced to live in with last years 34k/yr 99 rate. Still nothing. So I quit. And then they shorted my final paycheck. I emailed them, called them etc. "we will research it". The other day after over a month of no response, I emailed again. Got an email back saying they were in the wrong and would pay me what they owe me. I'll believe it when a check shows up.

To conclude, don't believe a damn thing you are told. You are simply a cog in their wheel, despite the "team" email blasts. It is what it is, they will use you, so you use them. Take the 99 job and be ready to quit in 6 months if they don't give you what you want. The PIC time is really what you need, once you get that you won't need them anymore.


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Today they posted an ad for SA227 captains in Miami.

where did you see that? I couldnt find it on their webpage

1 Pay is correct, in fact you will likely make more if you do six day non outstation runs, or fly with an FO, etc.

2 SLC is filling up, lots of new faces, don't know about California.

3 You are likely not getting the metro because you don't even have enough time to get an ATP. Miami in the summer is probably the easiest time to transfer there (can't imagine why).

Hope that helps.

can you explain the schedule/daily life? how does the outstation run work? is it a decent quality of life? also is SLC a decent base?

Most runs are of the UPS variety. In SLC you show up at 5 or 530, fly to your outstation, spend the day there and return home to be off the clock around 1930 assuming there are no delays.

5 days a week, most of my career has had a reserve day once a week, with the exception of this past year where we have been short staffed. Reserve is nice because you get a full day pay and get to go home early if they don't have anyone call in sick or have work for you to do otherwise. I'm optimistic we will be getting reserve days again soon.

SLC has no outstation based runs. Many in the Central time zone in particular do. If you live at the outstation it is typically Monday night to Saturday morning. You spend your days and weekends at home, and 5 nights a week at the company apartment in base.

A lot of different opinions, I will leave others to discuss whether it is desirable or not. There are a few of us in SLC that have been around since before the recession began. Seattle is also a very popular base for those who don't mind sticking around longer.

I can't answer question #2 but I can address the others.

1 - $44K is correct for first year BE99 captains.

3 - I would think an upgrade to MIA would be very possible once you have another 3-400 hours in your book. The Shorts time (I'm assuming most of it is right seat since you are only 100 hours over 135 mins) would definitely be a plus because you have experience with a more systems intensive airplane. Our "book" number for the metro is 2500 hrs TT but most in house transitions have been going in the 16-1800 hour range. I have been flying the "tube" for many years and it can be a handful when flown single pilot which is why you AREN'T going to get it at 1300 hours TT. The two other factors that could delay your transition would be if someone senior bids for the spot and if the base you are at gets really short handed on 99 pilots and they can't cover you're leaving.

Then you quit because other operators would love to hire you directly into something bigger, and the base is still out of a 99 driver. Short sighted.

They will try to water board you with Cool-Aid starting at Indoc, just remember that currently they need you more than you need them. Don't put up with their *******.


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Don't you ever get tired of trolling this thread?

If we could ever get a few guys willing to respect the commitment they make when the agree to a year (do you remember that from indoc?) then we could get the staffing to the level where we CAN improve the QOL.

Because realistically, from an experience standpoint, it takes more than 6 months for a 1200-1300 hour pilot to get where they can truly handle an airplane like a metro.