It valuable, but so are other forms of time. And it isn't that hard to come by.

 

Good point. With the movement at AMF (similar to the rest of the industry), it's fairly easy to move into a position such as training captain, check airman, or even a program manager.

The same is true with any job, if you sit around doing the bare minimum then it's going to be tough to leave.

 

Curious... How many AMF'ers have gotten hired by JetBlue or Southwest in the last 2 years with no 121 experience? How about at Delta and United? FedEx or UPS?

 

That would be zero sir, as long as you add the military caveat to that.

 

That is my point.

There are FOs at regionals that are getting picked up by those places. A buddy is going to JetBlue with less than 3000 hours TT and zero TPIC, and no military time. Just regional FO time.

There are lots of captains at regionals that are going to those places every month. My regional lost over a dozen to Delta in the last 3 months, and none of them have more than 5 years at a regional. Go to a regional with 1500 hours, spend 2 years as an FO, 2 years as a captain. Spend a few months TDYd to teach ground school, or get your LCA letter, or move to the sims. In 4 years, you will have 4500+ total time, 1000+ TPIC in a 121 jet, and you will be ahead of anyone that spent 4 years at AMF.

At that point, if you wanted to work at an ULCC or ACMI, you could choose any one that you want. They will all take you.

 

Along that same logic, two years at AMF and two years at an LCC will get you to the same place. As stated before, if there are half a dozen ways to end up at the same end goal, it all comes down to lifestyle choices. Whichever path is going to allow you to most enjoy going to work every day is the path you should choose.

 

While I'm doing my best to stay out of the conversation (I like it when Jetlife and others bring up good valid points for discussion without getting nasty), I must say there is a missing point here.

That is, AMF has changed their pay structure to promote long term employment. While, yes, most pilots are eyeing the shiny airlners, and use Regionals and AMF as a stepping stone, there is now a more viable option to stay around longer if you don't see what you like in your options moving on.

A couple years ago, the difference between year 1 and salary cap on the Metro was about 8,000. Now it is more like 40,000 (with the exception of getting the sign on bonus for having previous part 135/121). The big push now is to get more pilots, not only to capitalize on the demand for the work we do, but also to retain pilots through a better schedule. It has worked for those flying the purple tailed feeders, hopefully it works just as well or better for us without having to give up the second engine by going to Caravans.

AMF is definitely on the blue collar side of the spectrum when it comes to pilot jobs. In a lot of ways, you have to see life from the perspective of Mike Rowe over that of your high school guidance counselor and millennial popular opinion. Not everyone will, most won't. A large regional has literally 20 times as many pilots as AMF.

 

Well, that's a big hypothetical. Nobody should argue the fact that 121 flying is the most relevant flying to 121. And 121 PIC is the pinnacle of logbook time if your goal is a top tier employer. Nobody should even remotely begin to argue that, it is fact, and it is statistically proven if you look at hiring metrics.

With that being said, why not go get a seniority number sooner at a 121 which brings you that much closer to 121 PIC? Nobody at AMF is going from AMF to LCC right now. Hell just to have Omni look at you at AMF isn't it 3 years of employment? Same with Allegiant. Will that change? Maybe. If you want to cover your bases, by all means go get some 135 turbine PIC time flying old airplanes. It's an experience I'm glad I have done, I don't EVER want to do it again because of the lifestyle and a multitude of other issues. But if that's your jam, go for it. If your eye is on a 121 major airline, you are shorting yourself in the foot by going 135 freight. Sure you can check the 1,000TPIC box a little more quickly, but that won't mean much. The only prior AMF pilot I know at SWA was a guy who was unjustly fired from AMF in 2001, went to ExpressJet, and left last month for class.

There are a bunch of ways to skin a cat, and some avenues take longer than others. But the selling of 135 turbine pic time because it's super valuable and hard to come by is pretty disingenuous. One should also consider the QOL while you're gaining this time and experience. For me, AMF was a slave ship and horrendously fatiguing. For others, having to commute for a regional might be pure misery. AMF is stuck in the 1990s in lots of ways, not the least of which is selling the line that 1,000 TPIC is the benchmark to which everyone measures.

 

That's all well and good, and a step in the right direction, but it's literally a decade or more late, and thus further behind. Also, pay is one of many many factors to get people to stay.

Top Reasons We Stay at Our Jobs | TIME.com

AMF has done enough to get some through the door but not stop the bleeding. Short of going management, you'd have to have some serious things on your record to stay long term as a line pilot. You cannot compare AMF to other career jobs in aviation.

 

Fishing or assuming again? Either way you got nothing. You don't get it, and I don't expect you to.