Not on your life- You will only get the per diem if you get stranded due to wx/mx and dont make it back to your base. This happened 3 times in 2 years while I was there. Points for optimism though.

 

Thanks, the APC page for Cape only says (Per Diem: $36)..maybe they should change that. Kind of misleading. Can you tell me about your typical day on the line. I wonder if it's anything like a big regional. I left Expressjet 4 years ago to try something different and want to come back to aviation. I don't have a plan for the future and think Cape is the type of place I'd like to try out since I'm still in my early 30's. I have 1900 hours total time of which 1400 hours is 121 turbine time on the Emb-145. I think I'll be good in the future should I be required to have turbine time somewhere, granted it's not PIC turbine but it's turbine just the same. I only have about 400 hours of PIC time and I think Cape is a good place to increase that while becoming a better rounded pilot. I dont want to get stuck in line at a regional in the $20k - 40k range for the next 5-10 years as an FO. I think I would be happy making an average of $40k-50k per year as a captain at Cape Air for the next 3-5 years and weigh my options after that. Whats most attractive to me is being home each night and having short hauls. I hated living out of hotel rooms 4 days a week and sitting in airports not getting paid. My goal is only to make a decent happy living, not a move to the majors. What do you think? Is Cape a good fit for me in your opinion?

 

Yes absolutely. Another difference to consider in addition to the ones you posted is how flexible are you with where you live? Cape Air is a very difficult job to commute to. That may have changed since I left but I don't think it has. You could be based out of training anywhere from various parts of the Midwest and Montana, to New England, to the mid Atlantic or parts of the Caribbean.

If your flexible it sounds perfect for you. It's a great place to work.

 

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. Can someone describe a typical day at Cape Air?

 

Is it true that new FO's are moving every 6 months? Also what are the junior bases currently?

 

It's been a while for me, it used to be that if you chose to live in one of the larger bases (BOS, HYA, SJU) then for the first year or two you could not hold your base year round. It would be the Northeast in the Summer and the Caribbean in the Winter. But you had the advantage of living in a larger city, and having a more varied schedule, picking up extra days if you want. And you got paid a bit more for making the move in the winter, moving expenses, higher Caribbean rate, and something called the 2 season bonus. So that was the way to go if you where after the money.

If you chose to live in one of the podunk EAS outstations (there are dozens of them... something like Rockland, Maine or Saranac Lake, NY) You might be based there with just 1 other person and work a simple half-time rotation. Nice and easy, routine, hold your base year round. But little opportunity for extra money.

Edit: This is for Captains. AFAIK they don't normally base FO's in the outstations.

 

This is exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks for the great information.

 

So nowadays, you think getting a NE base like HYA, etc year around is possible at all? I know that it's based on need when you finish training...just curious if the winter in the Caribbean/summer in the Cape is still the norm? I start Nov 4.

Also, training wise...any thoughts/comments on the 135 ride? I know it'll be ATP standards but wanted to hear a few experiences if anybody had any good tips/stories.

 

For the time being you can expect to be going north / south with the seasons for a couple years. This year we are much thinner on pilots than we were last year. Of course, you know how things can change in this industry so.

 

How does the whole spending half the year in one location and the other half in another work with housing? What do most people do for living accommodations? Obviously you guys aren't maintaining two residences right? How do most guys make this work? Does the company provide any assistance?