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Wheels Up Hiring

Old 02-09-2024, 10:19 AM
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Default Wheels Up Hiring

Hello all,

I am a CFI/CFII reaching R-ATP minimums. I have always been interested in 135 flying, but ending up at a major 121 carrier is my end goal. With regional class dates being pushed so far back, I am starting to seriously consider applying to wheels up. I have a couple of questions that I couldn't find answers to during my research. My first question is, are they actively hiring, and if so, are they experiencing any class/training delays? My second question is can I expect to make the minimum salary of 70,000 flying the king air as an FO? I saw some mention of extra soft pay depending on legs flown but could not find a solid answer anywhere.

I appreciate any and all insight.
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Old 02-09-2024, 02:50 PM
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I know this doesn't answer your question, but the new Wheels Up Senior VP of Operations just got banished from Delta and sent to Wheels Up. Under no circumstances would I want to work anywhere with that guy is running the operation.
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Old 02-09-2024, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by StoneQOLdCrazy View Post
I know this doesn't answer your question, but the new Wheels Up Senior VP of Operations just got banished from Delta and sent to Wheels Up. Under no circumstances would I want to work anywhere with that guy is running the operation.
There are no perfect leaders and it is certainly easy to find faults in the one you are referring to but come on. His time in that role at Delta saw some of the best operational metrics in recent memory. Is that solely and directly attributable to him? Of course not but to say or otherwise dramatcially imply he will be the demise of W/U is over the top and hyperbolic at best.
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Old 02-10-2024, 06:12 PM
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Originally Posted by ThatOneCFI View Post
Hello all,

I am a CFI/CFII reaching R-ATP minimums. I have always been interested in 135 flying, but ending up at a major 121 carrier is my end goal. With regional class dates being pushed so far back, I am starting to seriously consider applying to wheels up. I have a couple of questions that I couldn't find answers to during my research. My first question is, are they actively hiring, and if so, are they experiencing any class/training delays? My second question is can I expect to make the minimum salary of 70,000 flying the king air as an FO? I saw some mention of extra soft pay depending on legs flown but could not find a solid answer anywhere.

I appreciate any and all insight.
So you're approaching 1,000 or 1,250 hrs? The regional 'back up' is how long? In the meantime how much flying are you doing? Eighty hours, or more, a month? That's hardly a setback while waiting for your regional training to start.

The pay is, in the long term, immaterial. What really matters is which job fills gaps in your resume? Which improves your resume the most? The quickest? Which flies the most?

For regional pilots the top 2 items doing well in training is - good grades and prior Part 121 experience. To some extent that probably applies to getting to a major airline. I'd stick with pursuing Part 121 flying.
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Old 02-27-2024, 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by ThatOneCFI View Post
Hello all,

I am a CFI/CFII reaching R-ATP minimums. I have always been interested in 135 flying, but ending up at a major 121 carrier is my end goal. With regional class dates being pushed so far back, I am starting to seriously consider applying to wheels up. I have a couple of questions that I couldn't find answers to during my research. My first question is, are they actively hiring, and if so, are they experiencing any class/training delays? My second question is can I expect to make the minimum salary of 70,000 flying the king air as an FO? I saw some mention of extra soft pay depending on legs flown but could not find a solid answer anywhere.

I appreciate any and all insight.
Yes, wheels up is actively hiring. I was hired December 28th and was in class on January 15th. Yes you’d make the $70k, plus more if you got the King Air. You are forgetting per diem, and some extra pay that we get. There are more than just king airs as well. Beech Jets, Citations, and more. Cessna CFIs with a handful of multi time even getting put into citation Xs, which even bring a higher pay scale. Wheels Up is not a bad place to go despite all the hype around it. Very happy here so far. If you have questions, DM me 👍
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Old 02-28-2024, 10:42 AM
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Be extremely careful about Wheels Up, especially if they have a training contract. Their financials have been teetering on the edge for quite a while now. Delta is bailing them out so far because they have a huge liability if WU ceases operations.

My big concern revolves around a training contract, if they have one. What happens if they file Chapter 11 and slash pilot pay? Are you still stuck with the training contract?

If no contract then by all means grab the type rating and hope for the best.
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Old 02-28-2024, 10:56 AM
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Originally Posted by AirBear View Post
What happens if they file Chapter 11 and slash pilot pay? Are you still stuck with the training contract?
.
Does wheels up have a pilots union/CBA at present? And are the covered under the RLA?

Because the "bankruptcy = pilot pay cuts" idea is from the history of pre-deregualtion era contracts getting gutted 20 years ago. And they were cut because they were above market wages.

WheelsUp pilot pay is not significantly (at all?) above market.
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Old 02-28-2024, 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by AirBear View Post
Be extremely careful about Wheels Up, especially if they have a training contract. Their financials have been teetering on the edge for quite a while now. Delta is bailing them out so far because they have a huge liability if WU ceases operations.

My big concern revolves around a training contract, if they have one. What happens if they file Chapter 11 and slash pilot pay? Are you still stuck with the training contract?

If no contract then by all means grab the type rating and hope for the best.
If any company goes into bankruptcy then that doesn’t bode well for anyone. Any aviation company is always teetering on the edge, some more than others, tough business. WUP had a rough stretch as they expanded pretty quickly and purchased a few companies. They are making corrections and figuring it out. It’s not the doom and gloom everyone thinks. To answer the contract question, yes there is for one year but you can buy yourself out at a prorated price. It’s not that bad. Also, most people do not have a contract with Wheels Up, but with one of the companies that they had purchased. And the contract is with that company, not with Wheels Up. Until just a couple years ago, Wheels Up didn’t actually own any aircraft.
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Old 02-29-2024, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by RockyPilot14 View Post
If any company goes into bankruptcy then that doesn’t bode well for anyone. Any aviation company is always teetering on the edge, some more than others, tough business. WUP had a rough stretch as they expanded pretty quickly and purchased a few companies. They are making corrections and figuring it out. It’s not the doom and gloom everyone thinks. To answer the contract question, yes there is for one year but you can buy yourself out at a prorated price. It’s not that bad. Also, most people do not have a contract with Wheels Up, but with one of the companies that they had purchased. And the contract is with that company, not with Wheels Up. Until just a couple years ago, Wheels Up didn’t actually own any aircraft.
That's not correct. They had 80 plus King Airs, 15ish Excels, and at least a handful of 10s before they went on their buying spree of 135 companies. Managed by Gama, but owned by WUP. I'm convinced there was no business plan to begin with. At all. Just the world's greatest salespeople.
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Old 02-29-2024, 01:08 PM
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Most of Wheels Up's planes are junk. Worn out King Air 350's and Beechjet 400A's

The reason they are not profitable is because their planes go down for maintenance every other leg.

If you enjoy sitting around at airports for days, waiting on your plane to be fixed than it is a great place to work.

If you like racking up hours in your logbook, than work for a company that doesn't have to contract out every single maintenance job.
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