Has anyone done or know of someone who has done this? I'm closing in on the 1500 hours and am looking to make the jump to 121, however, I have been accepted to fly KC-135s for a guard unit and am currently waiting for my letter to appoint for OTS and UPT. My question is, if a regional hires me and it turns out I won't be able to attend class due to my OTS/UPT commitment, can I take mil leave or is that frowned upon? Or is it likely my job offer will get taken away?

I don't want to give up my UPT dates, but I also don't know when I will leave for OTS and UPT, they're looking just as backed up as the regionals right now.

 

Take the first class date at a regional you want and drop mil leave once you’ve got orders.

 

This.

It's not ideal to drop extended mil leave in your first year at an airline, but I wouldn't give up the seniority or the UPT slot in this case.

 

Its not an ideal situation but you can’t put your life on hold for months or even years waiting for .mil to make good on promises.

Recommend looking at a regional with a pathway program to a major you want to be a lifer at. If they’ve got a flow through the clock will be running while you’re on mil leave and if they’ve got a interview program a military background will check more boxes and perhaps get you hired earlier than applying directly off the street would.

 

Thank you for the replies everyone, this was what I was thinking but I wanted to ask and see what all of you thought.

 

Don’t do it at GoJet

 

Now that's funny!

I saw Envoy met their veterans and guard/reserves folks at gates with a nice coin and thank you card from the CEO this veteran's day. That was really thoughtful, not to mention they are supportive of those still serving. Hopefully this is common in the industry, but certainly not at GoJet where folks get fired when returning from drill.

 

First - its 2018 and reality is simple: employers generally do not care about you. Loyalty is an old clause and an ideology. Now, that doesn't mean tear the walls, be unprofessional, or become vindictive. It means take care of you first. Be prepared to apply tact and strategy in this regard.

Second - congrats. You've got a good problem on your hands. Based on your post I will assume your FC1 is wrapped up. After that it can take a while to get your OTS dates so my recommendation is to not slow down a bit in your current flying job. Go to a regional and get a number. If they hired you and you didn't become an employee before you go to UPT, it is what it is...your choice on the matter (but if handled professionally I dont see why they wouldnt give you another shot later). You can also consider asking to be pushed back a bit on dates with your unit but that's a dice roll in the case of "be careful what you wish for".

Again you've got a good problem - work it positively. You're figuring out to have you cake and eat it too, now it's just chosing what toppings you can possibly add on. That's not an opportunity many people have in this career or in life in general.

Feel free to PM with questions/UPT happenings.