Over 50 Crowd?
 

Nothing against the younger guys/gals but was curious how the older folks are holding up working for the regionals. How long with the airline? Do you commute? Any that are just doing it to get out of the house? If so, are you enjoying it? Days wear you out? For 15 years I had a job flying 5-6 hours a day and I knew it kicked my butt at times. It was in a helicopter so maybe in an airliner it is a little more tolerable? Chime in from the trenches old men! LOL! Thanks much in advance for the info and safe flights!

Eagle, now Envoy, has a guy who commutes out of San Francisco area. He made his money in construction, but always wanted to become an airline pilot. He is always happy, and loving life. He is a go getter by nature. He is in his late fifties.

The flying is easy, the reduced rest overnights, CDOs, and the company BS is wearing. The job is not hard, dealing with the company will drive one crazy.

It really is what you make of it. If you went from being a janitor to being an airline pilot - nothing will beat being an airline pilot. If you went from being a night club owner partying every night and waking up whenever you wanted with no set schedule, then you may not end up liking the job so much.

This guy you mention is a "hobbyist", he doesn't need the job, he isn't trying to raise a family, doesn't need to be at home very much, and certainly doesn't need the money. So for him, this job is a hobby he can walk away from at any time. So of course, he's always happy.

The 5 plus legs a day can really kick your behind, although commuting is the real killer. If you have anything over 2 hours, it makes the job a lot more tiring. The 10 hr overnights, have improved things remarkably from the 8 hr days, which meant 5 hrs sleep in many cases. With ten hrs, you still have to be disciplined, but you can get 8 hrs sleep. The best way to stay energetic is to not get involved in the daily screw-ups and in-competencies, let the clowns do their show, you stay relaxed and your cortisol levels stay down, you don't get os tired.

I'm 58 and am at my third regional and fourth airline overall.

I started as a flight attendant, went to Comair and was there 15 years as a pilot until Delta shut us down. Went to TransStates and commuted the entire time. Commuting in my 30's as a flight attendant was bad...commuting in my 50s, as a pilot, was just as bad if not worse.

An opportunity to go to PSA came along and now I'm DAY based and life is much easier.

Bedrock's response is great and I'll add this...don't commute unless you have too. If one has to commute, commuting to a base where you can also drive is the next best thing. I find working out 5-6 days a week is a huge help.

Doing 3-5 legs a day as a pilot is much easier than 3-5 legs a day as a flight attendant.

Appreciate the replies, everyone. I would be making a 2 hour drive each way if I was to get hired. There may be the option to stay with my son occasionally who lives about 5 min. from the airport. Do you find it easy to stay out of the company BS or is it one of those viruses that seem to make it's way in when you least expect it? Can't say that I'm coming from a gig as a janitor or a night club owner but I haven't been doing much since getting layed off flying news in a helicopter a few years ago. Days went from being bored out of my skull to adrenalin rushes that had me staring at the ceiling all night. After, went back to working in manufacturing 9-5 jobs which got mundane pretty quick. But very predictable and home every night. Thought it was only right to share some stuff about myself since some of have been kind enough to do the same. Probably just need to throw fate to the wind and see what happens. Thanks.

I'm 51. Practicing law for 23 years and sick of fighting the same issues with the same people day after day. I'm joining Endeavor next month.

I'm coming from helo's as well..I'll be driving 2hrs, plus a one leg commute that's about 1hr. So 3hrs travel time to commute. I plan on trying to nap on the way, plus coming from 12hr shifts, I doubt the awake time is gonna be much different. I was told also one can "rest up" at the end of that first day and I feel like the other 3 days will be fairly manageable. Just my plan, we'll see how it plays out. I'm def not moving from where I love now, and I really don't see the point in it, if one ever wants to go to a major. That's just gonna mean packing up the fam, and moving again, to a city you Prob do to want to live in.

I am 46 years old and ready to make a career change as a pilot. I have been in the military for over 22 years and I am tired of working in a cubicle stearing at a computer and briefing power point. I can't wait to be an airline pilot.

60+ here. Only regional I've ever been at is Eagle for 20+ years. Only commuted a few times and it is a horrible thing. It's been a fine life. Wish I could have moved up to the majors but I make around $130k, which is plenty for me, and my schedule is good - it used to be amazing until Doug and Tonic started taking away all of our mid day flying and creeating crap schedules for all!

I'm not over 50 but I'm over 40. I'm a so called hobbyist. I made my money in another field and then sold my business. Also, I am previous 121 from when I was much younger.

When you guys are saying the commuting is horrible, are you talking multi leg commutes, across the country commutes, etc? Wouldn't seem like a short (1hr) one leg commute on company metal would be soo bad, esp when there are multiple flts a day? Just asking from having no experience doing it.

I would say that is a fair statement. Single leg one hour commute on mainline metal 10x per day.

I'm 48 next month. Spent 20+ years in engineering. 6 figure income. Quit and went to ASA when I was 43 at 20k/yr. Best job I have ever had, but I could go back to engineering and 6 figures tomorrow if I wanted to, so I don't live with the same concerns a lot of guys have. Also, my kids are grown and I saved a lot when I made a lot.

From someone that DOES have experience commuting, 15 years and still going. As well as been through SEVEN domicile closures, and been in 9 different domiciles.

FIRST OFF, ALL COMMUTES SUCK. What you are outlining above simply means a less sucky commute. But here's a few possible scenarios/contingencies to consider that MIGHT pan out;

1) If there's a lot of commuters that are offline, THEN mainline partner hands over said route segment to ANOTHER regional provider, that can suck.

2) Mainline partner decides to drastically cut the schedule between said cities. And even though it's "company metal", NOW you're having to spend MORE personal time commuting. You're now waking up to catch the 6am departure to make a 12 noon show, to fly 5 legs, and you wont get to the hotel till midnight. Because there ISN'T another/later flight that can get you there before noon. But at least you spent a night in your bed.

3) Mainline partner decides to downsize said domicile and you get displaced out of said domicile. And NOW you are commuting to ANOTHER domicile that DOESN'T have hourly service, on your own metal. There MIGHT be a slight chance you can get back to said domicile, maybe not.

4) Said domicile for said regional is extremely senior, and a new hire CAN'T even hold it, for years.....

5) Mainline partner decides they are done with your regional provider in said mainline hub, and completely shuts down the operation. Now that hourly service, on your own metal, once an hour is............GONE. Along with the domicile.

I'm pretty sure that in my seven base closures, I've experienced a majority of the above.

In theory, yes. In the above situation, I did hub to commutes 4 times. 10 flights a day on "mainline metal" is nice. Till they start canceling, and snowball effect happens. You show up for the 8am, but the 6am canceled, and ALL those JS'ers and Non-revers are all waiting at the gate when you start waltzing up. Especially if the 6am was a wide body (high capacity) aircraft.

OR, there's simply a metric crap-ton of mainline commuters that are commuting to the OTHER city simply because the home city DOESN'T have wide body seats/int'l flying. So all those super senior guys commute, and their hire/pass travel boarding dates are in the early 80's. NEVER MIND all the FAs/pilots taking what few open seats are left in the back. And the FAs have boarding dates in the early 70s.

This is all very true.

If it gets to be too much, I just call in sick and try again another day. I try and sound concerned on the phone.

Don't sell yourself short by calling yourself a hobbyist. You are still young enough to make it a career.

I am considering waiting 1 more year before making my move. I am planning on being just as involved with the union side of things as any other pilot.

Well hopefully there aren't a lot of commuters from MEM to CLT or BNA to CLT...That's my only option at the moment due to family situation. I still have a 2hr drive to one of those two airports. With that said, there are 4 guys in my hometown that work with 3 different major carriers. They have all commuted 99% of their careers, and they all say that commuting is a state of mind. They said if you go into it knowing their may be days you have to go up a day ahead, or stay a day after the trip, it isn't all that bad.

You did what you had to do. Wise on your part to make something of yourself before committing to the pilot profession.

Great responses all. Really appreciated. Sounds like I could consider myself fortunate to drive the 2 hours to base. Seems like it would get old quick if I was doing it every night though. If the base closed, I think that would be extent of my 121 career.

Yes...all the above.

When a flight attendant, I commuted between DTW/FNT and ORD. There was a combination of mainline and regional. Sometimes, I had to leave from one city and return to the other. The biggest problem was this interfered with my ex-wife's extra-curricular activities. That also brings up the question of family support. Is that an issue?

When at Comair, I commuted between DFW and CVG since my wife was pregnant with our second daughter. Between DL and AA, there were seven daily flights. A two-leg commute through IND, ORD or BNA wasn't out of the question. I did that a few times each direction.

At TransStates, the commute wasn't bad out of DAY/CVG to IAD. But, UAL controlled the schedule and in the winter of 2014-2015, that became quite challenging. What was 3-4 flights daily went from 0-4 daily and sometimes flights cancelled between the time I left home and the airport...a one-hour drive. That happened more than once. I held a captain bid for ORD, but the PSA opportunity came up and, based upon the commuting experience between DTW/FNT-ORD, I just didn't want to do that again.

Flightsoffusion, many airlines have a two-hour reserve callout so your two-hour drive shouldn't be a factor. Good luck!

Good plan. But it can depend on the carrier A&R policy.

I'm doing the mid-life change at 40. Loving it.

This Career CAN be good IF you live in Domicile and your Domicile and your Airline don't go TU (highly unlikely, but possible).
Best thing is to just accept the fact that its going to be like the Military and you are, in all likelihood, going to have to move at some point, or like me, a whole bunch of times. I've had 3 Domiciles shut down on me, but I consider myself lucky that my Regional hasn't closed the doors... yet. It really is just a friggen crap shoot in this Career & Industry- some do alright and manage to stay married and have a good life and a lot don't. I say try it for a couple of years and see if it's for you. If it is, great...if not, get the hell out at 2 years or less because otherwise you will get sucked into a Black Hole. You might "go native" and end up all the way up the river, like Colonel Kurtz.

Do most so-called "hobbyists" stay at the regionals, or move on? If money is not a factor, I wonder whether very senior schedules control those decisions.

BUT, unlike the military, you have no job security, no pension, no lateral mobility. Of course, you don't get shot at either; but most of the military is in that category. Moving is not really an option, unless you are single or your spouse has some extremely portable career. i can't think of one offhand. Every career takes time to build.

Well I can't speak for everyone but clearly QOL outweighs money for me but having said that I still want to be paid well. I wish it was possible to just do this on a part time basis, 1 or 2 trips per month.

What is your current schedule that allows you to accommodate your outside projects?

I drop as many trips as I can.

Can you explain dropping trips Tom? Are there penalties for doing so? Does the max amount of trips allowed to drop, change each bid or is it really frowned on at all? Have no experience in this sector of the flying industry. Hence the reason for the layman questions. Thanks.

Gotcha. I had heard that dropping trips at many regionals is now impossible given staffing shortages.

Some airlines allow you to drop trips below your monthly minimum guarantee. You won't make as much money as a result but you trade $$ for QOL. However, many regionals don't offer this, and the best attainable schedule might only grant you 15 days off per month on the high side, obviously can vary with the regional and how they're staffed. In that case then maybe you can trade trips and call in sick.

Sorry if this presents a thread drift, but have you looked at corporate in your area? There is a real need for fixed/rotor guys that pay big compensation out there if you are willing to look around.

Can you link to some dual rated jobs? I've got a few thousand hrs turbine helo, not so much fixed wing. Looking into regional because I figured they are the only place that'll have me with the low FW time lol!

this is actually a good thread, keep it going guys

Thanks BP, I actually have but most of those cush dual gigs seem to be on the East coast as far as I can tell. And if they are here in San Diego, they're locked up good. I would even take an FW-FO gig here if I could find one. Unfortunately, with almost 8000 helo but only 1000 FW my flight time is way off balance. Hoping some 121 time may help get things back in check.

With so many over 50's checking off their bucket list as "become airline pilot", maybe regional airlines should start advertising in Prevention and AARP magazines instead of the flying mags.

Actually.. this is a great thread.. You can see the difference in how the older guys communicate here compared to the younger regional guy .. Sorry if that offends anyone.. :)

47 year old here.. Retired Navy rotor wing and C-12 guy (B200). Did a few years in Afghanistan and a couple years flying a Falcon 900 in Saudi. Starting a regional job next week, just to have something closer to home. Tried to get a local corporate gig, but nothing worthwhile turned up.. Majors are an option, but at this point, I don't want to commute.. I really commend and look forward to a more mature perspective in the flight deck. When I spoke to another friend going through a sister company's ground school, there were lots of older guys throwing their hat in.