I spent 5 years in bush
alaska and it was the best flying I have ever done. The people in the villages really respect you and are thankful that you bring in the mail,medicines,doctors etc.
Scenery and wildlife are spectacular such as bears, caribou herds ( the mulchatna herd numbers 150,000 ) and many more.
find a reputable company that does good maintenence and enjoy.
I fly for PenAir and they are the best with both a 135 and 121 operation.
look at our website www.penair.com

Hey do you know if someone with 650tt/75 would have a chance to get hired by them, and are they still hiring now?
thanks

you need a 1000 hours and lately we have only hired pilots who already live in Alaska.
move up now the summer hiring will start soon and once established up here then apply

IF I were to show up in Anchorage early April ready to go, is there still opportunity to find some sort of flying job, or are most places already set for the season by then? And is merril field the best place to hang around to find something?
-thanks

Alaska Bush flying can really be a dead end. Everyone who I flew with in the bush are either dead or quit flying, and I flew with a lot of poeple up there. It is difficult to make contacts that amount to anything when you are a bush pilot and employers have a silent prejudice against AK pilots. If your dream is to fly for the airlines I would avoid it at all costs.

In Alaska I knew more people who died with a yoke in hand than ever made it to a major airline or anywhere for that matter. I had a blast up there but i also credit it with helping to kill my career.

SKyHigh

Flying in Bush Alaska has gotten much safer over the years. I've done it for 8 years, and haven't had the same experience as the previous poster. Alaskan flight time has helped many pilots to get hired by at least one currently profitable airline, Alaska. A negative attitude is a good way to kill a career.

If you are the son of an AS check airman Alaska Airlines might hire a bush pilot. Outside of that they commonly avoid them. What they claim and do are two diffrent things. By the way it hasn't gotten that much safer.

SkyHigh

Your sources suck. I personally know 4 bush pilots who went from my company to Alaska Airlines, none of whom have check airmen parents. The FAA and the insurance companys are forcing airlines to fly safer. Insurance rates are through the roof. Now, more than ever, it pays not to kill your customers. Its not like the old days.

Nothing has changed since I was there. Companies didn't want to kill customers then either. You still have the same conditions, bad WX, small planes, few WX reporting stations and a demand from pax to get where they are going. If you tell your boss that you can't go because the weather is less than 1000 and 5 while he watches a competitor taxi out with your pax it still will not put a smile on his face. Perhaps you work for Penair, ERA, Frontier or for a sight seeing company where they can afford a little safety? All the places I worked still crash planes and face challenging decisions everyday. I know that it has been a long time since AS hired anyone from the bush and it will be even longer to never now. These days you have to be a CRJ or military superstar to get noticed. A kingair out of Barrow will not cut it anymore. Unless of course you are well connected.

SKyHigh

there are at least ten guys (and two Gals) from penair who are at Alaska that came from PenAir.
It is as safe to fly up here as anywhere. whats different is most is single pilot and little supervision. So guys that break rules have problems. Fly by the rules and be safe.
our company is a great place to work and is absolutely safe and fun and management wants us to be safe. In fact our company procedures are much more restrictive than the FAR's