Does anyone know the current "upgrade time" from the PA31 to the BE99 at Ameriflight? Everthing ive read and heard was about 5-6 months. Is that still accurate now that no airline is hiring right now? Also, approximately how long would it take to get PHX or an outstation for PHX? Thanks.

SG

The trend I've seen is that those PHX BE99 oustations usually come up for bid in early summer (bet you can't guess why). If you got a job in the chieftain within the next couple months, my speculation is that next summer in the 99 (PHX outstationed) could be very realistic.

Hard to put a timetable on anything else, where there isn't a whole lot of movement in the company at the moment.

I'd say the days of 5-6 month upgrade are LONG gone for the time being.

Although Ameriflight is an excellent company. If you're flexible I would look at other places too. Right now I believe Cape Air is hiring 402 cpts if you meet the mins. Also they give bonus's is you move between the Caribbean and New England. On another note, if you dead set on Ameriflight I would go ahead and make the just as a chieftan cpt. It's good time building in a 135 company, and you build seniority.
I would make the decision soon because I would think slots would fill up with furloughed 121 pilots. Ameriflight would be a good company to hunker down in during this hard period.

Upgrade time at Ameriflight depends a great deal on your base and whether or not you are willing to accept an outstation. At my base, we have PA31 pilots who have been waiting a year for a BE99 slot. Some bases, like Phoenix, are all turbine. In that case, your initial training would be in a BE99.

I am phx based, I know we have a flagstaff and nogales outstations up for grabs. As far as getting hired being based in phoenix, not gonna happen for a while, not much movement with the current state of this business.

well I am almost to 135 mins (about another week, 2 at the most), and will be applying once I get them. Right now I am willing to take what I can get, but I would like to be back in PHX someday. Actually a FLG outstation would not be bad at all. How often do they hire direct in the 99?

You should look into becoming a training captain @ AMF...
get your foot in the door and be on top of the new opening. You'll fly a lot if your a training captain @ BUR

thats what you would be hired into if you took a phoenix outstation (flg,ols). word to the wise try to interview with the acp in phoenix, or they will try to stick you in burbank, oakland, or portland flying the piston. make it known to the hr in burbank that you want an outstation out of phoenix.

What exactly is a 'training captain'?