Unless you enjoy being away from home a lot(legitimately 17-20 days a month) the only way Atlas is enjoyable is if you live in ANC on the 74, MIA is good for locals too but takes a bit of seniority to hold it. Or live in CVG or ONT on the 76, or some other special scenario on the 76 where you’re doing hub turns with outstation layovers where you live. You’ll get some extra days off at home on layovers in those cases so quality of life is better but you’re still paid well below industry standard and have no contractual protections guaranteeing those in base layovers will hold up. Or in the case of 76 outstation layovers no guarantee that route will stay with Atlas, they sometimes swap things around between DHL and Amazon contractors.

And don't forget that any month in which you have training, vacation, or sick time, you will suffer financially. Especially in your first years.

There's an open house on February 26th in Miami. Has anyone attended this event held by Atlas before? If so, what should I expect?

The advertisement stated that there's a possibility of being hired on the spot. What sort of flight hours and experience would trigger an immediate hire?

Expect rainbows, sunshine and unicorns. Do some homework on this place before you commit. Much better places are hiring.

I like what I do and who I work with. I also like most of the people in the union, including the folks that hate each other. Most of the instructors are top-notch and I even think most of our managers (director of training and standards, system chief pilot, safety, etc.) are decent. I like talking to my dispatchers. I like the mechanics. I like the loadmasters. I like all these guys, and I'm a total jerk! So a reasonable person like you would probably love most of these folks too.

The problems we face are systemic, not personal. Contract details can be found elsewhere and are discussed ad nauseam. Our training has improved by leaps and bounds, but we have some problem areas in which we may be regressing. By similar token, it seems like a lot of our dispatchers and mechanics are overtaxed. Compensation, retirement, benefits are all discussed in great detail elsewhere.

So I like the work. I like the people. I like the union. I even like the people that hate my guts; at least I know where they stand and what to expect from them. I like a lot of what I do. I don't punch the proverbial steering wheel on my way to work. It's actually pretty cool if you ignore all the awful stuff.

QOL at Atlas is horrible. Imagine working for an airline where almost every single line is built to minimum days off. That is Atlas. And if they don’t have enough flying to build a line to min days off? No problem they’ll simply tack on reserve days until it is! Meaning everyone from the most junior FO to the 20 year Captain has the same miserable QOL. Yes they would rather keep their thumb on you paying you to sit in a hotel room and do nothing in case they might need you rather than heaven forbid build a line with a couple of extra days off. Most of our business is scheduled and known well in advance and yet they still run the place like it’s a 500 pilot mom and pop ad hoc charter airline. No roster stability, “plug and play” scheduling that results in horribly fatiguing patterns that leave you exhausted at the end. Why would anyone, even a newly minted ATP, want to come here when just about every regional offers more days off and better QOL? Just to say you’ve been to Hong Kong? Trust me that novelty will wear off. When I see the banner ads on APC touting our destinations it reminds me of the that old Navy slogan “join the Navy and see the world”. That’s the big selling point because even the recruiters know Atlas has nothing else to offer.

This ^^^
Thank you.
121guy you sound like you’d probably be miserable at Delta.

The Atlas adventure! It's not just a job. It's $53 per diem.



https://youtu.be/jhioeOeOHsA

Oh look another guy who just loves to fly. Can’t wait to hear all about your Chinese girlfriend.

I don't think he means that. Nor do I. We're saying that if you're here, you have to find the positives to make it through the pattern in good spirits.

For prospective candidates, there's no good reason to come to Atlas. Other places advance your career faster, pay more, provide better benefits, etc. This is all well known and I don't have much to add which hasn't already been said. The simple facts are bad enough that commentary may make it seem like we're exaggerating the problems here. We're not.

Someone asked about the positives, so we mentioned them.