Can some Atlas pilots share some info on the qol? I was told you guys get 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off? is that accurate? what is the pay during training? and do they provide hotel? Also, on this website it says that 1st year guranttee is 50 hours a month. Can you pick up on your days off to make extra money if on reserve? If no, then what is a typical monthly gross for a reserve pilot, $75 x 50 hours plus how much per diem?

Are you able to jumpseat on all major airlines?

How senior is the Houston Express base? Which base is the junior base?

You're on for 17 days a month so it's a bit more than 2 on/2 off. However in August and Sept Scheduling was done with me after 14-15 days and I was able to go home. Training pay is 300 a week and the company puts you up in MIA. You're on that till OE or you do an "observation ride." They sent me off a couple days after my checkride to observe and I got off training pay before OE.

Atlas was in the middle of contract negotiations and voluntarily extending was frowned on as it was thought the company wanted to raise the number of working days and would use stats of how many pilots "VXed" to show the pilot group overall was willing to work more than 17 days. It's gone to arbitration and I'm not sure what the feeling is now, the company could still point out folks are will to work more than 17 days. For me at the end of 17 days I'm ready to go home and clean out the mailbox.

Per diem runs about 800-900 a month and you can jump seat. IAH went sort of in the middle (above me in F/Os but that's not saying much.) HSV is junior.

I posted a similar question on the other forum, but got no response. So I guess I will ask it here as well.

Sorry to start a new Atlas topic with the other one still in progress, but I had a question regarding just the schedules. I've read the Atlas thread on this forum and the other one over and over, but perhaps I missed the info I was looking for.

Here is what I know. Lines are built to 17 days on. Of the remaining days off the company can extend you for four, but it costs them. Also, although it rearely happens, one can get two 17 day trips back to back. I understand all this and accept that if I'm lucky enough to get an interview and the job.

What I am wondering is, does seniority mean anything as far as how much one works or how many days off one can get a month? In other words, is every single line built to 17 days on? Are the most senior CAs and FOs also working 17 days on or are some lines built to ie. 14 or 15 days on?

Also, are all lines built to 17 days in a row or is there a mixture of split lines in the month?

Thanks for the info.

Atlas uses preferential bidding. When you look at the bid package, not all lines will be 17 days. In fact, most aren't. But scheduling will tack on reserve days to bring your schedule up to 17 days. It may be at your house, at your base or somewhere else.

Some pilots split their days, some work them all at once.

Good outfit we had a couple of PAA guys go over in the early years, Bob "Boom" Powell still over there?

I got hired with a guy at Skywest with a guy that had left Atlas by his own choice. He was right seat in the 747 making decent money (by regional standards, not great for the 747) and left to come work at Skywest for $19/hour. He said he couldn't take the schedule anymore. He talked about getting extended and geting his long (17 day trips) lined up back to back , which kept him away for more than a month at a time.

I thought it was pretty telling for an international widebody pilot to be willing to start over at a regional. He was single, so it wasn't like he was trying to keep a family on the tracks either.

We need a fair and reasonable contract. If we get it, then things will be OK.

It will always be a non-sched, long haul gig, so you will never have a "normal life". But management could do a lot, for very little cost, to make our lives much more livable.

I was there a while back, based in the exciting and exotic city of Stansted. My impressions of the company are as follows:

-if you are single and unattached, Atlas is a great gig. Lots of variety of flying. Great hotels, equipment, and crews.

-Gateway basing seemed like a great deal (to someone on the outside looking in). Being based in Stansted, I didn't have it, which made the job quite a bit different for me than those with gateway basing. I think they've resolved this issue now, but someone with more recent experience will have to chime in.

-The 50 hour probationary guarantee is a huge bite. I took a major pay hit coming from left seat at a regional. I never once broke 50 hours my first year.

-Part of the beauty and curse of ACMI flying is the unpredictability. It's just the nature of the business. If you have a major problem with your schedule being completely re-written in the middle of a trip, this isn't the kind of lifestyle for you.

-I turned in my resignation after having two 17 day blocks back up to each other, then getting extended on top of that. Again, if I didn't have any pressing reasons to be home, it wouldn't have been an issue. If you have a family, particularly a young one, this puts a lot of strain on it.

Good luck

Just to be clear, we do not have home basing. We have proposed this to the company, but they continue to reject it. If you live at your base, you do not qualify for gateway travel EVER! unless you get involuntarily forced out of your base.

Commuting is the hardest part of this job IMHO. You travel on your own time to your base which eats away many days each year of your time. Gateway travel helps because you don't have to worry about making it. You have a ticket.