Hello everyone - after 24 years in retail management, it’s time for a career change. They say when you love what you do it isn’t work - I can tell you that isn’t the case now. I’ve been fascinated/excited by planes/aviation/travel in general for quite some time, and really caught the bug a few years ago. My wife and I travel frequently and I’ve always wondered if that could be me in the cockpit. I recently started with lessons at my local airport, and am looking at making the switch and going to ATP full time. The fixed cost and compressed timeline is very appealing. Fortunately I’ve been able to save more than enough money to live on for several years before this turns into a paying job, and she is very supportive of the change and following my dreams. There’s a great wealth of information out there, and I understand everything will be based on seniority - so at 42 it’s time to do it. Questions for the pilots - once you make it to a regional airline - how is your home base decided? What if it is not near where you live? What is the schedule like? What is the best way to earn money besides being a CFI while building hours? Many thanks…
Curtis,
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When you’re hired at a Regional you’ll be based on where they need you. Periodically (depending on the airline) they’ll open vacancy bids and you can bid for a different base. Until you do you’ll need to commute. With all the movement right now that shouldn’t take long but that’s now and of course things can change.
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Schedules vary from airline to airline and fleet to fleet. As a newhire you’ll be on Reserve and will fly where, when and how often the airline needs you. As you gain seniority you’ll have more control over your schedule. I recommend you visit the schedules section of the forum where you can see our various schedules and how they’ve changed as seniority builds. In the beginning you should count on flying and being gone approx 18 days a month and missing most holidays and weekends.
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If you’re instructing for ATP its a full-time job and you wouldn’t be able to work elsewhere. You could of course instruct part-time elsewhere but it when then take much longer to reach the required 1500hrs.
Adam
Curtis,
I commuted for sixteen years, I do not recommend it. I lived near Norfolk and worked out of Newark. Commuting via airplane takes up your days off and costs you money, but more importantly time. I now drive to IAD and while it is a three hour drive, it is far better than commuting via airplane. My point here is that I would strongly encourage you to apply to an airline that has a base where you live, or move to wherever you are based,
Chris
Curtis,
Your first day of indoc you bid for your aircraft and base. The airline can decide which bases are available to bid for and then after that your chances of getting your desired base is subject to your class seniority. Each airline has their historically junior bases, it would be in your best interest to choose one that is near your home. If not, you can commute but it has its challenges. I chose to commute while at the regionals so that any moves I made would be more permanent when I made it to a major. It was tough but I managed.
Instructing with ATP is by far the best way to build your hours quickly, get paid relatively well and have access to dozens of tuition reimbursement and pathway programs that help you make ends meet until reaching the regionals.
Hannah