I notice that there are a variety of collateral duties that airline pilots can have, like hiring boards, union representatives, chief pilot, or pilot examiners for the airlines. What are all the duties you can have, and what sort of benefits do these come with? Do they come with additional pay, or is it just a resume builder? Is every pilot expected to do some of these jobs occasionally, or is it just something more you’re able to volunteer for? Is it even voluntary or are you assigned duties?
There are actually many opportunities at the airlines for pilots other than flying. Let me start by saying none of them are required or expected. You are hired to fly and that’s your job. As for why people get involved in other areas, that varies considerably based on the individual, the position and where they are in their career.
Pilots at Regionals often take these jobs to build their resumes, while those at Majors really don’t need to any further. When you talk about becoming Chief Pilot (or other positions in mgmt. Some airlines have Fleet Capts who oversee every fleet, Asst Chief, Tech Mgr, Training Mgr, etc) it’s usually because they’re either have an interest in mgmt (and are kind of over or bored with flying), want a more regular 9-5 schedule, or want a pay bump as these positions usually pay pretty well. Some also have a genuine interest in helping out or improving things at the airline and will get involved for that reason. Hiring boards usually rotate people and that’s not a full-time time gig. Just a day here or there and yes you’ll get paid. All open positions with the airline are advertised to the pilot group and it’s up to you to apply if you’re interested.
The only real volunteer work is with the union. In fact most pilot contracts state if you do ANY work for the company you must be paid. To do union commitee work you simply need to apply. The union generally always needs volunteers so it’s really just a matter of picking a committee that interests you as there are committees for EVERYTHING from safety to training to meals and uniforms. If you want to be a Rep or in the Leadership you must be elected by the pilot group.
Oh and I forgot to mention the best gig (IMHO) check airman. I became a Line Check Airman at the beginning of last year and I absolutely love the job. We just fly (I never really enjoyed sim) and the best part is we get to bid our regular schedule, and they just yank off (and pay protect) our FOs and replace them with newhires or upgrades doing OE (operating experience). I enjoy it because I’m flying everyday with either newbies who are excited to be here or upgrades who are stoked as well (basically happy pilots) and I get to do some instructing which I’ve always enjoyed. There’s also a pay bump but that really was never my motivation (unfortunately some do it for the money and I think that comes across).
Anyway this was my goal from the beginning. The first pilots you fly with are Check Airman and had some great ones that really left a strong impression and I wanted to have the same opportunity.
On a funny side note when I became a check airman all these senior FOs started to “buddy bid” me (bid to fly with me) and I was thinking “hmmmm, I never knew I was so popular?”. Then I realized it was because they were all hoping to be pulled off the trips and still get paid. It wasn’t that they wanted to fly with me, they just didn’t want to fly!
Adam answered your question well. There’s quite a few opportunities for pilots to work other jobs within the company. At my company, for FO’s, you have the opportunity to work as a LOSA observer. Your duties would include occasionally sitting on the jumpseat to observe daily line flights to take notes on operations. This way the company can see items that are commonly missed or possible improvements to SOPs. Other jobs I can think of at the moment would be opportunities to work within the hiring department or working as an assistant to the chief pilot. Fleet manager, director of line ops, director of training, etc… are often reserved for senior captains looking for a management role. Some of these jobs mean that you’ll be flying a desk instead of a plane, but you’ll be home every night, which is a big positive for some. Of course there’s opportunities to work in the training department, but this is often reserved for captains or non-line flying pilots who are waiting for a medical. We get messages from the company when positions like these become available so that we can submit our resumes. I’ve found that most are taken by people who want to be home every night, or are waiting for our mainline flow. Meaning they aren’t in a rush to build hours or upgrade. Regardless, it is a great opportunity and it benefits both you and the company!
Sometimes I purposely trip trade into trips that I know are with a check airman. It’s a win/win for me. If I get to fly with them, I’m sure to have an experienced captain who I can continue to learn from. If I get pulled, I get time off and I’m pay protected. Only issue is that they can reassign you each day that you are displaced, up until noon the day prior. So I do have to continually check my schedule for those days. Being a check airman seems like a good job. I’d just like to do it so that I can be an instructor again! Occasionally we have observation flights with new FO’s on the jumpseat, and it’s pretty fun showing them the details of line flying.