I understand that flying for the majors means you get more money, and potentially bigger (and newer??) aircraft to fly. But does it feel different? It it more complex / harder in some way?
To put it another way, just as a thought experiment, if you could get the same money at a regional and you didn’t want to fly internationally, would there be any reason to move to the majors?
Jeff,
The biggest difference between Regional / Mainline flying is stage length. Much of the “work” in an airline flight is the preflight/postflight procedures, ie Takeoff/Landing.
Airline pilots are only paid for “flight hours” which is the time the door is closed at the gate till it opens at the destination (slight variances between airlines, but the idea is the same), so each time while you are waiting to board and unload an aircraft that you see the crew standing around, that time is on them, they are only paid for the actual flight time.
This is really the main difference, ironically, the regional flying is generally much more work, longer days. In it’s extreme an RJ pilot may do 5 legs in one day and still credit less flight time than the pilot that loaded up a 777 and commenced a one leg 10hr flight. (not to mention the 10hr flight required three pilots so 1/3 of that time you are napping/out of the cockpit).
Now add to that the fact that airline contracts are generally built with the idea that the more seats(revenue) the more pay per flight hour, it adds up to leaving a lot of $$$ and extra effort on the table to stay as a regional pilot instead of pursuing a job at the majors.
Now that being said, many find the RJ job adequate and perhaps even better than “starting over” at a later age in life because all airlines operate purely on seniority, so a very senior RJ pilot who doesn’t commute may very well do as well or better as a junior Major airline pilot, but with even a few years at a major, they will quickly surpass the RJ in pay and effort required to earn those $$$$.
The last thing to consider as a permanent regional pilot is that, at it’s essence you are working for a contractor of a major airline. Look at the RJ companies and with the possible exception of Skywest and Horizon, most have had a very tumultuous history, as the major airlines sell the tickets, control the schedules, and make the “contract airlines” compete against each other for flying. This leads to frequent base openings and closings over significant periods of time as the regional companies have very little control over their own destiny. At least with a major airline, you are on a ship with it’s own destiny, bases and fleets may come and go (not nearly as frequently as regionals), but either your company survives or dies with you attached.
That’s super helpful, thank you!
Jeff,
Honestly, flying vibe wise there’s not much difference at all. Obviously a larger plane will have a greater range which means longer flight time, but since not all Major pilots fly internationally AND transcon can be your longest leg AND the new RJs can do transcon that’s a wash. Also I fly interisland, which while admittedly is a unique situation, I often fly many more legs than I did at the Regionals. I actually often miss the variety of flying I did at the Regionals. We flew to more than 200 airports and I really got to go to some very unique destinations.
Really the only reason I left was the instability. I had a front row seat to see exactly what can and does happen when you loose favor with your Major partner. We went from being the largest, #1 Regional in the country to the verge of bankruptcy overnight. Not fun.
Adam
Jeff,
I would take a different approach to this than Adam and Hobie. Flying for the majors is not that different when comparing the work of an A320 to an RJ, but international flying is a whole different ballgame altogether. Flying international (I mean overseas, not Canada) involves learning oceanic procedures, learning foreign airspace procedures, and much more significant fuel management techniques.
Also, I feel that people respond differently when you say you fly for a major, as opposed to having to explain which major your regional flies for. Now I enjoy my time at the regional, but I do feel more respected, both by the public and management, at the major airline level.
Chris
I share your sentiments. Although most locals are very familiar with Horizon Air, I still get asked often, almost automatically, if I plan on moving onto “bigger and better things,” is how they usually phrase it.
Tory