I’ve been a SkyWest flight attendant for over 19 years now. It will be 20 years in June. I am looking towards the ATP Fast Track program to eventually come back and fly for Skywest as a Pilot. Skywest has a have a really good reimbursement program for flight attendants that want to become pilots.
I still want to maintain my health and other benefits. At my seniority, I am able to drop down to 25 flight hours a month and still maintain full-time benefits. Is it feasible for me to maintain more flying than that to make more income? We do have a Professional Leave program, but I would lose my benefits after 30 days.
I fluctuate between #1 and #4 in base as far as seniority goes so I pretty much can get the schedule I want. I’m just worried a little about income and making sure I have the benefits for me and my family.
This is America and no one can tell you what you can and cannot do. That said ATP is VERY clear that working during the program is HIGHLY discouraged.
There are many reasons to train win ATP but I’m going to assume one of yours is the short timeline of the program. ATP compresses what usually takes years of training into just months. The rapid timeline does come at a price. It’s hard REALLY HARD. It requires a 100% commitment and even those who do often find the program very challenging and difficult to keep up with the pace. If you choose to work know that’s it’s YOUR decision and you have been warned. Fail to keep up, bust too many checkrides and not only will ATP ask you to leave, SkyWest might not be so eager to welcome you back. There also will be no “I’m sorry, I thought I could…”.
While I appreciate and understand your desire to keep receiving a paycheck, $90k and your career as a pilot are alot to gamble with.
Working at any point in the program is risky and not advised to do so. Training at ATP is a full-time commitment and requires a lot of time to be dedicated to training in- and out- of the training center. At any point in time, you may have to fill a “day off” that you projected to be off because weather or plane availability was limiting your flying during a “regular day.” No day is guaranteed to be a flying day, but every day is guaranteed to be a day of learning and opportunity to do something in or out of the training center.
I don’t know anything regarding the FA reimbursement program for Skywest, but ATP does have a partnership with them as well for student/instructors. If you have financial questions or concerns that you may have, I recommend reaching out to ATP’s finance department and see what they would suggest. Sometimes the financial commitment hinders the desire to step forward, but the rewards of this field are unbelievably rewarding.
With that said, I don’t know which program would be better suited for yourself, only you will be able to tell which program is best.
I am currently at SkyWest and rather familiar with that in-house pathway program back to a SkyWest flight deck. I think it’s an incredible opportunity and should be highly considered.
However, whichever pathway you choose you should jump all in. Flight training is not meant to be juggled with other things. I know you will lose your benefits temporarily, but it’s the cost you pay for the highest chance of success in training.
You will not be able to work while in ATP’s program. Even 25 hours per month is at least 3-4 days that you would not be available for training. If you desire to go to ATP, you will need to find a way to do it without working. Many people turn to Obamacare turning their time as students and instructors.
I have mainly done standup trips the last 10 years where I usually show up at 8-10pm then done between 6-9am. Those range between 5-7 hours of flight credit.
I was thinking I’d probably only do one a week on the night of last day of flight training Fo the week so that a delay wouldn’t impede me getting to training the next day. Or maybe a local turnaround a day off.
What does a typical week of ATP training consist of?
Yes Benedict, we’re pilots and we all know what Standups are. Everyday is different depending on the phase. Also know that during Crew and CFI training you won’t even be at your original training location.
You came on this forum asking for advice and all 4 mentors (all of who successfully completed the program, instructed at ATP and are now airline pilots) have told you working during the program is a horrible idea and a recipe for failure. Flight training is not like flight attendant training. Schedules change often based on weather, requirements and aircraft/sim availability. That last day of the week might not be and you might not know until the last minute.
Again you can do as you like but “What you were thinking” is wrong and none of us are going to give you our blessing.
While I haven’t completed the program yet I understand where you’re coming from but I would implore you to explore all options before making a decision. Your training location, time of year etc. even during my instrument phase weather has caused delays here in FL. Your typical training might consist of flying M-F but with one or two delays for various reasons you might have to fly Sat/Sun if not both.
Me personally I took out extra money on my loan to help with living expenses and I sparingly drive for door dash and Amazon flex but that’s usually for 1-4hrs tops and even then I have invested in audio books that I can listen to while driving to still “study”. ATP has to be your number one priority for those 7+ months (plan to be delayed).
One thing I’ve learned so far being at ATP is what you put in is what you’ll get out. But it is rewarding when you’re hard work and efforts pay off a the DPE says “you’ve passed”.
The problem is, flight training isn’t like a college degree program with set class time and everything outside that is your free time. Instead, it’s completely vulnerable to cancellations and delays due to weather, MX issues and DPE availability. You need to be available to fly 7 days a week regardless of weekends or holidays.
If there is a week with horrible weather, you can bet you’ll be flying every day possible until you make the time up. If your check ride gets cancelled, it will be rescheduled to the next available day regardless of your personal schedule. If you have trips on your schedule, you’ll find yourself prioritizing one or the other. You’ll either add occurrences to your record or delay your training losing valuable time and money.
The audiobooks that Marc posted I also like and used. I used Jason Schappert’s audiobooks during my attendance when I would walk around the apartment complex and travel to and from home during extended breaks. I felt that these audiobooks helped me out quite a bit.
Congrats on the instrument rating! That’s a huge accomplishment.
Now you get to really utilize it like you will as an airline pilot flying assigned routes on IFR flight plans. Fly safe and enjoy crew! (It was my favorite phase of the program)