Ameriflight is Hiring Part 135 Captains - ABQ and CVG

GypsyPilot said:
So the fact that people are running away from the flight dept at their first chance isn't a sign the gig has some issues?
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Or they just prefer a 121 work environment and are just using the corporate gig for money till they get their recall or hired elsewhere.
 
Maurus said:
Or they just prefer a 121 work environment and are just using the corporate gig for money till they get their recall or hired elsewhere.
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This is where the airline stench comes from. Hell AMF experienced it years back when the airlines furloughed. The second a furlough 121 guy gets the call to come back they are most likely going to leave unless they have found a fantastic 91 job.
 
DhruvK said:
AMF is largely a single pilot operation (except for the Bro and I think a few Metros?). Hard to not be hiring "street captains"...
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Understood. However I figured the openings would be in the chieftains and they would have ample guys moving up to the turbine equipment. Is this an issue of guys not wanting to change domicile?
 
norcalpilot25 said:
Understood. However I figured the openings would be in the chieftains and they would have ample guys moving up to the turbine equipment. Is this an issue of guys not wanting to change domicile?
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From what I can gather, there's a lot of guys who are not in it for a career in freight that are using AMF as a quick and dirty to get from 1200 to 1500 and then bailing and letting the training contract chips fall where they may.
 
Inverted said:
This is where the airline stench comes from. Hell AMF experienced it years back when the airlines furloughed. The second a furlough 121 guy gets the call to come back they are most likely going to leave unless they have found a fantastic 91 job.
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I have also heard the "121 guys lack customer service skills" excuse. Which I think is too general to consider as a valid reason.
 
norcalpilot25 said:
I have also heard the "121 guys lack customer service skills" excuse. Which I think is too general to consider as a valid reason.
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I wouldn't say that it's much less about the customer service skills and more about the totality of being a corporate pilot. There's much more responsibility that comes along with the job title of being a coporate/charter pilot.

Most airline guys show up 45 minutes before departure, get there weather and flight packet, preflight, brief FA's sign a release, greet passengers over the PA, and push.

Most corporate pilots start planning the night before, check weather, run performance, file flight plans, run out for stock and special items that the passengers may request.

The of the corporate/135 flight calls for showing an hour plus before departure, preflight, stock, coffee ice newspapers, request fuel order, pay charges, greet passengers, escort to the plane, load bags, weight and balance, passenger briefing, and etc...

Corporate/135 charter is a lot more hands on. I can see where some 121 guys may have a hard time with it. 121 has a much larger support system.

I wouldn't say one pilot is better than the other. It's just a completely different type of operation.
 
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I've done both, probably unlike most people in here claiming 121 pilots aren't up to it. My take? It totally depends on the person.

There are corporate pilots that would NEVER make it through a 121 initial, and there are 121 pilots that are too prima-donna to work corporate.

But as long as you have emotional intelligence and understand high level customer service, transitioning to corporate isn't nearly as difficult as some corporate pilots make it out to be.
 
I was just going to let it go, but since people are still talking about it, I will clarify what I was talking about. I'm not talking about the jobs flying Hawkers around for the owners of car washes or whoever rented the jet and the crew for the weekend at Atlantic City, but rather big jets for big owners. If you visit big destination airports for the rich, and talk to the pilots there, most seem to be former airline guys. I ran in to a crew that brought a G650 in from Isle of Man to a "Yacht Regatta" and they were former British Airways CA's. (The Boat's crew brings the boat in, and the owners fly in their private jets to have a party for the weekend). Another jet were Virgin Captain's, but that made sense as the plane was owned by Branson. The planes that fly the oil tycoons out of Venezuela and Brasil (mostly Russians from what I have seen) are also former airline guys from the US and Europe. These are all jobs that pay a great deal more than airline jobs, even at the highest seniority pay levels.

It seems the big companies and the big planes want former airline guys with 20,000+ hours. It is likely just a status symbol for them, but it is what it is. And these jobs pay rather well. It is a place to end a career, not a place to land when furloughed. I do not know how many corporate jobs pay more than $200k a year, but these certainly do. I doubt that these jobs are ever posted as available, but rather you are asked to come and work for them.

I am sure that small companies and jet charter companies like career corporate pilots that will not jump ship to 121. That makes sense. I also agree that charter jet companies are looking for guys that are going to do more than just fly the plane (be a butler/servant/waiter for the clients in the back). The big companies, however, have people that do all of this, and there is no need for the pilots to ever pour a drink for the owners, or to clean up the plane after it lands.

If you think that I am wrong, that is fine. I have opinions based on what I have personally seen and the people that I talk to, and you are free to do the same.
 
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Boyington said:
I was just going to let it go, but since people are still talking about it, I will clarify what I was talking about. I'm not talking about the jobs flying Hawkers around for the owners of car washes or whoever rented the jet and the crew for the weekend at Atlantic City, but rather big jets for big owners. If you visit big destination airports for the rich, and talk to the pilots there, most seem to be former airline guys. I ran in to a crew that brought a G650 in from Isle of Man to a "Yacht Regatta" and they were former British Airways CA's. (The Boat's crew brings the boat in, and the owners fly in their private jets to have a party for the weekend). Another jet were Virgin Captain's, but that made sense as the plane was owned by Branson. The planes that fly the oil tycoons out of Venezuela and Brasil (mostly Russians from what I have seen) are also former airline guys from the US and Europe. These are all jobs that pay a great deal more than airline jobs, even at the highest seniority pay levels.

It seems the big companies and the big planes want former airline guys with 20,000+ hours. It is likely just a status symbol for them, but it is what it is. And these jobs pay rather well. It is a place to end a career, not a place to land when furloughed. I do not know how many corporate jobs pay more than $200k a year, but these certainly do. I doubt that these jobs are ever posted as available, but rather you are asked to come and work for them.

I am sure that small companies and jet charter companies like career corporate pilots that will not jump ship to 121. That makes sense. I also agree that charter jet companies are looking for guys that are going to do more than just fly the plane (be a butler/servant/waiter for the clients in the back). The big companies, however, have people that do all of this, and there is no need for the pilots to ever pour a drink for the owners, or to clean up the plane after it lands.

If you think that I am wrong, that is fine. I have opinions based on what I have personally seen and the people that I talk to, and you are free to do the same.
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I haven't experienced this to be true in the corporate realm. Most guys I know that hit it large flying corporate networked and got lucky. I have friends that fly large corporate aircraft all over the place.
 
Given that the only reason AMF is in the ABQ market is because South Aero lost the UPS bid after holding it for 20 some odd years, I wonder if they'll give any special consideration to the former SA guys? I know several guys who are going to be out of a job on the 30th and I've been hearing mixed things about whether or not AMF is going to take any of them on.
 
A150K said:
Given that the only reason AMF is in the ABQ market is because South Aero lost the UPS bid after holding it for 20 some odd years, I wonder if they'll give any special consideration to the former SA guys? I know several guys who are going to be out of a job on the 30th and I've been hearing mixed things about whether or not AMF is going to take any of them on.
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A former company of mine was underbid by AMF and only one pilot (out of 14) was hired by AMF. Given the circumstances of staffing issues at AMF I hope they hire the South Aero folks.
 
Avalon781ML said:
A former company of mine was underbid by AMF and only one pilot (out of 14) was hired by AMF. Given the circumstances of staffing issues at AMF I hope they hire the South Aero folks.
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Well...we shall see. There are a few people at SA who have been there for many, many years and it would be sad to see them kicked to the street.
 
dawgdriver;1715599 said:
Aww c'mon Swede, don't take it so personal, management folks aren't that bad, they just don't know what the he11 they're doing. That's why they sit safely behind a desk. Lol. Seriously man, lighten up.
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Last I heard they are giving preferential hiring to anyone that wants to go from SA. If so that is decent on AMF's part.

However, I'm not sure a lot of them will choose to go for reasons of their own.
 
snOOp said:
Last I heard they are giving preferential hiring to anyone that wants to go from SA. If so that is decent on AMF's part.

However, I'm not sure a lot of them will choose to go for reasons of their own.
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Hope that's true. All of the SA guys I know are a good bunch and it would be nice to know the at least had the option to continue working if they wanted to.
 
Boyington said:
I was just going to let it go, but since people are still talking about it, I will clarify what I was talking about. I'm not talking about the jobs flying Hawkers around for the owners of car washes or whoever rented the jet and the crew for the weekend at Atlantic City, but rather big jets for big owners. If you visit big destination airports for the rich, and talk to the pilots there, most seem to be former airline guys. I ran in to a crew that brought a G650 in from Isle of Man to a "Yacht Regatta" and they were former British Airways CA's. (The Boat's crew brings the boat in, and the owners fly in their private jets to have a party for the weekend). Another jet were Virgin Captain's, but that made sense as the plane was owned by Branson. The planes that fly the oil tycoons out of Venezuela and Brasil (mostly Russians from what I have seen) are also former airline guys from the US and Europe. These are all jobs that pay a great deal more than airline jobs, even at the highest seniority pay levels.

It seems the big companies and the big planes want former airline guys with 20,000+ hours. It is likely just a status symbol for them, but it is what it is. And these jobs pay rather well. It is a place to end a career, not a place to land when furloughed. I do not know how many corporate jobs pay more than $200k a year, but these certainly do. I doubt that these jobs are ever posted as available, but rather you are asked to come and work for them.

I am sure that small companies and jet charter companies like career corporate pilots that will not jump ship to 121. That makes sense. I also agree that charter jet companies are looking for guys that are going to do more than just fly the plane (be a butler/servant/waiter for the clients in the back). The big companies, however, have people that do all of this, and there is no need for the pilots to ever pour a drink for the owners, or to clean up the plane after it lands.

If you think that I am wrong, that is fine. I have opinions based on what I have personally seen and the people that I talk to, and you are free to do the same.
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Just because they were former Airways CAs doesn't mean the job posting specifically requested 121 guys. I have met former 121 guys who retired and wanted to double dip so they got corporate/charter jobs. Doesn't mean anything close to having the charter/corporate world wanting 121 guys specifically. I am sorry buy I don't see where you got this information from. I am closely familiar with 2 big time corporate flight departments that operate all large cabin jets and they would never put 121 as a requirement in the job posting. Hell they wouldn't hire 121 in the first place but they certainly wouldn't stick that job requirement in an ad. I have honestly never seen a job posting with that requirement.
 
Boyington said:
It developed that way because people will work for that amount of money in return for the benefits. Most of the best corporate jobs (the ones that pay the most) want prior 121 PIC time. Not all, but most of the good ones that I have seen lately. I think that has a lot to do with the WalMart airplane crash and the Hendrick Race Team crash. If you are putting millions of dollars in to a corporate flight department, and entrusting it with your CEO, wouldn't you want someone with 10,000 hours of experience in jets. Of course you would. And where do you get that experience.... airlines. There are certainly entry level corporate gigs that require less, but they also pay less.

Most corporate gigs also look at the FO as merely a requirement. Many (again, the high paying ones) will street hire captains with years of experience as an airline captain rather than upgrade a FO.

I am speaking based on knowledge of private flight departments owned by large companies, and not necessarily the hire-a-jet companies.
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Most of the best corporate jobs require bizjet types and have a policy of round filing 121 applicants in my experience.
 
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