Mokuele Airlines details and pay?

tcco94

tcco94

Future GTA VI Pilot
Go,

I'm new here but I've scrolled around your forums before for airline details information. I've seen a few posts about Mokuele Airlines but nothing too recent or very vague posts and answers from what I've read. Seen very few bad comments but lots of positive comments.

I'm a senior right now at Rocky Mountain College with a major in Aeronautical Science (typical college pilot lol), looking for what to do after graduation. I have my sights set on TransPac and getting my CFI this summer but drifted away from the instructing jobs to focus on something a bit more relaxing and fun. My director preaches that we need to stop and smell the roses and thought as a 20 year old pilot, Hawaii sounds awesome to me (being a California boy).

Was wondering what the hour requirements were for SIC at Mokulele...read a lot of people say 250? Just with commercial... I assume you can't get PIC until you have 135 IFR mins?...not 135 VFR PIC mins? Also seen a lot of people say the pay is 18k a year... How is that affordable in Hawaii? Especially with my loans sitting at around 90k when I graduate?

Thoughts...Ideas? Any other low hour requirement jobs out there? I have a strong interest to get to the regionals and would love a 135 carrier like I've read Mokulele Airlines to be. Seems to be the only one I can find that isn't 500 hrs +
Thanks all!!
 
tcco94 said:
Also seen a lot of people say the pay is 18k a year... How is that affordable in Hawaii?
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It's not at all. Even with an outer island base (and from what jumpseaters have said recently they are more senior right now) there is no way you will be able to live on $18,000 a year over here. I think most of the SICs that do are from here and have family to live with.
 
Hell, even the Island Air guys are broke if they're in the right seat. Rumor has it that if there are bus delays on Oahu, Island Air and Empire (doing the Ohana thing) have to push their departure times back because guys can't afford cars... I don't think it'd be physically possible to live on $18,000 on Oahu, but if you go for it, good luck. I just rode to MKK on a Mokulele Caravan a couple weeks ago, it was a nice ride and the crews seemed enthusiastic.
 
ppragman said:
Hell, even the Island Air guys are broke if they're in the right seat. Rumor has it that if there are bus delays on Oahu, Island Air and Empire (doing the Ohana thing) have to push their departure times back because guys can't afford cars... I don't think it'd be physically possible to live on $18,000 on Oahu, but if you go for it, good luck. I just rode to MKK on a Mokulele Caravan a couple weeks ago, it was a nice ride and the crews seemed enthusiastic.
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I can't speak for Ohana but Island Air doesn't delay due to that. Everyone has a car that I know of. First year pay with just getting guarantee plus the bonuses is just south of $40K, which still isn't much in Hawaii.
 
tcco94 said:
Hawaii sounds awesome to me (being a California boy).
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Before moving here, I never understood when people said that it was expensive to live in Hawaii. Even visiting on vacation is not enough to get that perspective, IMO.

It can be an awesome place to live...if you make at least 100k a year to be able to afford to live close enough to the beach. Otherwise you'll be slumming it in the neighborhood I live in that looks just like anywhere else in America (no obvious palm trees, homeless on the streets, garbage, potholes, etc.) if I showed you a picture of it. The beaches are only 15 miles away, but the gas is $1.50+ more per gallon than the mainland, and meals cost around 30-40% more, so you'll be at work making the most you can for the salary shortfall. So what if you do get off early and you get some spare time to hang around the tourist spots you see on Hawaii 5-0? You'll sit in the second worse metro traffic in the USA to get to it.

About Mokulele, it appears that they have two crewmembers written into their Opspecs. Obviously, the Caravan only requires one pilot, so you'll be basically warming a seat and the pay reflects that. There are a couple of other similar outfits here that hire occasionally, but they don't typically advertise and do word of mouth only. You'd have to be here to get picked up.

That said, I've seen locals get picked up for the odd flying jobs pretty quick, you just physically have to be here to get introduced to the right people and willing to earn almost nothing.
 
I don't know how accurate this is but I heard that Mokukele Caravan FOs toss bags in addition to their FO duties. Don't know if that was just a nasty, competitive rumor from when my company owned them, but I heard that. I think they were actually compensated specifically for it, also.
 
Thanks for the help guys. Wasn't expecting to get so busy but just started midterm break and multi training. I have been in contact with the Hawaii pilot that was an alum at my school who got in contact with the Mokuele pilot. They said they weren't hiring FO's at the moment but gave me the chief pilots email and suggested that I email him my resume and form a relationship if something opens over summer by the time ill be graduated.

He didn't specifically go over the money. Just that Hawaii's prices are above average on everything from gas to food to rooms. I'm still pondering if it's even worth it to send my resume or not. Tossing bags wouldn't be bad either, I'm already a ramp agent right now for Delta lol....nor would cleaning planes. I'm not a premondona pilot by any means and that could be an opportunity cost to wanting to fly in Hawaii off so little hours....but still debating if it's worth it.

Kinda leaning towards the CFI path at TransPac after this thread... o_O

P.S.-- I posted this on Airline Pilot Central in Part 135 and got no help or replies what so ever?! Guess I know to come to you guys first. :)
 
tcco94 said:
Tossing bags wouldn't be bad either, I'm already a ramp agent right now for Delta lol....nor would cleaning planes. I'm not a premondona pilot by any means and that could be an opportunity cost to wanting to fly in Hawaii off so little hours....
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Except that you want to work for them as a pilot, not a ramper. If they need the SIC in the plane (which I think they do per their insurance) then they damn well should be hiring guys to be pilots and not a ramper who gets to fly some times. Just because you are ok with that sort of situation doesn't mean you should enable it for others who have higher standards of what a pilot is and isn't in the context of an airline, even if it's "only" a scrappy 135 flying caravans.
 
tcco94 said:
Thanks for the help guys. Wasn't expecting to get so busy but just started midterm break and multi training. I have been in contact with the Hawaii pilot that was an alum at my school who got in contact with the Mokuele pilot. They said they weren't hiring FO's at the moment but gave me the chief pilots email and suggested that I email him my resume and form a relationship if something opens over summer by the time ill be graduated.

He didn't specifically go over the money. Just that Hawaii's prices are above average on everything from gas to food to rooms. I'm still pondering if it's even worth it to send my resume or not. Tossing bags wouldn't be bad either, I'm already a ramp agent right now for Delta lol....nor would cleaning planes. I'm not a premondona pilot by any means and that could be an opportunity cost to wanting to fly in Hawaii off so little hours....but still debating if it's worth it.

Kinda leaning towards the CFI path at TransPac after this thread... o_O

P.S.-- I posted this on Airline Pilot Central in Part 135 and got no help or replies what so ever?! Guess I know to come to you guys first. :)
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Don't go to Hawaii unless you really have a reason too. Flying opportunities are few and far between. You will be better off going to a state like Florida to build time and be on your merry way. The cost of living there is no joke.
 
If you want to see tropical paradise, go get a right seat job somewhere in FL that flies to the Carribean. It probably won't pay much better (and quite honestly in hindsight, you will probably think it was a crappy job), but in FL 18 to 24K goes A LOT further than Hawaii.
 
I took a glider ride on the North Shore of Oahu. The tow pilot flying the L-19 wasn't wearing a shirt. For a moment, I had serious job envy.

I caught a ride from Maui to Hilo on Hawaiian. The crew was sans tie and the FO had a full beard. Again, with the envy.

Ah, if money wasn't an issue...
 
Old Dominion Flyer said:
I took a glider ride on the North Shore of Oahu. The tow pilot flying the L-19 wasn't wearing a shirt. For a moment, I had serious job envy.

I caught a ride from Maui to Hilo on Hawaiian. The crew was sans tie and the FO had a full beard. Again, with the envy.

Ah, if money wasn't an issue...
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A friend told me of a flying job somewhere in the Caribbean or so where the pilot had shots and flip-flops on. For me, that is the retirement job after I have sufficient nest-egg.
 
Vector said:
A friend told me of a flying job somewhere in the Caribbean or so where the pilot had shots and flip-flops on. For me, that is the retirement job after I have sufficient nest-egg.
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DID SOMEBODY SAY SHOTS!?!
 
BobDDuck said:
Except that you want to work for them as a pilot, not a ramper. If they need the SIC in the plane (which I think they do per their insurance) then they damn well should be hiring guys to be pilots and not a ramper who gets to fly some times. Just because you are ok with that sort of situation doesn't mean you should enable it for others who have higher standards of what a pilot is and isn't in the context of an airline, even if it's "only" a scrappy 135 flying caravans.
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Perhaps I sparked a flame that I did not intend too. I don't think it's necesary to bash on my standards. I was just merly saying that I was laid back and wouldn't mind offering help for extra money....not that I was looking in any way to change the context of what an airline pilot is (135 or 121)...nor do I have any expierence to even make a comment about that.

Sorry for causing some sort of tension here... I was just looking for some help. I was admitting with my low hours that I don't qualify for what most of you top guys in 121 or 135 ops want. Wouldn't sound right for me to be demanding when someone around the corner wants the job just as much as I do with far more expierence. Sorry.
 
Old Dominion Flyer said:
@BobDDuck is a reasonable guy. I don't think he'll throw you from the top of Diamond Head.....this time.
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I just didn't want to come off as a college kid pilot who wants a golden platter given to him. He seems extremely expierenced and I'm not sure about you guys when you were in my position but it's rather intimidating...specially on the forums with the amount of knowledge and lingo that I have no idea about. I'm sure down the road I'll be on the same pages.

I just didn't mean to say anything that sparked something.
 
Let's just chalk it up to an honest mistake...

But, for the record, if you are aspiring to be a professional pilot. You should also aspire to be treated like one. Taking on additional non-flying related duties can cause great harm to the protection mechanisms in place that safeguard your professional worth and value.
 
surreal1221 said:
Let's just chalk it up to an honest mistake...

But, for the record, if you are aspiring to be a professional pilot. You should also aspire to be treated like one. Taking on additional non-flying related duties can cause great harm to the protection mechanisms in place that safeguard your professional worth and value.
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That makes much more sense for my ill-thought out comment about the job I was looking for. I do have much desire for the professional pilot/airline pilot scenery. Certainly I hope to have professionalism as one of my top traits. I didn't mean to come off in that way at all.

I guess I was just trying to picture how to survive at this airline. Didn't mean to throw my professionalism or character under the bus, nor any of yours.
 
Vector said:
Don't go to Hawaii unless you really have a reason too. Flying opportunities are few and far between. You will be better off going to a state like Florida to build time and be on your merry way. The cost of living there is no joke.
Click to expand...
chrisreedrules said:
If you want to see tropical paradise, go get a right seat job somewhere in FL that flies to the Carribean. It probably won't pay much better (and quite honestly in hindsight, you will probably think it was a crappy job), but in FL 18 to 24K goes A LOT further than Hawaii.
Click to expand...

Are there any carriers that you guys have in mind to at least put on the list? I have a co-worker/friend that graduated a year ago from my school also at SeaPort...he's suggesting that I look into that. Seems like a cool spot.

Thanks
 
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