Corporate or Airlines?

[Xcaliber]

Well, this isn't really as much of a "change career" question as much as a "which career" question. Let me give some background first.

I am the proverbial pilot...I have always wanted to be a pilot since I was little. I have worked hard towards this goal and am now a CFI at UND. For me, everything in life has been pretty straight-forward and my decisions throughout life have been, to me, fairly easy to make, even though they have far reaching consequences (ie. where to go to school, etc.). But now that I'm hitting my senior year of college, I'm finding myself, for the first time, hit with a full dose of uncertainty about the future.

I am a huge believer in hard work and looking at things in the long term. I am also a huge believer in quality over quantity. I mention these because I think they have and will have a big impact on the paths I choose to take in the future.

I've never really had any inclination to go to the airlines. I admit that a lot of that comes from the idea that I had when I was younger that airline pilots had "routes" and that it would get boring really fast. I'm wiser now (at least I hope so ), and I'm starting to think that, at least in terms of flying, the airlines wouldn't be such a bad thing. There are, however a few other things which have popped to the front that I don't like. First, as I mentioned before, I'm a big believer in hard work, and that such hard work should be compensated. Two of the best places I've enjoyed working at the most have been pretty low on the pay scale (even for a college student), but they both showed their appreciation whenever I made an extra effort, in their own ways. Thus, the idea of working under a seniority system really irks me. (Not that I think it's a bad thing, just not for me). The second thing that kind of bothers me is that at an airline, I'm a pilot, and nothing else. I would like to be involved in the aircraft, in the company, etc, more than just being a pilot. Again, I don't mind putting in extra effort as long as it gets recognized and not just taken for granted.

What gets me though, is that I think that if I don't go to a regional, I am missing out on some amazing opportunities to fly and get experience. I have no problem continuing to fly here at UND and waiting till I have the hours for one of the better companies like XJet or Skywest (that whole quality over quantity thing coming into play here). But on the same token, every time I head out to the airport and see a King Air on the ramp, I feel that if I did go to a regional, I'd be missing out on some great flying and experiences out there in part 91/135 too. Of course the problem with that, though, is that I don't really know anybody, so I think it would be harder to weasel my way into a good job.

I mentioned earlier that I have goals that I'd like to meet. If I could have my way, I'd stay here instructing till I could get hired in a good King Air slot, then move up to a Citation/Lear/Hawker slot, and eventually up to a Gulfstream/Falcon type gig, with the occasional changes and whatnot along the way. As long as the pay is decent and the company great, I'd have no problem staying with in a place for a while.

So now that you may or may not have read all the way through my ramblings, what do you think? I've still got some time to brew on the subject, but do you think I would be missing out on a good opportunity by not going to the regionals, or should I continue with my original (and riskier) strategy of flying some pretty nifty GA planes with a good company?

 

[KW]

Are you locked into a particular city, or are you interested in moving around? Do you mind being oncall? Do you want to be the one handling every aspect of the flight planning and prep, or would you rather just show up and fly?

If you are limited to one city, that can seriously reduce your options outside of the airlines (then again, if the city is LA or NY it won't matter). I ask about the oncall and because that is pretty common with part 91 jobs. A 2 hour callout 7 days a week might be no big deal for some, but for others it might drive them crazy.

I had the chance to do a trip in the right seat of a part 91 King Air a few months back. 2 hour flight each way with 6 hours on the ground. Sounds fun. So I show up and help the pilot preflight, stock the cooler, make sure we've got coffee and breakfast, and the morning paper. And then we sit. And sit. And sit. And then the owner shows up and we're off. Nice trip, great airplane. We get to the destination, the owner buzzes off to take care of business, and we spend a few hours stooging around, getting lunch etc. We come back, start prepping the plane, refilling the cooler, coffee etc. The owner calls us and tells us he is going to be an hour late and would like a pizza. So we order one for him. One hour later still nothing. Another hour and he calls to say he is on his way. This whole time we are repeatedly reheating the pizza in the FBO microwave to try and keep it warm for him. Two more hours, and he calls again to say he is really on his way this time. One more hour and the owner finally shows up and we head back.

That was a fun experience but it showed me that I really wanted to go to the airlines. Some people might have no problem with that trip, and really enjoy it. I was bored out of my mind and going crazy the whole time, and this was at a NICE FBO with plasma screens and leather chairs in the pilots lounge. Of course there is a huge variance in how part 91 operators work, so YMMV. This particular gig was definitely on the low end of the pay/QOL spectrum.

You should try to find someone who would let you right seat on a trip in something like a King Air, just to get an idea of what it's all about. Also, I would definitely think about trying something like freight or an air ambulence operator once you get your 135 mins. Not that theres anything wrong with instructing more, but why not take the oppurtunity to experience some other types of flying, and build some turbine time?

 

[Mr.Maximus]

I've flown a multitude of a/c in 121 ops, and now fly a CL604 in corporate ops. If you have any specific questions or want some frank comparisons between the two - feel free to pm me.

Either way, best of luck and keep grinding.


Max

 

[Xcaliber]

I'm not locked into a particular city, but really, I would much prefer to remain here in the Midwest. I'd even go as far as saying the northern part of the Midwest (ND/SD/MN), if I could. For the right job, though, I'm more than open to area Denver to Columbus, Oklahoma City to the Canadian border. I know there are a lot of jobs down in the Minneapolis area, but like I said before, the problem is that I don't know anyone.

On call, well, at the moment, No, I don't think I would mind that too much. That of course could change in the future, depending on whether I have a family or am still stuck as a bachelor. As far as being involved with a plane, again, depends on the job and company. I wouldn't have any problem being completely in charge of the aircraft, I could handle that responsibility. That's actually one of the big reasons I've wanted to be involved in corporate aviation, that sense of being an important part of the company, not just a number (and I'm not saying that that isn't possible at a larger company--my current position has proved that to me since I've started).

I'm guess I'm just trying to get some insight into both worlds...corporate is my dream, but the opportunity is there at the good regionals. I think in the end the deciding factor will be which one presents itself sooner.