What Keeps you at a 135?

wheelsup said:
to make $60k-$80k a year flying for a 135 outfit
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You can do better than that. Like, realistically, even.

emptying toilets
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Eh, they mostly empty themselves.

loading bags,
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That's the FO's job!

and sitting around FBOs for 8-12 hours a day waiting on the clients while on call for 26 days a month.
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Not everyone does airport appreciation and almost NO ONE does 26 days on call anymore. Full credit to the Pilot Shortage OMGZ OMGZ.

It's not perfect by any means and I'd imagine that a Legacy would be a better deal for 99% of people, but the sweatshop days are over, as far as I can see.
 
wheelsup said:
Call me greedy or selfish or whatever but I also didn't go to college and spend years earning my certs and building time for below minimum wage to make $60k-$80k a year flying for a 135 outfit emptying toilets, loading bags, and sitting around FBOs for 8-12 hours a day waiting on the clients while on call for 26 days a month.
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You chose poorly then.
 
135 oddballs for sure! @Roger Roger @Capt. Chaos @ppragman @RMCBear08 !!!
I've been surfing JSfirm this morning, and I see a lot of 91/135 gigs I qualify for, but have zero interest in. But that's me.

I've noticed a few guys say (135/91), I had X days off last month... That's fine and dandy looking back for days off, however looking forward, I know I have X days off, and I can plan activities.
Having a CBA is great, which many if not all 135 outfits don't have.
Conversely there are turds that upgrade solely by having a pulse, and not by merit, where at a 135 you'd rarely see that. (Office politics aside).

I try to keep this in perspective: when we line up to do a formation takeoff in the Hawk, I look over and see a Delta/United Airbus holding short aswell. I catch myself saying, "it would be awesome to be sitting in that cockpit." Only to quickly realize, those dudes are also looking at us saying the same thing.
Which is the golden rule in aviation, "Thou shall not covet thy neighbors airplane/job."
 
My QOL for 30 years (8 one job, 22 another) was nothing short of awesome. Then poo hit the rotating device (nothing I did, the company changed up things) and had to look for a plan B. At a new 135 gig, and looks like I will finish my career there. Every time I walk through an airline terminal, I am reminded why I did not charge ahead in a 121 direction. It 'aint for everyone.
 
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Nark said:
135 oddballs for sure! @Roger Roger @Capt. Chaos @ppragman @RMCBear08 !!!
I've been surfing JSfirm this morning, and I see a lot of 91/135 gigs I qualify for, but have zero interest in. But that's me.

I've noticed a few guys say (135/91), I had X days off last month... That's fine and dandy looking back for days off, however looking forward, I know I have X days off, and I can plan activities.
Having a CBA is great, which many if not all 135 outfits don't have.
Conversely there are turds that upgrade solely by having a pulse, and not by merit, where at a 135 you'd rarely see that. (Office politics aside).

I try to keep this in perspective: when we line up to do a formation takeoff in the Hawk, I look over and see a Delta/United Airbus holding short aswell. I catch myself saying, "it would be awesome to be sitting in that cockpit." Only to quickly realize, those dudes are also looking at us saying the same thing.
Which is the golden rule in aviation, "Thou shall not covet thy neighbors airplane/job."
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I work for a 135, and I can look ahead and know what days I have off. I also know that a majority of the days I have "on" will be spent on my couch, in my apartment.
 
Itchy said:
My QOL for 30 years (8 one job, 22 another) was nothing short of awesome. Then poo hit the rotating device (nothing I did, the company changed up things) and had to look for a plan B. At a new 135 gig, and looks like I will finish my career there. Every time I walk through an airline terminal, I am reminded why I did not charge ahead in a 121 direction. It 'aint for everyone.
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The has recently hit the fan at my last 135 job. It was a fantastic job and way too short lived. But I'm happy to have landed on my feet and hopeful that the new gig turns out great.

These types of things are industry wide from what I've observed.
 
135 is terrible. The problem now is that companies are having to comply with regs and increase QOL, but then realize that it costs lots more money to do it right. 135 will always be a race to the bottom, with retail charter being the worst.
 
Inverted said:
135 is terrible. The problem now is that companies are having to comply with regs and increase QOL, but then realize that it costs lots more money to do it right. 135 will always be a race to the bottom, with retail charter being the worst.
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Not all of them.
 
I am on my 5th 135 company in six years. Two were bottom feeders, of which one is out of business and the other circling the drain. One was Ameriflight, and the other had two good years, before management changes destroyed QOL. They are currently about 60-80% staffed depending on area. It's a slow trainwreck. I have encountered every stereotype mentioned so far, including the pilot with seven failed checkrides, including 135 rides. There will be more and more of that kind of thing with the current market. Pickings are slim for the bottom feeders.

The latest company has, so far, been fantastic in comparison to all the others. Mixed 91/135, which might have something to do with it. I used to be very anti-121, but I do see the benefits long term. I just want more adventure.
 
NickH said:
I am on my 5th 135 company in six years. Two were bottom feeders, of which one is out of business and the other circling the drain. One was Ameriflight, and the other had two good years, before management changes destroyed QOL. They are currently about 60-80% staffed depending on area. It's a slow trainwreck. I have encountered every stereotype mentioned so far, including the pilot with seven failed checkrides, including 135 rides. There will be more and more of that kind of thing with the current market. Pickings are slim for the bottom feeders.

The latest company has, so far, been fantastic in comparison to all the others. Mixed 91/135, which might have something to do with it. I used to be very anti-121, but I do see the benefits long term. I just want more adventure.
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If I were single I'd be looking for adventure on my days off with 121 jumpseat privileges. Way better than anything that can happen at the Hollywood, FL Ramada Inn. For real.
 
jtrain609 said:
If you think that the majority of part 135 jobs have security, stability or predictability, then you must not know much about part 135 operations. And I don't mean this to say, "YOU IDIOT," more like, "Oh no, you bought into the internet hype."

Charter companies put you on call 24 hours a day (illegally, I might add), and go under at a rate that's hard to comprehend. I don't know many folks who have been working at the same charter company for more than few years at a time, for various reasons.

Airlines, even regional airlines, provide a level of stability and predictability in schedule that is unimaginable at most charter departments.
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From experience.. this is true.
 
Did medivac for 8 years.

Although one should never say never in aviation.

Never again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
NickH said:
The latest company has, so far, been fantastic in comparison to all the others. Mixed 91/135, which might have something to do with it. I used to be very anti-121, but I do see the benefits long term. I just want more adventure.
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To me, adventure is flying a 777 to London a couple times a month, and using my massive salary to do awesome stuff on my days off until I can retire on my company contributed 401k and other investments. But I guess the Hilton Hasbrook is adventurous too...
 
Dugie8 said:
Did medivac for 8 years.
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Maybe if you'd learned to spell it? Come on, come on, I have you there. :D

Again, I don't think most people would want a 135 career over a 121 career, provided either career is uh "normal" (whatever that is). But there are people who are pretty happy in 135. Methods was a great job with no future, but I'll be damned if I can think up anything particularly awful to say about it. Enjoyed myself, got ludicrous amounts of time off, and did something that at least sort of Mattered. I suspect that long range Medevac is a bit different, and usually for the worse. But a *slightly* different version of myself would be happier than a pig in poop flying sick kids around for a middle class wage.

Similarly, working for a pretty good pax charter company isn't something I'm ashamed of. Maybe the music stops here, maybe it doesn't, but I don't dread going to work and I don't worry that CK is secretly plotting my demise (often. Ok, much). The check arrives with the correct number of zeroes on the correct date, the wings stay on, and there's a bare minimum of BS. Things can always be better, but it's probably worth remembering that they can also always be worse. *shrug*
 
Boris Badenov said:
Maybe if you'd learned to spell it? Come on, come on, I have you there. :D

Again, I don't think most people would want a 135 career over a 121 career, provided either career is uh "normal" (whatever that is). But there are people who are pretty happy in 135. Methods was a great job with no future, but I'll be damned if I can think up anything particularly awful to say about it. Enjoyed myself, got ludicrous amounts of time off, and did something that at least sort of Mattered. I suspect that long range Medevac is a bit different, and usually for the worse. But a *slightly* different version of myself would be happier than a pig in poop flying sick kids around for a middle class wage.

Similarly, working for a pretty good pax charter company isn't something I'm ashamed of. Maybe the music stops here, maybe it doesn't, but I don't dread going to work and I don't worry that CK is secretly plotting my demise (often. Ok, much). The check arrives with the correct number of zeroes on the correct date, the wings stay on, and there's a bare minimum of BS. Things can always be better, but it's probably worth remembering that they can also always be worse. *shrug*
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If you get a check with an appropriate amount of zeroes, why the deuce were you on Jerry Springer opposite that rotund lady screaming about you not being a real man because you don't pay your child support?

cmon-man-o.gif


(Heavy amounts of :sarcasm: )
 
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