"I'm not interested in the airlines"

10 years ago when I was going to flight school, this was a bit of a joke. Sure some pilots made careers in corporate, freight, of other areas of the industry, but virtually EVERYBODY (myself included) wanted to go fly at a major airline as the ultimate career destination.

Today, I can honestly say that a passenger airline job would be last on my list of places to work, and the idea of retiring from a major is totally out of the question. My family life and QOL is far more important than the idea of flying a 777 for United.

I've noticed a deffinate increase in similiar thinking. The recent AA bankrupcy fileing seems like it will reinforce this trend.

What does the rest of the JC world think?

Although I have zero experience flying for hire, I'd rather fly freight.

When I started 12 years ago I never had an interest in hauling pax. Still don't. For me, back then I think the consensus was about 60/40 pax/other.

Now-a-days I'd recommend anything outside of aviation as a better career decision.

I just can't get into the idea of flying for an airline long term. To me it's too much like "bus stop" flying. Monotonus. Then there's the chance of some jumpseater calling your CP to complain if they didn't like some bumps during the flight or for whatever small reaon they feel is worthy. Besides, the pilot lounges are better in Cutter, Atlantic and FBO's then the dirty airline crew rooms. And alot of the times...Free Starbucks. Plus, just being an anonymous number at an airline where your future depends on proper planning of managment.
(coughing)..american eagle...

Honestly, I wanted to be an airline pilot more than anything when I was a kid. When I got older, earned my PPL and IR, and learned what the airlines were really like, I lost interest in flying for a career. For me the idea of being an airline pilot was more important than the actual flying, and once I found out how rough that life would be on a married person, I decided to forge forward in the cubicle world and fly for fun when I can. My dad was/is a long haul trucker and I've seen the freight lifestyle from that perspective. No interest.

You could go fly Supplemental 121 if you don't like monotonous.

(Of course, it's one level of hell deeper than traditional scheduled airlines)

Nah, I enjoy flying too much to be an airline pilot.

I always thought the airlines could offer the best QOL by living in base with 1 or 2 day trips (almost always home every night). What's a typical corporate schedule? Fly some place on Monday and sit in a hotel all week then fly back???

Corporate and 135 pax = who knows for me.

The esteem of being an airline pilot died 20 years ago, it now has the appeal of being a factory worker.

Never wanted to fly airlines, other than maybe fedex, and my view still hasn't changed in the last 10 years

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Is that even a reality for anyone besides the top 1% of the seniority list? I think most people have a better shot at being an astronaut. ha

I grew up wanting to, and do it for a living now. Between the blocks its still a great job and in general we have good crews but the downward trend in QOL and pay have made me more open to non-airline flying or a non-flying job if the right offer came along. Call me stupid or stubborn or both but I still can't give up on things yet.

I did the 121 thing for a little bit, and this was my conclusion (except I'd bid reserve). Since living in base was not going to be an option...oh well.

Corporate 91, freight, OD pax 135, OAS, ag -- the type of flying seems to be secondary to the quality of the operation. There are 135 outfits that run on such a shoestring (and cut corners to make a buck) that they really don't need to be holding out. They really need to get out of the business. There are 91 operators who give you hard days off, appreciate your contribution to the company, etc., and then there are others that have you on a 30 min leash 24/7/365, and when you're not flying you're mowing lawns at the CEO's house. I knew a guy flying a corp-owned PA32R...best dang gig because it was with the right company with the right QOL/pay. It wasn't a jet or a TP, but in the big picture I was a good job.

Maybe I'm in the minority, or maybe it's just where I live, but every time I see that Alaska Airlines 737 come through The Cut to runway 8 trailing little vortices off the flaps, or blasting off down the Gastineau Channel up into an overcast on the RNP departure, I think to myself, "daaaang that looks like fun".

The same. I don't particularly like the idea of not being able to jump from one carrier to another carrier having to start over at the bottom again. In virtually all other areas of aviation, you can take your pay and QOL qith you, even if it is slightly less.

I like the airlines thus far. The flying is dull and boring, this is also known as safe. The schedule is dull and boring, which has also been called predictable. You have flexibility in being able to chose what type of flying you do depending on what your seniority can hold. I know my company will be around for the next 10 years or so (after that, who knows).

Want to fly the airplane? Turn off the automation and fly it. Want to be lazy? AP can come on at 500'.

Your 1st three sentence describe my sentiments.....

I LOVED the aspect of making $250,000 to $300,000 a year as a Heavy Captain traveling to different cities and seeing the world (International leg) as an airline pilot. It all seemed to be worth the family sacrifice and loans back in the 1990 and early 2000's.

In 2007 I stopped flying (just short of my COMM Single ticket). I noticed the SACRIFICES were NOT WORTH the training costs, debt, and Low Pay in relation to cost of living increases, cost to obtain licenses, low probability of having a 20+ year career in cyclical industry. Not to mention the Family Sacrifices, UV Radiation, Easy Medical Disqualification that could end everything.... $18-$21/per hr??????? You expect me to be happy with the lives of many in my hands, and I'm away from my family? Even if I have a Bachelors Degree? Com'mon even truck drivers make more than that! U've got to be kidding me.... So I got disgusted and stopped flying to finish College 1st.

The passion remained, the dream kept calling to fly for the airlines. Many of you are like me; realizing you need to saddling up and get back in the race towards your dream. We must. This is the time to focus on the end goal (e.g. Flying airplanes for a living and/or traveling Internationally as a pilot). There may be detours which lead us away from thee Airline Career we dreamed of into Corporate, or Freight flying. That's great! Truth is, we will still be following our dreams and goals of flying for a living. I'm jumping back in the saddle this year! I don't care where I end up (airline, corporate, freight). As long as I'm flying for a living in RESPECTABLE, STABLE COMPANY, and SAFE AIRCRAFT.

Depends who you ask. Very rarely does anyone outside aviation seem unimpressed when it comes up, at least in my experience.

I've wanted to be an airline pilot since I was 4 years old. And still do. At first I was willing to do anything and work anywhere for anyone to be an airline pilot. As time went on, I considered flying for AMF instead of a regional, especially when I heard you're virtually guaranteed Oakland at the moment if you want it. Thought about it, made a lot of friends in 135, and I noticed a trend. 135 pilots, or the one's I know, tend to be the rugged, self sufficient, outdoorsy type. That made me realize that it's a pretty lonely job a lot of the time, and I really don't enjoy flying alone. Hell, I just gave it some thought last night and I've carried 21 different passengers so far in just a bit over a year as a private pilot. Like anything in life, flying is way more fun with someone to talk to next to you. And besides, working with people breaks the monotony day to day, good or bad. Its very disappointing that only one regional has a domicile anywhere near SFO, luckily its the one I work for and hoped to fly for anyway. My ultimate goal right now is to be SFO reserve on the Brasilia at Skywest, and honestly, I'd be happy doing that for the foreseeable future. I'd probably end up in Fresno first, but get senior enough there and you can hold lines that start and end with SFO deadheads, so I could still just drive 10 minutes to work everyday. Hopefully by the time they retire the Brasilia, I'd be able to hold SFO on the jet. If I cannot hold SFO, FAT, or LAX, I'd stick around only if I could upgrade, and even then I would only commute until I had enough PIC to look into Cathay Pacific(they have SFO/LAX crew bases), Virgin America or even Amflight out of OAK. Perhaps Allegiant would have an OAK base, in which case they'd be my first choice. If none of those panned out, I'd look into cooperate or air ambulance jobs around here. If I still was out of luck, I'd go back to being a CFI until I could find something local.

As you can see, airline flying is my first choice, and my passion, but it all comes down to QOL. I want to live, grow old, and die right here in the Bay Area. If everything pans out, I hope to make the majority of my income outside of flying, and gradually transition into a "hobby pilot". But my other buisness is right here, along with my friends and family, and above all else, I want to be here as much as I can. I can honestly say that if no airlines hired on the West Coast in the next 30 years, I'd happily CFI part time before I'd look for a flying job East of the Rockies.

I'll also add I personally see no point at all in setting a goal for any major airline, other than a preferred domicile of SFO/SJC/OAK. Things change so fast in this industry, who knows what it'll look like. Jetblue could buy Virgin America and become the largest airline in SFO in the next 15 years for all we know. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.