It was hot in Daytona Beach in 2013. I had spent virtually every day in the previous one and a half years sweating and stressing over the future. Months would fly by with as little as 2-3 days free from work and it was wearing on me. The finish line, moving to an airline, was what motivated me to shun social interaction for the better part of two years (except for the occasional stressful-day pitcher and bitch session with fellow instructors). It was the dream I'd had since I was a young boy, to sit in the cockpit of an airplane carrying passengers to and from some of the busiest airports on the planet.
In the late spring of that year, I'd interviewed at a large and prestigious airline known as American Eagle Airlines. It was a humbling, stressful, yet incredibly rewarding experience. You can read all about the experience in my blog from May of that year here: A Weird and Wild Week. I just reread it and all those same feelings came rushing back. Hopefully, I'll only have to do that one more time in my career.
Following that interview, the regional airlines started hiring in mass. American Eagle was one of the first to allow me to interview with the second being Trans States Airlines. I had several other interviews lined up over the course of the summer but something just didn't feel right about many of the others. I wasn't sold on Trans States, but they offered me a chance to go to class in early September so I just had to jump at the chance. That decision has literally changed my life.
When I was a flight instructor, the golden ticket was multi-engine time. Two engines is better than one. When I received a phone call from Epic Flight Academy asking me to come interview for an instructor position there, I'd never heard of them. I knew I had sent my resume out like spam to any flight school in the area hoping to get a call but couldn't remember this place for the life of me. When I researched it, there was little to no information about it. The day I arrived in New Smyrna Beach, I pulled up to the tiny airport and was less than impressed. The administration building was a single-wide trailer. Next to it sat a tiny, single story, flight school with not more than 3 or 4 rooms, After a face-to-face interview and flight skills test in the airplane, I was offered the job. I asked the chief instructor for a few days to think about it and he was more than happy to oblige.
When I decided to take the job in the small town near Daytona, I had no idea how incredibly fortunate I was about to become. Less than a few months later, I was one of a small handful of instructors qualified to fly and teach in the multi-engine airplane. The flight school, as I came to find out later, was one of the best paying flight schools in the country for new instructors. That combined with the all-you-can-fly buffet of students let me accumulate time faster than I would have at any other flight school. Even though I continued to chase the rising total flight time requirements of the regional airlines, I eventually caught up. I became one of the first few to leave the flight school in what became an exodus of flight instructors.
When I arrived at Trans States, it felt eerily similar to Epic. It was an old "Mom and Pop" operation turned professional airline. Like Epic, the facilities weren't the biggest or flashiest like at American Eagle. The airplanes were hand-me-downs from other airlines and purchased at favorable rates. But also like Epic, I arrived there under incredibly favorable circumstances. Trans States, a little known airline in the industry, was just recovering its reputation from a heated and contentious labor battle. It ended with the creation of a new airline, GoJet, and a 5-minutes-to-midnight showdown leading up to a possible strike. Months before I interviewed, they had recently signed an agreement with United Airlines for an additional 7 airplanes. The additional airplanes would require a 30% increase in pilots and add to the already projected 10% increase for the new and more stringent rest rules becoming law the following January.
I just happened to be hired right in the middle of this growth and when I became an active pilot in December of that year, I once again benefited from a veritable buffet of flying. Most 1st-year First Officers have to battle poverty as is the life "on reserve" or a backup pilot flying very little and getting paid the absolute least that the company can pay you. First year pay at a regional airline is around $22,000. But as someone thrust into a shortage of pilots, I could make almost 30-40% more than the baseline pay. Once again, I was incredibly fortunate. But the fortune doesn't stop there.
In November of last year, my company signed a deal with United Airlines and American Airlines to acquire an additional 35 and 15 airplanes respectively. This would nearly triple the current fleet and require a comparable proportion of pilots. How fortunate am I? American Eagle, the place I first interviewed has taken a turn for the worst. They began a heated labor battle right as I was hired by Trans States which has resulted in the airline shrinking by almost 50%. Other friends have gone to places like ExpressJet and Republic. The former has been informed that many of their airplanes are going to be parked and the latter has entered a heated labor battle with their management as well. This turmoil revolves around the abysmal pay of the pilots during a time of record billion dollar profits by the major airline partners. At the very least, many would say, the return on a $70,000 investment and years of flying experience required to be hired at a regional airline should be measurably higher than $22,000 a year.
I could have easily ended up at one of those airlines. In fact, many of the airplanes we are receiving in that 50-airplane deal are coming from other regional airlines, namely ExpressJet and American Eagle (now named Envoy Air). I feel bad for the pilots struggling at the other airlines as I could have very easily been in their shoes. One of my friends, who was hired on the exact same day at a different airline is still the bottom of the barrel in seniority. He is years from getting a decent schedule and even further from upgrading. For me, in the spring, I was in the top 20% of First Officers in my company. I routinely averaged 14-15 days off and was able to spend almost every weekend in my own bed. For me, though, fortune remained in my corner.
When I was a flight instructor, the golden ticket was multi-engine time. Two engines is better than one. When I received a phone call from Epic Flight Academy asking me to come interview for an instructor position there, I'd never heard of them. I knew I had sent my resume out like spam to any flight school in the area hoping to get a call but couldn't remember this place for the life of me. When I researched it, there was little to no information about it. The day I arrived in New Smyrna Beach, I pulled up to the tiny airport and was less than impressed. The administration building was a single-wide trailer. Next to it sat a tiny, single story, flight school with not more than 3 or 4 rooms, After a face-to-face interview and flight skills test in the airplane, I was offered the job. I asked the chief instructor for a few days to think about it and he was more than happy to oblige.
When I decided to take the job in the small town near Daytona, I had no idea how incredibly fortunate I was about to become. Less than a few months later, I was one of a small handful of instructors qualified to fly and teach in the multi-engine airplane. The flight school, as I came to find out later, was one of the best paying flight schools in the country for new instructors. That combined with the all-you-can-fly buffet of students let me accumulate time faster than I would have at any other flight school. Even though I continued to chase the rising total flight time requirements of the regional airlines, I eventually caught up. I became one of the first few to leave the flight school in what became an exodus of flight instructors.
When I arrived at Trans States, it felt eerily similar to Epic. It was an old "Mom and Pop" operation turned professional airline. Like Epic, the facilities weren't the biggest or flashiest like at American Eagle. The airplanes were hand-me-downs from other airlines and purchased at favorable rates. But also like Epic, I arrived there under incredibly favorable circumstances. Trans States, a little known airline in the industry, was just recovering its reputation from a heated and contentious labor battle. It ended with the creation of a new airline, GoJet, and a 5-minutes-to-midnight showdown leading up to a possible strike. Months before I interviewed, they had recently signed an agreement with United Airlines for an additional 7 airplanes. The additional airplanes would require a 30% increase in pilots and add to the already projected 10% increase for the new and more stringent rest rules becoming law the following January.
I just happened to be hired right in the middle of this growth and when I became an active pilot in December of that year, I once again benefited from a veritable buffet of flying. Most 1st-year First Officers have to battle poverty as is the life "on reserve" or a backup pilot flying very little and getting paid the absolute least that the company can pay you. First year pay at a regional airline is around $22,000. But as someone thrust into a shortage of pilots, I could make almost 30-40% more than the baseline pay. Once again, I was incredibly fortunate. But the fortune doesn't stop there.
In November of last year, my company signed a deal with United Airlines and American Airlines to acquire an additional 35 and 15 airplanes respectively. This would nearly triple the current fleet and require a comparable proportion of pilots. How fortunate am I? American Eagle, the place I first interviewed has taken a turn for the worst. They began a heated labor battle right as I was hired by Trans States which has resulted in the airline shrinking by almost 50%. Other friends have gone to places like ExpressJet and Republic. The former has been informed that many of their airplanes are going to be parked and the latter has entered a heated labor battle with their management as well. This turmoil revolves around the abysmal pay of the pilots during a time of record billion dollar profits by the major airline partners. At the very least, many would say, the return on a $70,000 investment and years of flying experience required to be hired at a regional airline should be measurably higher than $22,000 a year.
I could have easily ended up at one of those airlines. In fact, many of the airplanes we are receiving in that 50-airplane deal are coming from other regional airlines, namely ExpressJet and American Eagle (now named Envoy Air). I feel bad for the pilots struggling at the other airlines as I could have very easily been in their shoes. One of my friends, who was hired on the exact same day at a different airline is still the bottom of the barrel in seniority. He is years from getting a decent schedule and even further from upgrading. For me, in the spring, I was in the top 20% of First Officers in my company. I routinely averaged 14-15 days off and was able to spend almost every weekend in my own bed. For me, though, fortune remained in my corner.
I never thought I'd be where I am today. For those who read my previous blog, I posted a riddle. Starting on July 1st, I began a new and exciting journey. It's one that only moves me a few feet but opens doors to the world. On July 1st, I started my upgrade to Captain. Just like as a flight instructor, the golden ticket item for a regional airline pilot is jet Captain time. By the end of the week, I'll be fully certified and ready to head back out to the airport an Airline Captain. It's an incredible responsibility that I'm honored to achieve and one that I'll continue to share with you all in coming entries.
And now, an explanation of the riddle:
And now, an explanation of the riddle:
Once upon a time, many lives ago
he sat, angry, in the deep dark below. (ICBM Launch Control Center)
A midnight watchman, inform'lly referred, (Missileer)
A Revelation, a fairy tale, deterred. (End of the world by nuclear annihilation which is highly unlikely)
Akin to the fiction stated before
The Titles compare in stories of yore (The titles of people compare to what I'm about to be called)
Jack and I, to be the same although wrong (Captain Jack Sparrow have the same title but he Captains boats)
Is to Kangaroo as is to young King Kong. (Analogy: Captain Kangaroo a ship Captain and Major King Kong, pilot from Dr. Strangelove)
Reality's here, now enrichment due (But on to reality, I have to start upgrade class)
To once again be what was while blue (Blue meaning Air Force. I was once a Captain, and I'll be one again)
The timing, perfect. The luck on my side.
Hoping to be in short order, what am I?
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