Appreciate the video, but I do still have some questions. You mentioned lifestyle when reporting a pro for cargo, can you please elaborate? What does a normal month entail in regards to flying days on/off (on average)? Is open time available? What is the average amount of time for upgrade to captain? What makes you a competitive applicant for a major legacy cargo carrier? Etc etc… If you could answer some of those questions I would be grateful.
That’s hard to answer, bc it’ll change month to month, day by day. But here’s my best try… Lifestyle, cargo, I fly the plane. Period. Pax, have to deal with a lot of “external factors”. That adds stress, effects your quality of life. Days off, avg: 15-18 days off a month. Upgrade was 4 months on property last bid. Competitive: clean record. turbine PIC time in jets/heavy jets. Hope that helps!
Also a pro for cargo pilots is if not in a critical phase of flight you can normally get up and use the bathroom whenever you want and go fix coffee or something to eat, without wearing your uniform.
What about the differences in work schedule? I’ve heard that some air cargo companies schedule 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. If so, that seems appealing to me as there are less days wasted traveling between home and work and more days off! Is this a fairly typical schedule in air cargo?
I want to fly cargo and not passengers after my 1500 hrs. I am better with boxes than I am people. What would you recommend. I am going to LIFT academy for flight training
Great video after being a dispatcher in the passenger world for 20 years I switch last year to cargo and I agree with everything you said. I notice you went from three bars in the last video four bars. Is it Captain Pete now?
if i had a choice i'll go for cargo for sure. rather deal with a shipment of boxes then a bunch of people who just moan and complain behind me about any situation that is beyond your control lol just a pet peeve of mine 😆
Gotta say, I’ve watched all your videos and I really enjoyed them. Chilled presenting style and interesting facts and information. Keep it up man, the channels gonna take off ✌🏼
Advice for someone who wants to become a pilot after a 10-year career as a management consultant? I'm at a point in my life where I think I wanna finally chase my dream of becoming a pilot - I've always been fascinated with airplanes.
Advice….GO FOR IT! It’s never too late, seriously. I had men and women in my new hire class at both airlines that I was at in their 50s. So if it’s something you really want to do, go for it. Life is short!
Just found a related thread on the APC forum: "did I make the right choice leaving 4 years of seniority at a major passenger airline to come fly crappy schedule on a cargo carrier"? Interesting discussion....
I don't know, man, I heard an ATC recording of a cargo plane which had to return to Miami because a horse in the back got upset. They had to declare an emergency.
"Clean shaven"....you must not be flying the day you made this video haha. Great video, I have many questions but will limit myself to one. My nearby airport is CYYC. We are serviced daily by the two big legacy freight carriers from the US. Let's say, typical flight is from MEM to YYC arriving between 6 to 7 am in the morning. The plane sits on the ground all day, for about 12 hours. The return flight from YYC back to MEM leaves between 6 to 7 pm, gets into MEM around midnight. This daily out and back scenario is common all over North America. My question is, what do the pilots do for the 12 hours the plane is on the ground during the day, at the outbound airport? Do you go to a hotel and sleep? Or is there some crew rest area at the outbound destination terminal that you hang out in? Do you get paid for these 12 hours that you are sitting on the ground at the destination airport? Always wondered about this, and you are the guy that can answer this. Thanks!
How does the pay compared between them? Right now I’m currently a trucker so I think I would like cargo a lot more to be honest. Is there one that’s more difficult to get into than the other
What's your experience been like with night flying or crazy circadian rhythm changes? FedEx/UPS both fly at night quite a bit, has that been tough to handle compared to your pax flying?
Great question. Personally, I don’t enjoy night flights, because I’m not a great sleeper to being with, so when my normal schedule gets screwed up it takes me awhile to get back on track. Luckily, I’ve been able to avoid a lot of night flying in career. Contrary to popular belief, Cargo and pax flying have similar amount of night flying. My west coast based friends fly a lot of redeyes to the east coast on pax carriers.
@@pilotpetefly That's great info, thanks for that. I figured cargo had significantly worse schedules, and that was my biggest reservation in trying to go there. What is your personal biggest negative/regret with cargo flying? I'm leaving the military in about a year, so the info is extremely helpful.
@@cabrams1209 I don’t really have any regrets honestly. I would say the negative is I know commute to work. However, with the amount of deadhesds we have, not often am I not flying positive space to get to work. Best of luck with your decision, having flown at both legacy pax carrier and now cargo, can’t go wrong with either!
@@pilotpetefly It really does seem great either way, but if that's the only negative then I know where I want to be. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Cargo Pilots are looked at like a Corrections Officer. Nobody thinks about them or what’s inside the structure LOL. Only will get looked at by other co-workers and inmates. Patrol Officers are like the Airline Pilots that fly passengers. Always getting looked at by lots of different people. I used to be a corrections officer and know how it goes with that type of stigma. Anywho, keep the content going. Love your videos!
Hi Pete love the videos. I am actually in a aviation program at a university. Would you recommend doing cargo first or doing the airlines first after? I been looking into Mountain Air Cargo for their purple fed x pathway or skywest for a regional airline.
There a bunch of cargo feeder operations that you can fly for that make for a good transition to getting to the legacy cargo companies. Mountain air cargo is one that I know of
whats up bro, im in my flight training right now ... what would you say is the difference as far compensation and demand for passenger vs cargo pilots ? thanks !
Hey Captain, when did you upgrade to captain? Also I am a flight student who is finishing up his instrument and my school is a partnership with Atlas Air. Any opinions about this cargo company. My end goal is FedEx too fly their MD-11f. Thanks and awesome video's this channel is going to grow SOOO much!!!!!
Hey Mike! I was a Capatin at my ex ex airline. I’m currently a FO. That’s awesome, best of luck with training! I don’t know much about that airline, but haven’t heard anything bad about it. Thanks so much for watching!
How are passenger and cargo with being at home, are you home every night? I know seniority has an affect but how many years of seniority do you need to be able to be at home with your family every night?
Hi, awesome video! Do you think its worth it to pursue a pilot career without a bachelor degree? Im 39 yo and i have a small family restaurant but i rly like the pilot career. Thanks in advance! Btw i want to be a cargo piot as well.
I've heard that the airlines treat their flight crews just as badly as they treat their passengers. Is that true? And do the cargo companies treat their pilots better?
done both cargo not fun...middle of the night flying . parking in the middle of nowhere. think of your passengers as cargo that walks on and off. passenger flight park at the terminal cargo parks on the tarmac. my choice passenger did it for 35 years with no regrets
Hi there…any tips for fearful flyers especially after seeing the two severe turbulence incidents (one plane dropping 500 feet😮) recently reported on the news 🫣 please and thanks!
Just saw that on the news, my mom just asked me the same thing. I'll make a video on turbulence soon! Short answer though, as scary and terrifying as turbulence may be, know that the plane will never go down because of it, that your pilots will get you there safely. It's like a roll coaster ride you didn't sign up for, it's scary, but 100% safe and will be over soon!
@@pilotpetefly Thank you very much. Seriously considered cancelling a trip after hearing about each incident. Getting a RX of Xanax to hopefully help me through any expected (and unexpected) turbulence. Subscribed☺️
@@eccentriclocs I understand, flying is nerve racking for many people. As much as I love it and think it’s fun, safety is #1 priority, always. So I’m 100% confident telling people they’re safe up there. You got this!
