Originally Posted by
Colonel_Klink
Are you able to expand a little more on this? As someone who works for VA and is considering the move, I am genuinely interested in any further details.
Thanks!
Sure,
CommutAir for example pays $90/hr now for captains. So call the yearly salary $90k give or take for easy numbers. But the money isn't really where the QoL is at. It's in your ability to bid your schedule. If you want overnights somewhere, want 10 days off in a row, only want to do morning flying, stack all your flying into big days but have 18 days off... whatever it is, if your seniority allows it you can bid for it.
I flew with an Orlando based Frontier captain back in February. Something he likes to do is bid for entire weeks off at a time, then sits in Philly and waits for overtime to drop. He claimed he grossed $400k last year. His story, so naturally I can't verify it, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. He's also single, obviously this may not work for everyone.
My point is, if you want to work more and clean up, you can. You want to cram all your flying into as few days as possible and have 18 off, you can. It's entirely dependent on your seniority though, and what I've described are obviously towards the top end of QoL.
Lastly, I believe the current opportunities aren't the ceiling for E3s. As an example, CommutAir is sponsoring it's Aussie captains on green cards. There are T&C's, which I'm not privy too, but they are allowing the Aussies to now opt into the Aviate flow for United. More or less wait until you get your GC then flow to UA. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the likes of Southwest starting their own program. Since the likes of Spirit, Frontier and Atlas have legitimized E3s, I don't think other carriers picking it up is that far of a stretch.