Atlas Air questions.

[cr7driver]

Questions about Atlas? Please help!!:confused:

What is the average cost of medical insurance for employee+1?HMO or PPO? and who is the provider?

Gateway basing: I see that DFW is a gateway airport Atlas. It is my understanding that Atlas pays for the ticket to STN, but do they pay for the hotel there whilst sitting on reserve? Or does the employee pay for that?

Does Atlas type rate FO's on the 400? I f so, is it a PIC type or a SIC type?

Does the classic fleet at Atlas fly to Afghanistan or Iraq? If so, is there any hazzard pay or specialized training?

And lastly, would you leave Evergreen to come work at Atlas? At this point I am 12 from the left seat on the classic been there 2.5 years?

How long is the upgrade at Atlas?200 or 400?

[rob rilly]

Dont leave the Zone(Evergreen) For Atlas..... Bad Move, Real Bad Move !:=:=:=

[Lowrider2]

Come to the interview, take a loa from Evergreen, get the 400 type rating then leave Atlas.
It is not that bad of a place to work if you realize you are in the nonsched. business.

[WhaleFR8]

cr7

Forgive my Polar colleague I am sure he meant to be more polite. I know it is hard to make a decision based on what you hear. There are many Atlas pilots who watch these boards who can be of much more help than I am.

What is the average cost of medical insurance for employee+1?HMO or PPO? and who is the provider? The provider is Cigna and there are four types of plans. I am sure that Atlas HR would turn loose of the info. I am not sure of the costs/co-pays/deductibles etc as I use my wifes plan. I think it is fairly reasonable though.

Gateway basing: I see that DFW is a gateway airport Atlas. It is my understanding that Atlas pays for the ticket to STN, but do they pay for the hotel there whilst sitting on reserve? Or does the employee pay for that? You get a ticket (albeit coach class) and the hotel.

Does Atlas type rate FO's on the 400? I f so, is it a PIC type or a SIC type?Yes you are type rated as a PIC provided you have the turbo-jet min time that the FAA currently requires for the Atlas level of sim.

Does the classic fleet at Atlas fly to Afghanistan or Iraq? If so, is there any hazzard pay or specialized training?Currently neither.

And lastly, would you leave Evergreen to come work at Atlas? At this point I am 12 from the left seat on the classic been there 2.5 years? How long is the upgrade at Atlas?200 or 400? I can't answer that as I have never been at Evergreen. Currently the biggest issues at Atlas are involved with the merger with Polar. I am sure you are aware of the problems. The Atlas maintenance is good when there are no ex-Polar mechanics or maintenance managers involved. Generally the aircraft are in good shape compared to some other freighters I have flown. Expect an all -400/-8F fleet by the end of 2010 or possibly a few classics in the phase out mode. Time to upgrade is about 10 years and that will change after the age 65 debacle and the Polar integration so it is hard to say what to recommend.

[rob rilly]

The Zone, is a lot better than Atlas. I'm an EX-Zoner and still know plenty people there. Atlas has the worst schedule there is in the industry. No personal life for the junior guys. No Quality of Life, and never have had any. Keep what you have, as I hear Dale is getting 400's !:ok::ok::ok:

[WhaleFR8]

Just as I have never worked at Evergreen, you have never worked at Atlas. I wouldn't answer a persons legitimate question about Polar. I expect that you would give the person the same courtesy -

[412SP]

typed in the 400 as PIC ......yes.

would I leave if you are that close to upgrade.........NO.

Upgrade at Atlas..........8-10 years.

Schedules...........Not good. (see PBS)

choose wisely.

[rob rilly]

Who are you kidding ? You are always sticking your nose into Polar. I have been at Evergreen and am giving him the facts. I will forward him the Atlas Contract and he can see for himself !

[cr7driver]

Thanks for the help.
Well, at the zone we are furloughing and downgrading 6 or so captains back to FO. I am sure that this is a typical Evergreen end of the year tactic and "hopefuly" it will pick back up sometime in the spring or maybe earlier. I am in no immediate danger, but chances of upgrading have just been pushed back until there is positive movement on the list. I just hate this constant hire/fire stuff that the zone is famous for. Allthough, in the time that I have been here, they have only furloughed once and that was for a 2 week period and then hired for all of 2007. But we did lose 22 FOs this year to greener pastures.
What I like about Atlas:
No more jumpseat worries as the commute is payed for from gateway to base. Better pay than I will ever see at the zone. Better benefits package. Having a diverse business model (80% ACMI and 20% military). Here at the zone, that is exactly reversed. In fact we have maybe only one ACMI contarct and thats it, the rest is ad hoc stuff that we pick up.
Type rating (PIC) on the 400. Evergreen is supposed to get 400s, but that may or may not happen. The LCF 400 is here, but they hardly fly at all. Atlas/Polar does not fly into any active warzones. Evergreen does, and they don't compensate you for it. This to me is a big reason to leave.
What I like about the zone:
Upgrade less than 2 years "if" things pick back up. Chance to build PIC time and then get out! I stand a better chance of bidding a good schedule here. and hence my QOL is not bad at all. Had Thanksgiving off and will have XMAS off as well. Hate the jumseating bit, but like that they pay for our hotels. I have to say that overall I have been pretty happy here, but things are starting to change.

Well the decesion is tough. Can y'all weigh in with some more thoughs.
Thanks again.

[Miami Freight]

"The Atlas maintenance is good when there are no ex-Polar mechanics or maintenance managers involved."

Don't miss out on an opportunity to bash Polar in any way. Can't wait to relay your sentiments to the mechanics.

CR7. Have you ever crouched down in a van with blacked out windows on your way to work?