As someone who spent just under 6 years at VA, my worst day here is still a million times better than my best day at VA. Better flying, not getting screamed at in the sim (yes it actually happened and I mean spit flying, vein throbbing, screamed at), better pay, better QOL, better work conditions. I could go on but you get the picture. I miss my Bali overnights but Paris, Milan and Rome make up for it. Best move I made, was leaving VA and moving back to the US. I do miss a lot of the people I worked with though but the yanks are a good bunch and some even understand and appreciate sarcasm.

Why are the hourly rates so low? Captains at VA are on $270 and FO’s $175. Even with the exchange rate, the gap is significant. $90k US is only around $130k AU. What am I missing?

Yak, the rates that you are talking about are for a regional captain flying a CRJ700/900 or E175 for example. The Australian equivalent would be Qlink or Rex (Saab 340), so the money is already better or comparable while gaining jet experience. But you pay less tax and lower cost of living in the US, so you're ahead.

Pilots at the low cost carriers (Spirit, Frontier, Avelo, etc) on A320s and B737s make a lot more.

For example an FO at Frontier makes approx between $115,000 USD to $174,000 USD (12 years with the airline), but can expect to upgrade at year 3 or 4 with Captain pay starting at $221,000 USD to $262,000 USD (12 years with the airline). So looking at a maximum earning potential close to $400,000 AUD and the airline also will contribute 15% into your 401k per year on top.

Also unlike many Aussie carriers, there’s a bunch of soft time (trip rigs, dropping schedule and picking up trips at 200% etc) that one can do to make significantly more money.

Whinging b@stard. Drown ya sorrows in some spotted cow for me!

tossbag,

Certainly agree with that. If that's what Silver is doing, it won't take long for the truth to come out and no Aussies will bother with them.

On the other hand, taking the "shotgun" approach and applying to every possible place can't hurt. All you have to do is tolerate the tedium of yet another application form.

bafan, the strikerate is literally so good at the other regionals that you don't need to scattergun. What's really refreshing about the US interview and hiring is there's a heavy emphasis on the 'no d!ckhead' policy. What gets mentioned quite a lot from the interviewer 'I make a judgement based on whether I can do a 4 day trip with you and have a good time while getting the job done'

Apart from the fact Australia is an aviation backwater with an increasingly ridiculous ruleset and pilots accepting lower pay while the rest of the world recognises a looming shortage.

Lol. First world problems mate. Hoping to be back out your way soon.

DropYourSocks and Kenny - thanks 👍

As an example at Sprit, our schedule flexibility is some of the best in the industry. I gave my entire schedule back to the company because I didn't want to work for May.

If I did that and put myself on the premium call list all month (perk of living in base is that you can take these calls at short notice) I'd be making easily 20k for the month.

​

Interesting info. How many years have you been with Spirit?

Not the OP, but that'd have to be second year pay, crediting around 160 hours (easily achievable).

A few weeks ago I did a teams interview and was given a conditional job offer at the end.

I am in the process of organising my E3 Visa through the consulate and getting other formalities organised here before I head over.

I am curious to know how people from Aus. find housing / apartments / rentals ? Is it similar to Australia where you apply through a real estate agent?

There’s an app for that……Zillow, Redfin and Rent.com are a good place to start.

Some good info here from guys who have helped me. I've done the US thing twice. It wasn't for me. All that glitters isn't gold.
Having said that, it's a great opportunity for some. Just wasn't for me. The great thing is you can check it out and judge for yourself.

would you mind sharing some negatives or things you didn’t enjoy? As you said, this forum makes it out all rosy..

Of course there are negatives, here are some...

If you have no seniority, your schedule will suck. You'll be working reserve, weekends, red-eyes, what-have-you. But, it gets better with time.

First year pay sucks, particularly at the ULCC level. Spirit it $60/hr, and Frontier is $75/hr. Second year pay at both is roughly $120/hr, much better. There are no bonds for type ratings here, so this is you more or less covering the cost of your type rating. This practice is standard at more or less every airline/cargo here, it just varies by how much.

You can't go straight to a command. Doesn't matter that you were a hot shot captain with 3 orbital re-entries. You have to start as an FO, and do your 1000hrs 121. That's a pretty big chunk of humble pie for some, particularly if you're going to the regionals first, instead of Atlas, Spirit or Frontier.

You will forever get, "OMG I love your accent", quickly followed by a terrible impression of you which for some reason always sounds British. Learn to love it.

And lastly, my biggest pet peeves here. It doesn't matter where you go, but the supermarket bbq chickens here are just not the same as you get from Coles or Woolies.

Most of the downsides of the US are fixed with time and seniority. The rosey lifestyles and cash aren't something you get from the start, because you need that seniority to manipulate your schedule. The rest really is what you make of it. Some people will never like the US, and that's ok too.

In addition to what Kenny said, if you see an apartment complex in an area you'd like to live, go to the management office and there'll be someone who can rent you one.

About 2.5 years now.


​​​​

I think the US is probably objectively the greatest place in the world to be a pilot.

The trade off is that you have to live in the US. The individualism really starts to get tiresome.