Going back to OTR with Schneider Lease Purchase!

Flying for Southwest was a dream of mine as a kid because of their culture. Instead I fly as a passenger with them as often as I can.

I think honestly though if I could get into the field I'd fly an Airbus A320 over a Boeing 737. Not because of the 737 MAX issues, but there's an airline that gets pilots home everyday. I've looked at a JetBlue program that takes you from NOTHING to a JetBlue first officer in 3.5 years for a whopping $110k. Expensive yes, but making good money, and most of the large airlines pay for crew hotels.

If I were to gain experience flying the A320 with JetBlue I'd then set my sights on Allegiant. Reason being is I spoke at length with a captain who flew me into Phoenix-Mesa. He said their compensation is fair, working conditions have improved after they dumped their old MD-80s for the all-Airbus fleet, and their limited flight schedules allows crews to return home after every shift. Since Allegiant has a base at the Phoenix-Mesa airport, a half hour from my home in AZ, I could theoretically fly a Phoenix to LAX, LAX to Phoenix, Phoenix to Ogden, and Ogden back to Phoenix and be home to have dinner with my wife. I'd be a regional pilot with a major airline, with the best hometime policy in the industry.

The only thing holding me back from training is the cost, and the fact that I have bills. Had I started flight training when I was living at home with fewer responsibilities, I'd probably be flying planes now instead of driving trucks. The main reason I didn't choose to fly at the time was when I learned the first officer involved in the Colgan Air crash over Buffalo only earned $16k a year to fly a regional turboprop plane, and couldn't even afford her own lodging, as Colgan Air being a regional airline didn't pay for that. Even the captain on that flight only earned $60k a year. Disappointing to say the least.

But hindsight is 20/20. My wife is supportive of the idea but I don't think it's a feasible one. To completely reset my career path in our situation, where I'd only earn $35-$40k a year as a flight instructor for at least 18 months to accumulate the minimum flight hours, and then earn slightly more as a regional F/O for a couple more years, waiting for my big break to one of the majors.. it's not something my checkbook would be able to tolerate.

 

Load for Sunday morning cancelled #### me. $3880 goes to $3139 just like that. I can't even be sad or angry anymore.

EDIT**
Successfully inserted a new shipment in it's place. It's heavy unlike the cancelled load but it pays more. Settlement looks like $3987 for now unless something else cancels