QOL in Cargojet besides poor pay

[log2cloud]

Hi everyone, I’m exploring opportunities at Cargojet and would really appreciate some firsthand perspectives. I know pay is a big issue in Cargojet, but besides that couldn't find much information about the position. For those currently flying with them—or who have in recent years—could you share your thoughts on:
The overall cockpit and company culture
Typical schedules (e.g., days on/off, frequency of overnights, base flexibility)
How junior pilots are treated and supported during training/transition
Work-life balance in general and how much control do pilots in there first few years have over their monthly schedule bid?
Opportunities for upgrades
Crew morale and management-pilot relationships
Would love to see what it’s really like day-to-day would be incredibly helpful. Thanks in advance!

[piedpiper]

The only people who have good things to say are the ones who end up in the boys club.

I fly with a lot of ex CJ pilots and 99% of them have nothing good to say. It's a shit company, with a terrible owner and a CP who will throw you under the bus the first chance they get if they don't like you or you do something as simple as follow the CARs.

But hey you get a cool type rating and you'll get to meet Pilot Inty in person. You can view that as a positive or negative, up to you.

[mantogasrsrwy]

I agree with the poster above. I've never flown with a with a former Cargojet pilot who had anything good to say about the company. That being said I think it would be a much better stepping stone than bouncing around in a 1900.

[genetic jack hammer]

The only people who have good things to say are the ones who end up in the boys club.

I fly with a lot of ex CJ pilots and 99% of them have nothing good to say. It's a shit company, with a terrible owner and a CP who will throw you under the bus the first chance they get if they don't like you or you do something as simple as follow the CARs.

But hey you get a cool type rating and you'll get to meet Pilot Inty in person. You can view that as a positive or negative, up to you.

Inty made the switch from encore to cj?

[oneL]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

[Pratt X 3]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

Let's not start promoting the idea that 15 days is considered a part-time job for pilots whose working day can be much longer than office drones. If I hear "You only work half the year!" one more time from someone who doesn't understand the business (or worse, a manager that should know better!), I'm gonna lose it!!! Almost as bad as those that defend poor pay by including their per diems as total pay. Why don't you include the cost of the hotel room too?

[cdnavater]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

Let's not start promoting the idea that 15 days is considered a part-time job for pilots whose working day can be much longer than office drones. If I hear "You only work half the year!" one more time from someone who doesn't understand the business (or worse, a manager that should know better!), I'm gonna lose it!!! Almost as bad as those that defend poor pay by including their per diems as total pay. Why don't you include the cost of the hotel room too?

I once had a company offer me a job saying I would only work 8-10 days per month, when I asked if the other 20-22 days off were in blocks, he told me and with a total straight face that I would be on call 27 days with 3 GDOs. The 3 days required to reset, I couldn’t get out the door fast enough.
Point is, to some being on call but not actually getting called is like a day off, some senior Jazz pilots bid reserve to have more days at home and don’t mind being tied to the phone. To be honest, if I didn’t commute, I would likely consider it myself but I wouldn’t justify it as part time.

[piedpiper]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

LMAAOOOO

[log2cloud]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

TY. how about the cockpit culture in general? Is it a very toxic, punitive environment to be working in?

[dialdriver]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

Lipstick on a pig.

[piedpiper]

Regarding the original question, the QOL in terms of scheduling is that it's basically a part-time job with only 15 days a month worked.
A bunch of these might be reserve, and there's a pretty even mix if overnight & daytime flights.

TY. how about the cockpit culture in general? Is it a very toxic, punitive environment to be working in?

Have the answers so far not given you enough of an idea?

[Doggtown88]

I had a great time working at Cargojet (as a stepping stone)
Long layovers in cool places, widebody experience, mostly daytime flying down south (domestic stuff is a different story) FO pay was pretty on par with the industry (captain pay is brutal lol) cockpit culture was pretty good although it varies like all airlines I’m sure… got to learn from extremely experienced guys etc. I left because I was trying to build hours for my career destination and I was only flying like 20 hours a month there. All in all I think it depends what you’re looking for but it was a good experience IMHO - although there are much better options long term.

[Doggtown88]

I had a great time working at Cargojet (as a stepping stone)
Long layovers in cool places, widebody experience, mostly daytime flying down south (domestic stuff is a different story) FO pay was pretty on par with the industry (captain pay is brutal lol) cockpit culture was pretty good although it varies like all airlines I’m sure… got to learn from extremely experienced guys etc. I left because I was trying to build hours for my career destination and I was only flying like 20 hours a month there. All in all I think it depends what you’re looking for but it was a good experience IMHO - although there are much better options long term.

[Dawgydawg]

A lot of negativity from guys who never worked here!! I’m here getting paid way more than my buddies at AC flying a quarter of the time. The captain side of the pay scale is horrible however over all it’s a super chill gig. Literally you fly max 2 legs a day then a long ass layover. I think a lot of stuff could get better with this next contract and if it does I don’t really see why I would jump ship to AC.

[E-190]

I would like to say something but ill keep my lips shut. Just glad i quit after 10 years of my life wasted at that company. Don't trust anyone of them!!!!!!!

[CaptDukeNukem]

I would like to say something but ill keep my lips shut. Just glad i quit after 10 years of my life wasted at that company. Don't trust anyone of them!!!!!!!

Spill the tea. No one will know

[squawk2me]

A lot of negativity from guys who never worked here!! I’m here getting paid way more than my buddies at AC flying a quarter of the time. The captain side of the pay scale is horrible however over all it’s a super chill gig. Literally you fly max 2 legs a day then a long ass layover. I think a lot of stuff could get better with this next contract and if it does I don’t really see why I would jump ship to AC.

There isn’t a single solitary year of higher pay than AC both pay scales are public.

[oneL]

A lot of negativity from guys who never worked here!! I’m here getting paid way more than my buddies at AC flying a quarter of the time. The captain side of the pay scale is horrible however over all it’s a super chill gig. Literally you fly max 2 legs a day then a long ass layover. I think a lot of stuff could get better with this next contract and if it does I don’t really see why I would jump ship to AC.

There isn’t a single solitary year of higher pay than AC both pay scales are public.

Squawk2me- How about year 1 FO?
I see that CJT is just over 80k. I I found a table online showing AC is between 78-79k. Maybe an old number?

[squawk2me]

Squawk2me- How about year 1 FO?
I see that CJT is just over 80k. I I found a table online showing AC is between 78-79k. Maybe an old number?
[/quote]

Those would be 2024 numbers. I was more so laughing at the fact that cjt guys get paid “way more than AC”. If he’s happy there fair enough… but dont try and convince others reading this that the pay and QOL is better because if you look at the facts there’s no comparison haha.

[pelmet]

Squawk2me- How about year 1 FO?
I see that CJT is just over 80k. I I found a table online showing AC is between 78-79k. Maybe an old number?

Those would be 2024 numbers. I was more so laughing at the fact that cjt guys get paid “way more than AC”. If he’s happy there fair enough… but dont try and convince others reading this that the pay and QOL is better because if you look at the facts there’s no comparison haha.
[/quote]

Imagine if the pay was equal(salary).......which is a better job?

[Dawgydawg]

Squawk2me- How about year 1 FO?
I see that CJT is just over 80k. I I found a table online showing AC is between 78-79k. Maybe an old number?

Those would be 2024 numbers. I was more so laughing at the fact that cjt guys get paid “way more than AC”. If he’s happy there fair enough… but dont try and convince others reading this that the pay and QOL is better because if you look at the facts there’s no comparison haha.
[/quote]


I literally made 186k flying 416hours year 2 FO. I’ve never since I started working here made less than 120k w/overtime. When I say “with overtime” it’s not like I’m working my bag off at all literally home so often it doesn’t make sense not to pick up the trips when they call.

I will say the overtime has slowed down though

[Tbayer2021]

Squawk2me- How about year 1 FO?
I see that CJT is just over 80k. I I found a table online showing AC is between 78-79k. Maybe an old number?

Those would be 2024 numbers. I was more so laughing at the fact that cjt guys get paid “way more than AC”. If he’s happy there fair enough… but dont try and convince others reading this that the pay and QOL is better because if you look at the facts there’s no comparison haha.

I literally made 186k flying 416hours year 2 FO. I’ve never since I started working here made less than 120k w/overtime. When I say “with overtime” it’s not like I’m working my bag off at all literally home so often it doesn’t make sense not to pick up the trips when they call.

I will say the overtime has slowed down though
[/quote]


You probably did make more than a considerable number of new FOs at AC during your first few years at CJ. But have you ever bothered to do the math past the first few years? How do earnings stack up through the rest of the scale? Have you come to the realization yet that a CJ pilot goes back down to the bottom of the CPT payscale once they upgrade while an AC pilot slides right across to their YoS? Meaning it could take a pilot at CJ over two decades to reach top pay. Try crunching those numbers and see what that does to overall earnings.

How do the pensions compare? Think that 3% matching RRSP at CJ is going to stack up against AC's program? How are the benefits? Does CJ pay for them all? Hows your STD/LTD? Have you even bothered to compare earnings against someone doing a similar amount of OT? Or are you conveniently comparing your OT paycheque against others not doing any or as much?

Keep concentrating on the first couple of years while ignoring career earnings. I hear the problem goes away if you keep your head in the sand.

[Dawgydawg]

Squawk2me- How about year 1 FO?
I see that CJT is just over 80k. I I found a table online showing AC is between 78-79k. Maybe an old number?

Those would be 2024 numbers. I was more so laughing at the fact that cjt guys get paid “way more than AC”. If he’s happy there fair enough… but dont try and convince others reading this that the pay and QOL is better because if you look at the facts there’s no comparison haha.

I literally made 186k flying 416hours year 2 FO. I’ve never since I started working here made less than 120k w/overtime. When I say “with overtime” it’s not like I’m working my bag off at all literally home so often it doesn’t make sense not to pick up the trips when they call.

I will say the overtime has slowed down though

You probably did make more than a considerable number of new FOs at AC during your first few years at CJ. But have you ever bothered to do the math past the first few years? How do earnings stack up through the rest of the scale? Have you come to the realization yet that a CJ pilot goes back down to the bottom of the CPT payscale once they upgrade while an AC pilot slides right across to their YoS? Meaning it could take a pilot at CJ over two decades to reach top pay. Try crunching those numbers and see what that does to overall earnings.

How do the pensions compare? Think that 3% matching RRSP at CJ is going to stack up against AC's program? How are the benefits? Does CJ pay for them all? Hows your STD/LTD? Have you even bothered to compare earnings against someone doing a similar amount of OT? Or are you conveniently comparing your OT paycheque against others not doing any or as much?

Keep concentrating on the first couple of years while ignoring career earnings. I hear the problem goes away if you keep your head in the sand.
[/quote]

Of course total compensation is better at air Canada that’s exactly why I said I need to see this new contract we receive. If the contract gets any substantial gains in retirement and wage I would 100% stay flying cargo.

[CaptDukeNukem]

I literally made 186k flying 416hours year 2 FO. I’ve never since I started working here made less than 120k w/overtime. When I say “with overtime” it’s not like I’m working my bag off at all literally home so often it doesn’t make sense not to pick up the trips when they call.

I will say the overtime has slowed down though

Post your end of year pay stub, With all personal info blacked out. Year two FO shows 83,370$ yearly. Unless I’m missing something, please Kindly explain how you whored yourself out for double the salary with only flying 416 hours.

[Tbayer2021]

I literally made 186k flying 416hours year 2 FO. I’ve never since I started working here made less than 120k w/overtime. When I say “with overtime” it’s not like I’m working my bag off at all literally home so often it doesn’t make sense not to pick up the trips when they call.

I will say the overtime has slowed down though

Post your end of year pay stub, With all personal info blacked out. Year two FO shows 83,370$ yearly. Unless I’m missing something, please Kindly explain how you whored yourself out for double the salary with only flying 416 hours.

Cargo pilots don't generally fly a lot. The planes sit most of the time and these guys could do a run to and from Cincinnati that touches 3 days which would trigger min daily guarantees for 3 days while barely flying 2 hours. I used to fly cargo and getting a YVR or YYC weekend on OT would be like 24 hours of pay while only flying 7-9 hours. But you'd be away almost 6 days. Cargojet has also been known to pay 2-4X your hourly rate during very busy periods.

But he's still being a bit misleading. While the hours flown are low, the time TAFB would have been significant for a brand new FO to double his base salary. If you don't have any real responsibilities at home and can afford to be away for long periods, great! Make hay while the sun shines. But if marriage and kids are in the picture, you definitely can't be doing as much OT as this guy. If you are, boy.........., have I got bad news for you!