I was looking at the pay scale of airline pilots and cargo pilot and I wanted to know what is the difference between regional and cargo pilots And why cargo pilits seem to make more than regional pilots?
Mendgy,
Regional pilots fly small airlines for companies that contract out to the major airlines to be their “express” carriers. For example, ExpressJet pilots fly 50 seat regional jets under the name “United Express”. These positions typically have lower pay rates because they are considered the entry point into the industry.
Cargo airlines like FedEx and UPS fly very large airplanes and are very desirable places to work. These jobs are on par or above major airline pay rates. Because of the size of the equipment, the revenue the pilots produce and the experience they bring with them they are paid very well.
Chris
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Hey Chris,
Another question regarding to that, what are some differences between a cargo carrier and a major airline in terms of working environment? since a cargo delivers goods and packages instead of people?
Charles
Charles,
Cargo pilots work under a slightly different set of FAA rules that do not afford them as much rest as we get. Beyond that cargo pilots tend to work at night a lot and are of course at cargo terminals instead of passenger terminals. Once the airplane lifts off the only real difference is the lack of flight attendants and passengers to deal with, although airline pilots are not too often concerned with such things anyways. Being a cargo pilot is certainly not a glamorous as being an airline pilot, but it can be a great career that offers some unique opportunities.
Chris
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Charles,
To add to that I have many friends who fly cargo. Another big factor is most cargo routes take you away from home for longer stretches of time (up to 17 days) but they generally get bigger blocks off as well.
Adam
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Hi Adam (and any other mentor),
A question I have is regarding the smaller cargo feeder airlines. Airlines such as Empire that are not full fed ex pilots but rather what some would consider a regional for the cargo airlines. Do they have the same requirements as the regionals in that you need 1500 hrs. to get hired? I live in Portland and there are some great opportunities with Ameriflight and empire and I think it would be a great place to get started. What are your thoughts?
Greg,
The operations you refer to are not Part 121 airlines and as such do not require 1500hrs to get hired. Empire actually operates in Hawaii as a feeder for Hawaiian under the Ohana banner. The are some great Part 91 and 135 operators and some are not so great. Once you build the required time (or get close) I recommend you do some homework, try and speak with some of their pilots and get a better feel for what they do and their quality of life.
Adam
Greg,
Empire and Ameriflight post their hiring minimums on their websites.
http://www.empireairlines.com/careers/fedex/
https://w3.ameriflight.com/pilots/
Tory
Thank you very much Tony and Adam! I have heard ameriflight is rough and empire is great 
. Once again, thank you for your candor.
Greg
Greg,
I am the resident “stick to the regionals” voice on this forum, but that is for a reason. Most of the smaller cargo companies tend to be very demanding to work for. I would do some serious research before committing to that path.
Chris
When you say they tend to be more demanding what are you specifically referring to? As a military guy I’m used to demanding but I obviously have little knowledge when it comes to the airlines. I get all my info from this forum and YouTube. My end goal is to fly for UPS but I can never seem to find much information about what it takes to get to that point and what is expected once one gets there. If you could elaborate a little more it would be greatly appreciated. 
Carson,
None of us have ever worked for one of those cargo companies, so our information is all second hand. I understand that the pay is low, the hours horrendous and the hotels or apartments that they put people in are not the best. I would continue to dig through the internet to find some more resources on this one. I am also not sure that going to one of those cargo companies is in fact a path to UPS.
Chris
Carson,
Getting to UPS is no different then getting to any other Major in the US. They want experienced, professional pilots with turbine experience and LOTS of hours.
Adam
Hey Adam,
I wanted to talk to a few pilots who fly cargo to get the best insight on trajectory and career steps. I want to fly for UPS.
Would you mind putting me in contact with someone?
Donovan,
The path to cargo like UPS is the same as getting to any other Major airline. They have the same requirements and require the same training. If that’s what you’d like to do you simply need to get trained, build your time and experience and apply.
As for putting you in touch my friends who fly cargo are all pretty anti-social which is why they prefer boxes to passengers.
Adam
Donovan,
This forum is to find a community of aviators and seek advice, share experiences, etc.
Networking is a personal endeavor but I suggest you focus on getting all your ratings and building time before worrying about finding the golden ticket in.
Hannah
Donovan,
Your best resource for requirements would be their website.
UPS and FedEx are I believe the only 2 Legacy/Cargo carriers requiring PIC time to apply (at this time).
AirlinePilotCentral has a forum where you can research their topics. Always take with a grain of salt as 99% of posts are opinions.
Aviation Career Mentorship on FB is another good resource to ask questions, take with a grain of salt again.
My Dad flew at FDX since 1995. The biggest difference between airlines and cargo are:
- You don’t have to deal with Airport Terminal headaches on often. (Pax issues, long lines, TSA, Etc). Only when you DH or if you’re a commuter.
- You don’t have Flight Attendants. Only pilots here.
- No passengers, except occasionally animals and jumpseaters.
The QOL and trip schedules / seniority all depend on airframe you fly. Not every airframe is all red-eye flights all the time. Some have really good mixes.
Money is similar to Legacy pay. FDX is only airline with a Pension still.
Career Steps:
FDX has the purple runway flow program with their small partners like Empire Air & Mountain Air Cargo.
UPS has a flow/interview program with Ameriflight.
There are others as well and you can always get their from a regional as well. Do your research.
I always make a whiteboard pro/con list and timeline to visualize possible career steps.
Networking is always key. Join aviation groups and be active in events. Try to get to things like Oshkosh or Sun&Fun. I’ve met pilots from every company at these events and many are now good friends or mentors.
That’s the short of it.
All the best,
Chris F
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Thanks for the response. I researched the Flight Path program for UPS. It’s pretty turnkey. Thanks a lot.
Let us know if you have any other questions. We’re here to help.
Hannah