Seaborne Pilot

Seaborne is a good outfit...I like traveling with them...very reliable and friendly (the new Sea Flight service is always late...and they still fly outta the airport cuz they don't have water dockage yet)...

Only $26,700? Ouch! I guess you could live on that if you have no other bills...and only pay about $700/mo. for housing....doesn't leave much left over for much else, though, does it? Maybe get a part-time job to supplement your income?

This might not make sense to others. And Yes, I have happily flown Seaborne in the past. If Seaborne is offering a qualified pilot a position at $26,000 per year it scares me terribly. If Seaborne values it's pilots SO LITTLE ,that they pay them less than a fully employed waitress or bar tender it makes you wonder. A pilot holds your life and safety in their hands. I want to think that they are the best, most responsible people available.

This makes me wonder about the safety of Seaborne. This makes me want to take a ferry instead. (I bet the ferry captains are paid much more). Seasick or not..ugh.

Yes, dear "to024" you can live on $26,000 a year but it will require a roommate, an island car and no extras.

Its not that the pilots arent qualified becuase they are... Anywhere you fly on the mainland a first year pilot makes less than that... Its not that its unsafe by any means I wouldnt quit flyin with them

I really like Seaborne. Have only flown them between STT & STX & would like to go to Old San Juan with them. Did they give you any idea of how soon your pay would rise? How many hours would it be for? That would be a really tight amount to try to live on but if you could see a significant raise in the near future. . .

I don't know any pilots that work for them & that's who it would be great for you to talk to.

My old neighbor is a first year pilot with Seaborne. He works 17 days a month and has many added perks such as free flights ANYWHERE. He loves working for them and also said the money isn't great, but hey the perks are. He drives an island car and rented a "furnished" studio apartment for $650/mo including utilities. He's making it work and loves his job. Don't be discouraged, but if it's not a firm offer, I would certainly counter it because even if your bills are low, the cost of living is HIGH (gas, groceries, etc)

Dear To924
Thank you for the salary information. I guess I must be quite naive and out of date when it comes to pilot's salaries. I didn't mean that they (you) were not competent. I was just surprised that any airline would pay such an important person such a low starting salary.

Good luck with your career. If i were a young pilot, I think starting in the Caribbean would be an excellent choice. Yes you can live very nicely here. I am just disappointed that your skills are not valued enough by your potential employer. You and all young pilots are worth more.

That is the starting pay for "right seat" co-pilots. The "left seat" captain positions pay a lot more. Most of the new pilots with Seaborne don't have much, if any, seaplane time and they come to fly with seaborne for 6 months to a year or two to build that time, as well as turbine engine aircraft time. Then too many of them head back to the mainland once they finally qualify for positions with other airlines or cargo companies after getting flight hours logged with Seaborne.

Seaborne spends major $$ training these new pilots, including a couple of weeks in a simulator in Toronto, Canada in preparation for coming back to STX to practice water landings for real. With many companies, pilots have to get their rating in the new aircraft on their own dime before they can even be hired. They also need hundreds of hours of flight time. So that $26,700 per year salary is also padded with many thousands of dollars more in training and professional credentials.

The starting salary is a solid figure. It's not negotiable. If it was, every new pilot would expect more and there are too many new bodies every year who would expect more and more and more. There is a lot of competition among the new pilots hoping to be the first ones who impress the chief pilot enough to have the chance to upgrade to be a left seat pilot-in-command. Those who do get PIC time have a lot more doors open to them with other airlines, so that's as important to many of the pilots as the salary increase that goes with it.

Most new pilots wind up working at least one other part time job. Many wait tables or work on one of the daytrip boats, etc.

And, if you're only working 17 days a month for them...that leaves lots of time to enjoy the islands...hop over to another one for free (P.R. is always a good choice)...and still have time for a part-time job to supplement...I say go for it!

Those 17 days per month might be scheduled as split shifts, such as 10 full shifts and 14 half shifts, etc. It's not uncommon to work part of most days of the month. That still leaves you lots of free time for fun and time to work a second job. The flights are all complete prior to darkness, so evening positions with restaurants are easy to work without having schedule conflicts. The Seaborne staff is pretty social and you can often find some of them hanging out down on the boardwalk or other such places outside of their working hours.

The flight benefits are not only on the places Seaborne flies. You can also fly on many of the major carriers as a stand-by jump seat passenger, both throughout the US and internationally.

Does anyone know about Seaborne's other positions? Are the customer serivce salaries on the low side as well? Do they get flight benefits too?

do you work for them? just curious...

No - but the flight benefits might be work it!!!

were you asking if I work for them? No, I don't. My husband used to fly for them, though, when he first moved to St. Croix and a couple of the owners/managing partners are good friends so I know a fair amount about how the program works for bringing in new pilots.

A close friend of mine is a seaborne pilot. He started at that ridiculously low salary. He supplemented his income with quite a few bartending jobs, and a taught some flying lessons here and there. He made it through and is now a captain. His big problem, and a big problem for many new pilots, was that he owed a crazy amount of cash in student loans.

Good Luck to024 - you can do it.

robo841 -

I have another friend who was a customer service clerk. It pays almost nothing, and the drama that comes with working with some of the employees is not worth the flying priveledges. You are better off befriending a Pilot and getting on his good side, they get a few buddy passes a month.

You may ask how to find a Pilot - Go to a few of the bars on the St. Croix boardwalk, Brew Pub and Sharkeys are good places to start. Seaborne Pilots are easy to spot, its part of their charm, they are cocky and loud. Don't worry if you can't tell who is a pilot - a real pilot will tell you he is a pilot. One of my favorite jokes was told to me by a seaborne pilot. "How can you tell a pilot in a bar? He will tell you!"

**Edit - The free flights anywhere are just for pilots who work at FAA part 121 airlines. Most Part 121 Airlines have jumpseat agreements with other Part 121 Airlines.

Congratulations to024, and good luck! It's supposed to be a good place to work.

If you don't mind me asking, when did you interview? Did they say when the next class will be? I know of a guy here on island who has been waiting to hear back from them for quite some time. It would be good news for him if they were starting a class soon.

pm me if you prefer.

a whole lot of pilots interview with Seaborne, but not all of them are offered training slots. The expense to the company is high and they turn a lot of applicants down. Quite a few who go through the ground school portion of the training don't get taken up to Toronto for the simulator portion of the program and they aren't kept on staff. It seems to be important for new pilots to fit in with the other flight staff members.

No, I havent heard anything from them yet. Thanks everyone for the help and information.