aircraft mechanic

analyst

scheduler

data processor

apprentice

Kalitta Air LLC

I was interviewed for one position, and never heard back. Two weeks later, I was called and they offered to "put me up" for another position. Two weeks after that they called to offer me a third position, on the spot, without an interview. Started working despite the massive redflags at Kalitta during the COVID-19 pandemic, because we all gotta do what we gotta do. 

I have met my lead once, on the day I started. Have not seen my lead since. "Training" has been handed off to seemingly random employees (whoever happens to be around at the time, I suppose) who all have vastly different opinions of what is actually required to accomplish a task, leaving me wondering from day to day if I am actually doing things correctly, or not, and of course, there is no lead around to check. Spend my days hoping that I won't find myself out on my behind for doing things the way I was 'trained' (incorrectly.)

Management: appears to be non-existent, mythical figures that employees refer to with phrases like "oh yea, when you see him...if you see him" and "we can never find her" and "don't let them catch you doing X, not that they're ever around anyways." 

Culture: very, very cliquey. Apparently half the staff is married to, or related to someone (husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, parents and children...). It is already very clear that you are either "with" the in crew in your department, or you are out in the cold. One of the first things I was told was "I hope you aren't easily offended. We are an HR nightmare, but it's all in good fun. And we watch out for each other." Okay then....

Pay: decent enough when you just need to pay the bills, but very low in comparison to other places in the industry. 

COVID in the workplace: I was made to present a negative COVID test before I began work, and apparently much of the facility has been tested. Policy requires facemasks, and suggests social distancing whenever possible. This, however, is not the case. Workers are in close quarters without masks most of the day, with one worker (within upper ranks) chose to boldly proclaim that it was a protest, and we would not be wearing masks at all, even bullying those workers that were asking for disposable masks into *not* using them. Whatever your feelings on masks, POLICY is POLICY and should be enforced. 

Equipment: the lack of proper equipment is very evident, with employees using makeshift and mickeymoused methods of accomplishing tasks to avoid being "ripped into" by management, when management does show up. (Still waiting for that bit, honestly.)

All in all: I regret taking the job. I regret the excitement I felt at the prospect of building a career here. It is clear that there are some deeply rooted issues here, and it does not seem as though there is any avenue to fix them (no suggestion boxes, no conversations with management, no safety or improvement committees....just put up or shut up.)

Pros:

Good Pay (with Disparities): Kalitta Air offers competitive compensation to its employees, which is a significant advantage. However, it's worth noting that there are instances where employees performing the same job may receive unequal pay due to differences in seniority, leading to frustration.

4 on/4 off Schedule: One of the highlights of working at Kalitta Air is the 4 on/4 off schedule. This arrangement provides employees with a unique work-life balance, as it feels like having a mini-vacation every weekend. 

Cons:

Merit-Based Raises without Performance Reviews: Kalitta Air's approach to merit-based raises can be a double-edged sword. While it recognizes hard work, the absence of performance reviews can lead to uncertainty and confusion among employees, as they may not have clear criteria for achieving salary increases.

Disconnection in Upper Management: There is a noticeable gap between senior management and the rest of the company's operations. This disconnection can hinder effective communication and decision-making, as leaders may not fully understand the challenges and needs of the workforce.

Lack of Communication from Upper Management: Effective communication is crucial for the success of any organization. Unfortunately, at Kalitta Air, there seems to be a lack of clear and timely communication from upper management to the employees. This can leave employees feeling uninformed about important company developments.

Nepotism and Favoritism in Hiring: Some employees have raised concerns about the company's hiring practices, alleging that personal connections and nepotism play a role in the selection of new hires. This can create a perception of unfairness and erode trust within the workforce.

Exclusive Promotion Culture: Kalitta Air appears to have a culture where promotions and career advancement may be perceived as exclusive, favoring a select group. This can be disheartening for employees who believe they have the qualifications but are not given the same opportunities for growth.

I loved the people at Kalitta and I loved the time I spent there. That said, Management is run by a group of tight knit people, so if just one doesn't like you, then they all don't like you.  Its more run by a group of gossiping teens than actual men and women. My fellow coworkers were level headed, understanding of things I had questions about, and overall good/nice people to talk to. Management seemed to be the polar opposite, being rude and short tempered anytime i had a question or a problem arose. They run it as if their word is law (even though it is but the tyranny is unnecessary and uncalled for) and don't let anyone question them, even if its easily proven wrong in the manual. The hardest part of the job was when the manual said to do something one way and then management says to do it another. Then you try to explain and it takes 10 minutes or more of wasted time to explain that you are following the manual to the letter. In which case they storm off, being frustrated that they were "beaten" in a conversation of proper procedure like its some kind of competition. I loved my time at kalitta and its a great way to start off your career on the right foot. Just be sure that you stay on managements good side or they will make staying there very difficult, as they will use any excuse to terminate your employment  (speaking from experience due to illness)

Good place to work overall. Management knows what they are doing, as all of management are former mechanics, up to and including the director of maintenance. 

Not much nepotism as far as how work assigned goes. And being promoted to a lead is a mainly due to how long you’ve been at the company, as what extra you’re willing to do (skip vacation, stay late, etc... be a “company man). ... from lead, up, it “appears” to be a game of who you know and how you know them, for about half of the supervisors. But that could all be hearsay. If you’re not trying to climb, it’s a moot point. 

Things are done by the book. This is good and bad. Good as you know what to expect. Bad because there can be some bureaucratic red tape. One of the few places where it’s more important to “do it right” vs “get it out the door” 

Very clean and organized. 

Pay is considered low/average for an A/P mechanic, however, it’s really high for the area due to the low cost of living (I rented a 550 sqft apt for $600/mo). 

Only gripe is it’s in the middle of nowhere/small towns (oscoda). The good thing about that is low cost of living. Bad thing is, small town/middle of nowhere feel. 

Honestly, there’s a chance I’ll be coming back once I get my wanderlust out of my system.  

Very VERY strict attendance policy. (And this is where that “favoritism” shows)

Management is severely lacking here. The structure is extremely top heavy and those on top are relatively clueless, especially about the day to day realities on the floor. 

This is a 24 hour operation and you will be on nights for the foreseeable future unless luck plays a role in when you were hired who was leaving, etc. Working nights does not receive additional compensation and you’ll probably never see your already incompetent management team. 

Work environment leaves much to be desired. Most of it is just an old converted hangar. Walls are yellowed, carpet worn and gross, ceiling tiles broken, etc. If you have the option to work elsewhere I would. Starting pay will be better than some places but chances are you won’t receive any kind of scheduled raise, possibly for years at a time. 

Very little effort was made in protecting employees during COVID. Many positions that were able to work entirely remotely were still forced to work at minimum a hybrid schedule. 

You may be put in situations where you are asked or told to sign things or allow things to happen that don’t seem right. Tonnage reports, flights without clearance, flights through conflict zones, etc. 

There seem to be no long term goals for the company as a whole. Culture on the floor is extremely toxic.

If you're looking to be singled out as "Jerk of the Year" by your fellow department employees, apply here. The single most toxic, unwelcoming, disorganized department I've ever worked for. Management changes policies and processes nearly weekly and doesn't communicate them effectively. If you're not part of the "in crowd" (and you won't be), forget it. You'll be ignored, treated like excess baggage, accumulating record amounts of eye-rolls, and snitched on to management.  All phone calls are recorded and WILL be used to management's advantage when necessary. Verboten topics to talk about include current events (politics, race, etc), except that you won't be told that up front; AND you'll be punished for bringing those topics up, up to and including being relieved of your shift without pay. If you want to advance in the department, there's no money involved and you'll be expected to beg for training. You'll need to pass a test on topics you're not trained on.

They can be generous with pay, benefits, and holiday meals. Upper management brings their dogs in on weekends.

The hardest part of the job is trying to fit in with individuals who don't care about you and likely never will. Watch your back at all times.

After you clock-in, you head to the PC booth to get your work card. Then you look up on the computer the AMM or which ever manual you need for you task print out a copy of the instructions. Then you will prepare yourself for your task, get the tool required for task. Inform your lead on your findings and get estimate time on how long the task should require if everything goes according to plan. If everything goes smoothly complete task fill-out the paper work or non routine cards. Get with inspection so they can look over your work, explain to them everything that was done in the task in full detail. Once its bought back by inspection get with your lead and check to see if its ok to close. If you get an ok to close sign off your work get inspection get inspection to sign off on work and your finish clean up your area, Now if you find another problem is when the job can be difficult depending on what's the issue because you might need the different departments involved.

During 2025 the company went thru some changes at the top. Not all of them were good. Now I kept an open mind about things. I had seen management at the top change before and sometimes it was better for it. In my position there was always something to do! But soon our volume started to pick up, the company did not react. I did my best to keep up. I had done the position for other company for a longtime, I was told by coworkers many times I was very good at it. However as column picked up maintance started changing things not for the better either. 
     The breaking point was there had been a ongoing problem since the day I started. Upper management did not agree. They said "well everyone else can do it".
Yeah everyone else had 2 or 3 people sometimes on multiple shifts, I was alone. My guys tried to help, things went of the tracks and I end up losing the job. Last time I checked they are still looking. 

The company is not bad as a whole, but there are some major problems. First in foremost is the lack of education for some of the management. They seem to be stuck in the old days when you could get away with shade tree maintenance. Heaven forbid you tell them they are doing something wrong cause they label you as being a problem and too inexperienced. Even when you are correct. They have a way to gray area mentality. This being said though they have some very great mechanics who can manage with the least amount of support from management. Being that the local management is too worried about saving a dollar they won't spend money on tooling and equipment that function properly. Which cracks me up cause they cost them selves more money in lost man hours. Connie needs to seriously clean house on the maintenance management side.

Much of the workforce is relatively new to aviation and seemingly eager to learn and do well. Sadly, Kalitta is a very disorganized operation that is not the first thing new people should see. The real issues are the rather strange internal politics and the lack of real leadership. The lack of leadership is partly a training issue (people in positions that they are not qualified to fill) and partly due to properly trained and qualified leaders that have simply given up because their efforts won't matter. The overall experience was like being a passenger on a plane full of other reasonable passengers on a stormy night with drunk or absent pilots, not fun. Also, the pay is not worth the irritation.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Aircraft mechanic 12 salaries reported	$37.56 per hour
Analyst 2 salaries reported	$55,000 per year
Scheduler 4 salaries reported	$50,000 per year
Data processor 5 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Apprentice 1 salary reported	$21.50 per hour

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