aircraft mechanic

technical support supervisor

aircraft maintenance technician

captain

pilot

Mountain Air Cargo

A typical day at work would be arriving “early” as in 6am or earlier to check your tools and a meeting would then start to talk about daily objectives (usually just negative comments about a previous shift and a warning for the current shift to not make mistakes)

I come from the military, and expected to be lightly trained on the SM involving cargo planes. That never happened. They’ll put you with management for 24 to 48 hours and have you complete online courses that make you want to nap for days. Zero enthusiasm, no engagement, no room for questions without judgement

Management is unprofessional generally speaking. The shift supervisor was a complete disaster any time a mistake was made by anyone. The leads were too afraid to speak up and defend their technicians because of his attitude towards everyone. The technicians ended up being fed up with everything and all we did was spend time avoiding management and pretending to be busy to satisfy their relentless micro managing. Zero down time, zero rapport, zero freedom of movement.

The workplace culture was okay. The guys I worked with were mostly cool, but the stress of the job got to them too, making them difficult to get along with. But of course, when you’re tired, overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated, you will always have a bad attitude. It’s hard not to. I liked the employees generally speaking, it was management that trickled down all of their nonsense and became a nuisance to work with.

The hardest part of the job was paperwork. They have a desktop that belongs in 1990 and you are rushed by other technicians due to a lack of computers to rush to print your documents. It was insane how slow the computers were and how much needless walking went into the job daily. They have no clue what they’re doing in the tech department because they have to be losing thousands per week by running their OS. 

The most enjoyable part? Finally being let go and not having to work for these snakes again. You buy all of your own tools, are responsible for their maintenance, and are given no guidance. You basically had to beg for opportunity, and it was reluctantly given or denied to give it to someone they favorite. Most people have left by now or have been let go, typical revolving door contracting job for any entry level schmuck. If you’re smart, you’ll be patient and find a company that values you and pays appropriately. You’ve been warned.

Flying for Mountain Air has been a pleasure.  But the job of flying a C208 Caravan in all weather is often dismissed as entry-level.  It most definitely is not.

Operating any aircraft in a dedicated cargo environment is a demanding job.  Not only must a pilot be on his/her game regarding Instrument skill, and managing threats like Icing, Imbedded Cells, etc.  Managing a ground crew during loading  is a constant challenge. When your assigned base has one of the longest flights in your company's system at night, in a single engine turbo-prop, over mostly forests and low mountains and you think it is a crazy assignment, you are not ready for this job.  

If you don't have experience in Icing condition, or don't understand the available data that icing predictions are based on, again, you are not ready for this job.

Flying the Caravan as a single pilot is not and entry-level  job or a training position.  You will do more work on one flight with poor weather to a destination hub airport than the Captain or First Officer combined will do in that new ATR.  You plan, takeoff, fly a departure, fly the route, fly the arrival, fly the approach, and supervise off-loading, refueling, releases, clearances.  You monitor your own approach.  You make your own call-outs.  Is it stable?  Are you going to make this delivery happen even if the weather is terrible and at minimums?   Or, is your own safety and that of anyone in the vicinity at two in the morning more important that the load of freight?   If that final decision is  to say go-around, and plan the next step, you are probably ready for this job.  The job requires skills, knowledge, constant review and training.  If you consider yourself a professional pilot and get it, you are ready for this job.  

I've never had so much fun flying as I have in cargo operations.  As a captain, first officer, flight engineer, loadmaster all rolled into one its challenging, rewarding, its an awesome job.  It will make you a superior aviator if your relatively new to the business.  If your an old seasoned aviator like me, it makes you better, and safer. 


A typical day involved coordinating travel for flight crews, rebooking during operational disruptions, and managing frequent last-minute changes between Concur, Sabre, and the corporate travel management vendor. I often worked additional hours voluntarily because I cared about supporting operations during delays and high-pressure situations, and I frequently supported on-call weekends when needed.

I generally enjoyed the work and took pride in supporting flight operations. Because of the nature of operations, meals were often provided and work was performed at the desk as needed to maintain continuity during active travel disruptions and time-sensitive situations. However, there appeared to be limited understanding from HR and non-operational leadership regarding the demands of the role and how operational work is performed in real time.

At times, I experienced communication and leadership practices that limited employee participation in meetings and discussions. On multiple occasions, when I was invited to meetings or already present for operational coordination, I was instructed by my manager to allow him to conduct the discussion without input and to respond only with brief, limited answers. In some instances, this occurred even in front of other employees during active operational problem-solving, which reduced the ability to fully contribute to resolving time-sensitive issues.

When concerns were raised regarding the corporate travel management vendor, including repeated errors, inconsistent billing, and unprofessional communication, I did not feel the issues were fully understood. Concerns about vendor behavior were sometimes minimized, which did not reflect the operational reality of having to resolve frequent travel disruptions affecting flight crews.

Despite these challenges, many coworkers were dedicated and supportive, and the role provided valuable experience in aviation logistics, problem-solving, and high-pressure operational coordination.

Mountain Air Cargo is a great place to work.  It allows a quality of life often only found in mainline air carriers.  Regional airlines do not do this.  MAC operates under both part 135 and part 121.  My personal experience is with 135 and the Cessna 208 Caravan.  Many Caravan pilots to move over to the 121 side and the ATR aircraft as opportunities arise.

A typical duty day is variable.  Some routes are overnight with return in the morning.  Some are out and back.  Positions include "based" pilots who fly the same route all the time, and "floater" pilots.
To me the best position is "floater" where the pilot may be assigned any route in the system.  It keeps it interesting, and you are home most weekends, and enjoy PTO every 5th week.

Operating a single-engine turbo-prop at night in IFR may seem unusual at first.  Some pilots are put off by this.  This is a risk assessment skill that must be developed.  All aircraft receive excellent maintenance.  All aircraft are either G600 or G1000 equipped, and all have auto-pilots that are well maintained.  The rest comes down to personal ability and personal limitations.  No one is punished for delays or cancellations if these are justified.  The Safety culture is outstanding.

While there are occasional glitches in schedules, travel reservations and such, this is by far the best experience I have had in aviation to date.

I would highly recommend Mountain Air Cargo to any pilot seeking experience to move on or as a career in itself.

I enjoyed going to work, the people were great.  I was always learning something new, being able to start up and taxi an airplane around just to make sure everything was working properly.  If there were any maintenance issues I could have the issue  fixed and the plane would be ready to make its flight when the pilots showed up.  The hardest part of the job is when you have a major maintenance issue and you can't go home till the plane is fixed and airworthy. If the plane isn't airworthy it can't fly and if its not flying its not making the company any money.  Management was good about letting us do our job, I had more aircraft experience than most of the other people on my shift, which gave me a chance to do  a lot of training. Upper management noticed that and put me in charge of night shift. Our crew was very well trained which kept the planes flying, making the company money. Most of the time everything went smooth. I also did parts inventory, shipping and receiving. I enjoyed talking to the pilots after they flew the planes that I had worked on, it makes you feel good when a pilot tells you that everything worked good and the plane flies great.

Unsafe work is expected of you. Contractors are run through quickly. Real revolving door of a place. When I was hired on, there was only 2 fellow employees at my level that had been there longer than 8 months. Maybe a good place to get your foot in the door in the industry but NOT a good long term place. The 4 on 3 off schedule is nice but the early start of the day makes it a bit difficult to adjust to, thats more on me than the company but something to be aware of if you arent an early riser.  The leadership is hit and miss. Some leads are great some are decidedly ok and some are downright disrespectful to everyone. I wont name names, but the head of maintenance is a real piece of work. Instead of doing his actual job he will instead wander the hangar and micromanage people. I was let go after calling out. I was not upset about this but if youre sick you are expected to work through it. I learned a few skills in my short time there but happy not to be with the company any longer.

This company has done nothing but lie.  There is no work/life balance.  There is no good compensation.  $20/hr in 2023 is crazy.  The only people they care about is pilots.  Well, who is supporting your pilots with a good plane and good communication.  This company thinks that buying pizza and ice cream for staff is enough to make their employees happy when in fact, it's not!  Your employees are drowning in bills and the MAC paycheck they are getting every 2 weeks is enough to pay almost nothing. 

Go work at American, PSA, or Piedmont and get a much better pay with a better work schedule and FLIGHT BENEFITS! MAC gives you nothing but a headache! 

Oh and they will not hire your direct, so, they will have a staffing agency reach out to you to hire you. So that takes away any PTO, any benefits through MAC, and anything else that they preach in your interviews. Its all a lie!!! 

DO NOT WORK HERE!! YOU WILL BE SETTING YOURSELF UP! 

Mechanics are routinely treated as expendable.  Pilot's are bribed (at times thousands of $) to work during a PTO week to cover sick calls while mechanics are basically told to work or else in the same situation.  Loyalty from management went out the window when new owners took over several years ago and many people just build experience here before moving on. Management openings are usually filled by friends of existing managers.  Pay & benefits, while not the greatest, aren't too bad.  Training went from being pretty good (some excellent in-house training, plus aircraft & engine-specific training at Flight Safety) to almost everything is computer based training, all in house, and not particularly effective.

Typically you report in and head out to the aircraft to preflight prior to the loading of the freight. Once the preflight is complete and the freight is loaded you depart to your destination airport. For my route we stayed with the plane until the freight was offloaded, then to the hotel for a few hours of rest. Once you return to the airplane you do your preflight again and supervise the freight being loaded for your return trip.

The hardest part of this job is the amount of time you spend away from your home with your family.

The most enjoyable part of this job for me was the opportunities provided with travel and availability to aquire flight time.

I have very to little complaints about the company. It is a very well regulated and managed company... 
The management is very good at what they do, the flight plans are already pre-filed and every flight has an alternate pre selected for you. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Aircraft mechanic 1 salary reported	$28.50 per hour
Technical support supervisor 5 salaries reported	$70,000 per year
Aircraft maintenance technician 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year
Captain 1 salary reported	$70,000 per year
Pilot 1 salary reported	$100,000 per year

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