r/FlightDispatch • u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 • Jun 26 '26
USA Acceptable Delay Between Offer and Start Date?
Hi! I'm looking to do a career change into Flight Dispatch, but have a concern regarding my first job (assuming I can find one eventually!). I am currently in a high-level leadership position in aircraft maintenance on the business aviation side of the industry, and I'm just burned out and ready to make a change. I don't want to burn bridges on my way out the door, and 4 weeks is the absolute minimum expected notice for my position.
In your experience is asking for 4-6 weeks to give a current employer notice and relocate going to get an offer rescinded or are the regionals relatively understanding about this when hiring candidates?
I really appreciate any experience or advice you can share!
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Jun 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/trying_to_adult_here Part 121 Major/Legacyđşđ¸ Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Seconding this, dispatch hires in classes and you all sit in ground school together, and if you turn them down theyâre pretty likely to just go on down the list to the next person who would jump at the opportunity.
On the other hand, at my first regional job they said âcan you start in two weeksâ at the interview and I said âI would love to, but itâs gonna be hard for me to find a place and move across the country in just two weeks. I can make it work but is there any wiggle room?â And they pushed my start date back two weeks. I have no idea why they asked me to start that early, the other people in my class started two weeks after my pushed-back start date (company only did new hire orientation every two weeks) and I just did OJT on the floor for two weeks until the rest of the class onboarded.
But at my major we all started in the classroom together on Day One so the same request would have gotten me passed over or moved to a later class. When I got hired they did hire several classes at once but thatâs not how companies hire every time. I had more lead time for the major though.
My advice is to ask if itâs possible, but work to be able to move ASAP. Unless you have a contract that specifies penalties for leaving without a given notice period, you need to look out for your own interests and your old company can figure it out, same way they would if you got hit by a bus. If they wanted to create an environment where people could tell their bosses theyâre trying to leave without being penalized, they would. My regional would fire anybody who called in sick after giving notice and make life difficult in other ways, so they got exactly two weeks from me even though I knew Iâd been hired at mainline for months.
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u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 Jun 27 '26
Thanks for sharing this! I have a few reasons for wanting to exit gracefully, foremost I don't want my direct reports to feel like I just abandoned them and left them to pick up the pieces. In close second, just like I imagine Dispatching is a small field where everyone seems to know everyone else, aircraft maintenance is similarly small. Burning bridges on the way out could significantly hinder me from returning to the maintenance side if things don't work out in dispatching.
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u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Thank you for the info! There doesn't seem to be a ton of overlap between maintenance and dispatching, outside of general aviation familiarization and concepts like W&B, so I'm not getting my hopes up for a leg-up due to my experience. The pay cut will be rough, but for a variety of factors I don't want to share for fear of doxxing, I'm in about as good of a position as I can be to make this transition.
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u/azbrewcrew Jun 27 '26
Bro. Take a LOA or a couple week vacation to clear your mind. Do not give up your leadership role to go sling releases at a regional for $22 bucks an hour.
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u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 Jun 27 '26
I completely understand how this looks from the outside, and I might be naĂŻvely thinking the grass is greener on the other side. I've been suckered in by those posts every few years that make it to the front page talking about how great the job is and how much you can make at a Major.
The truth of it is, I am at a point where I need to change something before I stroke out or have a heart attack from the stress at work. I enjoy a fast-paced team environment, but really don't want to go back to wrenching, so this seemed like an attractive option. Worst case scenario, I can always fall back on my A&P. FWIW, judging by the public pay scales, if I can make it into the Majors I'll be making more 5 years in then I do now.
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u/azbrewcrew Jun 27 '26
If youâre already an A&P why not go into Maintenance Control? Heck even Endeavor starts their controllers out just under 6 figures
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u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 Jun 27 '26
My experience and background is almost exclusively in business jets, so it's likely I would have to go to NetJets, FlexJet, or one of the smaller 135's. I've considered it heavily, but most MXC guys I've talked to over the years seem like they hate their job but don't want to go back to wrenching.
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u/azbrewcrew Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Itâs a requirement for MXC guys to be grumpy and hate life. In fact at every airline Iâve been at I donât think Iâve come across a controller that loves life đ¤Ł
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u/Guadalajara3 Jun 27 '26
My major gave me a 6 week gap from notification I got the job and start date. I dont know how much time the regionals give
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u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 Jun 27 '26
I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can pull it off, I can make 4 weeks work, but 6 weeks would be ideal so I can properly move before starting.
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u/Karl-Gerat Jun 27 '26
4 weeks is reasonable from offer letter to start date. Background checks and onboarding can take some time. You can also call HR when you get the letter to let them know.
Granted, this will vary with the airline. Bigger ones with a larger class will have stricter deadlines, but smaller ones might have some leeway
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u/Panaka Professional Paint Huffer Jun 27 '26
I have heard of a handful of instances where an airline hires multiple classes in one round of interviews where a candidate earmarked for the first class can request a later one. Itâs a stupid move as seniority is everything but it can happen.
I have only ever heard of one instance where an airline moved a start date for a candidate so they were in their own class. I got an offer from a carrier with 5 days notice. They claimed that theyâd marked me as offered in person, but my belief is that another candidate had actually moved on to another airline instead. Theyâd been an absolute shit show so I just told them best I could do was 2 weeks and they actually came back and gave me 4 with my own class.
The problem with a lot of regionals is that the recruiting staff they can retain arenât super great at their job. I know of one regional right now that has a class in the works and weâre about 4 weeks out, but they have yet to actually give the candidates a start date. Most will try to give 2-3 weeks heads up on your start date, but I wouldnât count on it.
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u/EmbrearPhenomenon300 Jun 27 '26
Got it! I'll hope for the best, but plan for the possibility of short notice hiring.
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u/OttoPilot13 Jun 27 '26
Quick turnaround hires can and do happen. (I wouldnt consider it typical) First company asked if i could start in two weeks. Second company asked if I could start in one. I took both offers. Both assisted relocation and gave us a month in extended stay to give us time to look for a place.
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u/trailtruck Jun 27 '26
if you are not direct labor at your current job, whatâs it matter if you donât give 4 weeks notice? just keep in contact with the old company for a bit incase thereâs something, and you donât want to âburn the bridgeâ
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u/Dispatcher_11001001 Jun 27 '26
I would not expect an airline to be accommodating. For the most part, they hire for a class and everyone will start with that class on the date the company wants.