Originally Posted by rickair7777
BS ALERT!
I don't know if you're bitter or something, but I'm here spending my time to try to help inform people who are trying to make decisions. You (and I) are stuck with the decisions we made, but posting lies and BS won't really justify your situation or help anyone else. Are you trying to fool yourself into thinking that as a 6 year eagle FO you make more than a 2 year mesa captain? I am certainly NOT a big Mesa advocate (read my other posts), but it is far better than some other options. For me, the eagle interview was a fallback position only, actually taking the job would have been an act of desperation.
Hate to sound like an A-hole, but he is either bitter or trying to justify why he is at Eagle. I don't blame him however. He does this probably due to a condition I refer to as Eagle syndrome. I am an ex-Eagle 6+ year FO that found myself showing symptoms of said disease. I don't know what it is, but Eagle has probably the largest pilot group that retains pilots for the LONGEST time. An overwhelming majority of (non-flowback) captains have been at that place for 15 to 20 years. They just don't go anywhere, and it is not because it’s a great place to work, because its not. At Eagle, it’s a constant battle of CYA, hoping not to get fired, and battling with management. Not that this is much different than any other place, but it happens at Eagle on a much grander and more intense scale. The place gives you a sense of paranoia and the employees don't really get along, they're not friendly I should say for the most part. Not all, but most. So like I said, don't blame him because he has this condition. Maybe he can get out before it takes over his life and ruins his airline career.
In my opinion Eagle's only redeeming quality is that it could be useful for someone who needs some more multi or turbine time to get the job they really want. This is not an indictment of eagle pilots in any way, just the situation facing a new hire today. Many long-time eagle FO's got hired pre-9/11 and obviously had different expectations compared with today...
You hit the nail on the head. I went to Eagle when upgrade time was 13 months (unheard of in recent Eagle history), then Eagle bought BizEx. That delayed the upgrade for about a year and a half. Then, upgrade was creeping its little head again when 9/11 happened. Instant furloughs and downgrades followed, delaying upgrade for about another two years. Then upgrade ONCE AGAIN started to look possible when the mass AA flowback (some illegal per our contract IMHO) occurred. This all but put the final nail in the coffin for upgrades.
Bottom line, the place sucks, will always suck, and is only good (like rickaire said) if you want to add on to your SIC, ME, turbine time. Don't look to Eagle for a chance at gaining PIC time, and DON'T listen to Eagle guys that say it’s “a stable place”, “the grass isn't always greener”, etc... They are just trying to justify to themselves and others why they are still stuck there. I was always embarrassed to tell people that I worked at Eagle because I knew we were the laughing stalk of the industry (especially with the ridiculous contract that was signed) So to anyone considering Eagle, think long and hard before you take that leap.