Originally Posted by
Celeste
If you want rdu, it is currently our most junior base at trans states, and I anticipate it will be that way for a long time. I think it would be a pretty safe bet you can get rdu or of training, or worst case, within a month or two. You would probably be on reserve for 2-3 months max at a junior base like rdu. A year ago I spent roughly 6 weeks on reserve after I completed training. As far as upgrade, upgrade times seem to be in flux. I would put them close to 2 years. If you have no prior 121 experience, it will take roughly 18 months to get the 1000 121 anyways.
I've liked trans states so far. The people are great. If you want to work a lot and make extra $$, it's really easy here, and I consistently credit more than 110 hours, which makes up for our slightly lower pay rate than rah. Our downside is that we fly the 145, but as others have said, our parent company owns three airlines. Staffing is an issue at all three certificates, and if we were to lose our aircraft, I believe they would either give us different planes that they are struggling to staff or start to consolidate/merge certificates, much like RAH did with republic/shuttle/Chautauqua.
Rah has the 170 and a pretty decent contract, they will definitely be around in the future. But how good the pay/contract will stay is up to the bankruptcy courts.
After RAH signed the new contract, I thought about jumping there to move closer to family. I ultimately decided there was too much uncertainty of whether their new contract would survive unscathed in bankruptcy court. I don't think it will go back to as bad as the old contract, but if you look at the precedent set by other airline bankruptcies, the courts have demanded concessions from all parties, and pilot contracts have ALWAYS taken a hit. Also, i consistently make about $1000/month more than my friends at RAH, and they said it would be very difficult to credit what I credit here at trans states at rah. Also, j would end up on the bottom of the seniority list with a 3-4 year upgrade time.
Several bankruptcies the contract has stayed intact. Most recently, Mesa. Know your history. Don't spew out misinformation.
The RAH contract isn't to be touched and the court has already approved that. All parties know if it was, that would be the end of rah. So all parties, investors, company and court agree on that.