Originally Posted by
nowheretobefoun
Do not go to berry
i have it first hand from a friend that they have taken a dive
they steal your paid time off
they force you to sleep in the plane
they force you to fly without food
they punish and fire you if you get hurt on the job
there dispatch is absusive to the pilots
morale is at an all time low
they rewrite the rules with no notice or input
they are trying to run off the guys on the high end of the pay scale
4 captains have left in the last 3 months another got fired for a very minor mistake and the fos are a revolving door
used to be a great place to work but no longer is
management is taking advantage of the labor market and putting the screws to the pilots
Wow, this sounds too terrible to be true! How has this company been in existence for almost 40 years, paying the VERY high pilot salaries that they pay? Did your “friend” provide any context for these seemingly impossible to believe statements? Or are we talking to one very inept, and disgruntled pilot?
No one was forced to sleep in a plane. There was an act of god in Texas that shut down the whole state - a severe winter storm. The crew came from Mexico and had to clear customs. There was no way to get fuel, so the crew was stuck. Dispatch could only find a couple of hotels in the whole Rio Grande Valley of Texas and the captain refused them because they weren't the standard "Hampton Inn or better." The dispatcher even offered for the crew to sleep at his brothers’ house in McAllen, to which the captain also refused. He made the executive decision to sleep in the plane. Said captain quit aviation entirely right afterwards.
No one knows what “force you to fly without food” means. Sounds like your “friend” expected crew meals at this cargo job?
It’s highly illegal to punish or fire someone for being hurt on the job. The last pilot to get hurt on the job collected his COMPANY PAID disability until he quit.
They are trying to run off the guys on the high end of the pay scale? You clearly were fed some bad info. Berry is notorious for retaining their talent very long term. There is a captain that’s been with the company for over 20 years, he has his own pay scale he’s been there so long. The CP was the first pilot for the company - in 1983. The DO and President were part of the company in 1983 too. “Trying to run off the high end of the pay scale” is absolutely laughable.
Do guys get fired? Sure. Some pilots can be inept. When you couple that with bending metal on 2 million dollar airplanes you typically lose your job. Welcome to aviation.
“4 captains have left in the last 3 months” is an endorsement of the job more than anything. 3 of those went to ATI, flying 757/767 and one went to FlexJet. The job is a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Everyone, including the management at Berry, acknowledges this. No one expects you to fly on-demand cargo, all night, until you're 65. Berry likes pilots to come on, upgrade after a year or so, and fly as captain for 2-3 years. Works for pilots too, get experience, upgrade, get 1000+ TPIC and move on to greener pastures. Your "friend" apparently didn't get the memo, and was shocked when he had to work a lot.
It’s a tough cargo job flying transport category turboprops. You are on call, and when it’s busy you work a LOT. After this pandemic Berry has been insanely busy, and they are just now catching up on re-staffing to normal levels. Sometimes it’s slow and you hardly fly (which sounds like the type of job your “friend” was looking for.) Pilots DO make plenty of money. $60-$70k for first year FOs and $120k+ for captains -- not typical pay for a company that has such endemic problems as your “friend” claims.
Something doesn’t add up with your attempt to bash a part-135 cargo company so vehemently. On demand cargo is a tough industry, and it isn’t for everyone. Do things go wrong sometimes in aviation? Sure. Can such a toxic airline exist for almost 40 years, paying their employees that well, if even half the things your “friend” claims are true? No chance.