Birdstrikes

If hired onto the 777 you will be home based and travel most likely to/from CVG or LAX. You can plan on at least 2 laps around the planet and possibly a third each month. You are available for 20 days a month (including travel) and may work anywhere from 12 to 20+. You will more than likely exceed guarantee pay most months on the 777.

If hired onto the 737 you will be based in CVG and will either need to jumpseat to work or move there. We have CASS, but do not have agreements with Delta or American. We have agreements with many other carriers but jumpseating to CVG will be a PITA no matter how you choose to do it. See previous posts for the B737 schedules. You will need a crash pad or a local hillbilly to lend you a couch while you are on reserve days in CVG

Fleet pay-scales:

BobSakamano

Trying to apply and getting "Page not found" error. Anyone else having difficulty?

AgCat

In 1989 I earned $75 hr as a DC-8 FO. A new 1500 sq/ft houses cost about $100000 in Calif, as opposed to $300000 today and gas cost $1.12 per gal. Just an observation.

Diesel8

In light of the latest announcement from SAI anyone that is interested in seeking employment with this company is either a fool or a born company kiss a$$.

starship

What's the latest announcement?

gringo

You can pretty much forget ever using the words "Southern" and "QOL" in the same sentence, unless separated by the phrase "has none, and losing more every day".

Management has zero regard for you; you're a machine and nothing more.

Just got off the phone with a friend who was recently forced into six laps around the world, back to back. The paycheck was good, but it's useless when you're lying horizontal six feet under.

My longest trip was some 58 days. I know guys on the 777 that have that beat easily.

At that point, it's not a trip, it's a deployment.

That, or someone with a DUI, felony arrest record or any other skeleton hanging in their closet which would prevent them from getting proper employment elsewhere. ANYwhere.

Seriously. Suddern "management" is making Centurion look like FedEX.

Well, ok, maybe not quite that bad (yet), but give Oz and the Soap time.

Birdstrikes

For anyone that is thinking of applying to SAI, or has an interview coming up, do not be overly discouraged by some of the negative posts. Many of the disgruntled pilots either never worked here or never flew either of the two current fleets. However, it is a Supplemental Carrier and is not Delta or FDX. And yes...you can get stuck flying back to back if you fail bidding 101 and do not protect yourself or bid for open time. That kind of scenario is the exception not the rule.

Take Gringo as an example of a negative, previous Southern pilot. He worked here for six years but never flew the 777 which can easily be argued as the shiney side of SAI. He flew both 747 types and was sexually abused over and over. I don't blame him for finally waking up one morning with sore, unmentionable body parts and finally realizing he did not like the aftertaste and leaving for his "dream job" at Spirit. However, some weird fetish part of him still feels a need to keep posting about his previous experience here and up until a couple of days ago also posting on our internal web board. For someone that hates SAI he apparently still misses some of it. He also thinks everyone here is at the end of the employment road and has a "DUI, felony arrest record, or skeleton hanging in their closet". If that were true you need to ask him which of those he has or acquired while he was at SAI. Lol.

Some of the current hiring is for expansion and some is to replace pilots who have left for UAL, Delta, AA, etc. Legacy carriers like guys that have the broad experience that a company like SAI, Kalitta, or Atlas can provide you.

The flying has changed and the company has changed with it. We are still stuck under a crappy contract and until we can vote in another some things are what they are. We don't fly ad-hoc charters in old, worn out B747's anymore. The schedules don't change hourly, the hotels and travel are booked well in advance, and most importantly the pay checks always arrive on time. Other than some MX delays on the B737 due to DHL buying older B737's, the fleets run pretty much on time all the time.

The sky is not falling yet due to the creation of Worldwide and the acquisition of Florida West. Fleets can not just be swapped out. OPSPECs can not be transferred. Could there be a whipsaw action taken by management in the future? Of course. Is that the path we are on? Nobody that's dumb enough to be a pilot, myself included, can predict that. Only the future will tell.

Many working at SAI, or pondering working here, would consider UPS a dream job compared to SAI. However, spend a little time looking at the UPS hiring threads here on APC and you will see negativity that makes SAI look wonderful. The only difference is they get paid better....but money isn't everything. And...just like this thread the negativity comes from the few....not the many.

Mink

Not interested in applying, but tried the link just to see.

Yup, it's f'd up.

AgCat

Ha! Birdstrikes, I have to agree 100% with your sentiments. I am disappointed that pilot pay at the supplementals has been stagnant for so long. But, It is what it is...... Theses companies will fly and their aircraft will be crewed because at the end of the day, guys want to fly more than they want to sit at home or work regular jobs.
A few years back SA hired me as a direct entry capt on the classic. The training was fine and I thought the check airman were pro's and good to work with. I enjoyed flying steam gages again and the line guys were fun to hang with on layovers. After a while I ended up on the 777 doing laps around the world.
I don't recall being called on my days off, paychecks were on time and cashed, and my trips were generally 15 to 16 days total (on the 777). I did quit in 2012, but not because I didn't like the company.
I had a great job for 20 years with a good contract so I do know the difference, but that doesn't mean that these supplemental jobs aren't worth your time.

gringo

There is a smidgen of truth to what you said (company did declare bankruptcy before I had a chance to get on the 777), and I did in fact recently post on the internal pilot message board (only the second time since I ejected, if memory serves). But you failed to mention that my post was for a job opening, nothing more.

If helping others get out of that sinking ship you consider "missing a part of it", well then, I really don't know what to say. Lots of guys there are showing classic symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, and I'm only more than happy to lend a hand to help them get out.

You can polish that turd any way you like it. You can paint it, lacquer it and even try to Febreeze it; it's still a turd. Is the 777 flying better than the 747? Of course. You're not getting shot at for free, for one. You're not subject to 24-hour rolling delays into South America like we were. Hell, last time I rode on one we weren't even allowed to lug our luggage up the stairs, as it was handled by the ground crews! Is the 737 flying anything at all like the company told us it would be? Survey says: nope. It sucks. Big time. And the company is working hard to make life on both fleets even more miserable. Home basing is in the crosshairs. Don't deny it, you know it's true. It was true long before I left, and it will continue to be true until they finally get their way and it's gone.

I didn't say nor imply that. What I said was that only those types of people should be applying, as it's just too easy today to get a job elsewhere, at a reputable company. Now granted, as previously mentioned, I didn't make it to the 777, so I never did get an opportunity to fly with some of the, ahem, "finer" crews on the the Super Hoover... But the Whale crews, by and large, were some of the best I've ever worked with. Even the drunks, for the most part.

In the stock market they say "past performance does not predict future results" but in Supplemental Cargo you can easily argue the exact opposite. You're fooling yourself if you seriously don't think your company has something up their sleeve. They want even more concessions next time around, and they'll use their new certificate to get them, one way or another.

I get contacted once or twice a month from guys trying to get out. I know what's going on in there. It's not pretty. But I said it before and I'll say it again; if you live in CVG, Southern might pan out for you, if only until you can find better work. If you're planning on commuting for the 737, it's not going to happen. And it's just a matter of time before the same becomes reality on the shiny Gucci Jet.